The essential issue for Asian skins is finding a base that is predominantly yellow based, without being too warm and orange. The best company at catering for Asian colouring is Shu Uemura, a Japanese company (and therefore founded on creating colours for Asian colouring) that's a favourite with top makeup artists and is available at Harvey Nichols and Shu Uemura boutiques (call 020 72407635 for stockist enquiries).

Lighting in department stores can be deceptive, so always try foundations in daylight before you buy, but another reason that even 'custom blending' might not have worked for you could be that foundations are wont to change colour on the skin according to individuals. It is therefore essential to both let foundation 'settle' for a few hours, and to check how it looks in a variety of different lighting situations.

And don't throw out all your reject foundations: try mixing and matching them to your skin yourself (your face isn't a uniform colour all over - makeup artists advise matching foundation to a tone that's somewhere in the middle of the lightest and darkest areas you can see). Trial and error should lead you to the ideal shade...until the season's change or you get a tan, and you have to start all over again, that is!

Why not chat to other iVIllagers about cosmetic products on the Skin Care message board. Take a look at some of the LIVE discussions happening now on the board: