Jackie Aina Compared Eight Foundations in the Same Shade, and the Results Were Astonishing
Mocha is a chocolate-flavored latte sold at Starbucks and coffee shops around the world. But, what most makeup-wearing people of color will tell you is it's also commonly used to describe darker foundation shades. If you want proof, simply walk the aisles of your local drugstore or Sephora, and chances are, you'll find at least several brands boasting foundation ranges that feature a shade dubbed Mocha. Are said bases all actually consistent across the board, though? In Jackie Aina's latest video, she decided to find out.
The aforementioned video, which was posted just before Christmas, showcased the 31-year-old makeup mogul applying various foundations in the shade Mocha to the test in order to see how similar they really are. "I always wanted to see what would happen if I took a mocha from every brand out there that has one and compare them all together," revealed Aina a few minutes into the video, which began with her touching upon the different adjectives used as dark foundation names, such as hazelnut, cocoa, and chestnut. As it turns out, this video was actually requested from Aina almost two years ago after she posted a viral video about the worst brands for people of color.
For the experiment, Aina pulled eight popular foundations, including affordable and high-end options, to compare and contrast. The full lineup included:
In regards to execution, Aina took two foundations at a time — Maybelline New York and Almay, YSL and Too Faced, Revlon and Clinique, and Almay and Esteé Lauder — and applied them to either side of her face, as well as on her décolleté to give her subscribers a super-clear depiction of how they showed up on the skin.
Of all them, Too Faced's actually ended up being the lightest of the bunch, while Revlon's was much too deep and red for Aina's complexion. The others, however, all varied when it came to undertones and no two were even close to being the exact same. "What I find very weird about this experiment is not only are the colors very, very different from one another but even the undertones that they describe are completely different," Aina pointed out after trying out a few of the foundations. "Can we all just get, like, a mocha guidebook?" she added.
By the time Aina finished comparing each base, it was blindingly evident that Mocha is most definitely not the same across all brands, which unfortunately makes it even harder for those with dark and deep skin tones to shop for complexion products. "I think we've learned here that foundations in one shade are not all universal, but it was fun to experiment and I want to do it again with other products," said Aina towards the end of the video. She then urged her fans to send her suggestions for what colors or products they want to see her try next. (Anyone else want her to compare concealers?)
To watch Aina's full analysis, tune in to the video, below.
Now read more about Jackie Aina:
Jackie Aina on How She Expanded Too Faced's Foundation Range
Jackie Aina Opens Up About Finding Her Voice in YouTube's Beauty Community
Done reading? Now tour Jackie Aina's incredible bathroom:
