Review: BoldHue

It seems like a universal truth that anyone who has ever worn foundation has struggled to find a shade match. The BoldHue, released in March 2025, is a smart device that aims to solve this problem.

I feel like my own skin tone changes from week to week. My base undertone is neutral, leaning olive, and I’m usually somewhere in the nebulous foundation shade range known as “medium.” I’m biracial, and I feel like there are stark differences between my summer skin tone and my winter skin tone (especially if I’m tanning in the winter to combat seasonal depression). I have acne, some areas of redness and broken blood vessels, and a smattering of freckles that I want to remain visible.

It’s not the hardest thing in the world to visit a Sephora or Ulta and get shade-matched, but that often comes with pressure to make a purchase, and it doesn’t factor in the fact that your skin might be a different color next week.

Recently, I purchased the viral TirTir makeup compact, and after using the company’s online shade-matching tool, the recommended shade was abhorrently, vilely wrong. I looked like I’d taken a dip in olive oil. And wouldn’t you know it? It’s pretty hard to return used foundation. (Some stores do have testers and generous return policies, but I’d rather just be able to know it’s going to look right from the get-go.) It’s hard enough to find a good “medium” shade, let alone one that’s very dark or fair.

The BoldHue is a little printer that custom makes foundation that matches your skin shade exactly. It was cofounded by two women—Karin Layton, a scientist and engineer who previously worked for NASA, and Rachel Wilson, an entrepreneur who previously launched a successful hand-poured candle company. BoldHue has a lot of tech inside, but it’s dead simple to use.

Matchmaker

The BoldHue starter kit comes smartly packaged. You’ll get the device, a USB-A to USB-C cable, five pigment concentrate bottles (in black, red, blue, yellow, and white), two foundation jars, a mixing spatula, and a BeautyBlender makeup sponge. (Sadly, despite the hefty price tag, no wall adapter is included.)

You’ll download the app, which has step-by-step video instructions to walk you through the setup process. You’ll pair the BoldHue to your phone via Bluetooth. You shake up each individual cartridge (saving the caps in case you want to travel with the machine), install the cartridges into the device, and you’re ready to start scanning.

The front of the BoldHue contains a cleverly stored glass-tipped wand. When prompted by the app, you’ll hold the lighted wand against your skin on your forehead, chin, and neck. This helps the device aggregate an intelligent shade match. It was really easy to use, and the wand even vibrates when it’s done scanning each area. The app recommends that you avoid areas of redness, hyperpigmentation, scarring, or facial hair when scanning. Once you say scanning is complete, the drawer at the bottom of the BoldHue swings open. Deposit a jar, close the drawer, and wait for your custom foundation to dispense. It takes about a minute to finish.

The Right Hue for You

I was a little skeptical when I saw my foundation before I mixed it. It just looked like spurts of color! But after mixing it thoroughly for about 20 seconds with the included spatula, I was amazed at how well it matched my skin. I’ve never had a foundation that looked like it was made for me the way this one was.

The app recommends applying the foundation with the included BeautyBlender sponge (dampened, of course, like the OG beauty gurus taught us). This is the method I found most effective as well–it was a little too sheer and wet for brush application and a little too streaky when applied with my fingers. Each “print” supplies a few uses’ worth of foundation. I used about a third of the jar per application, depending on how much acne I had at the time.

The formula applies like a dream. It’s sheer and buildable, feeling almost like a tinted moisturizer rather than heavy or cakey. It contains antioxidants to help protect skin from environmental damage and free radicals—these include Tremella mushroom, rosemary, rice bran, sunflower, and Sphingomonas extracts. There are moisturizing ingredients too, like vitamin E and squalene, to help your skin stay hydrated. The finish is glowy and dewy, and BoldHue says it works for all skin tones and types, including sensitive skin.

I found the formula to lean a little too glowy when I initially applied, but I think that was user error. Subsequent applications with thin layers and less product gave me the results I wanted, though the formula does tend to cling to facial hair, so I encourage caution when applying near areas like sideburns or eyebrows. Ultimately, my combination skin looked happy and healthy, and most importantly, you couldn’t tell I was wearing foundation.

My makeup has never looked less like makeup. And that’s a good thing. I’ve never had a shade match be so accurate. The plight of shade-matching is well known, especially for people with very dark or very fair skin. The BoldHue makes foundation as inclusive as it gets.

The formula is vegan and free from parabens, sulfates, fragrance, and a whole slew of other things. The only minor detail that I disliked was the smell. It vaguely reminded me of a box of Crayola crayons. Luckily, that smell dissipated within 30 minutes. My foundation lasted a full eight hours when I wore it with no powder, and 12 hours when I set it with my trusty Huda Beauty powder. It didn’t oxidize, and it was nearly transfer-proof.

Another thing that impressed me was how well the app worked in conjunction with the device. As a product reviewer, I’ve had a few bad experiences with companion apps (as have many of my coworkers). The BoldHue app and device work well together. The device is quick to respond to app commands, and I always felt like I knew what was going on.

The app has support for unlimited user profiles, so your friends can get a match too, and you can also reorder color cartridges as needed. (For example, my foundation used a healthy spurt of red and yellow but very little blue.) The app will prompt you when a certain color is running low. Replacement cartridges cost $20, or you can save a bit of money by buying them in a bundle. BoldHue says most customers replace one to two cartridges per month, though obviously this will depend on how frequently you use it. The cartridges have a shelf life of one year.

The only real caveat that I have is the fact that devices that rely on a companion app like this for operation can go the way of defunct robots. If BoldHue as a company ever folds, there’s a chance that the devices will stop working. It’s not a guarantee, but it is a thing to keep in mind when weighing pros and cons.

Three hundred dollars is a lot to invest in foundation, but considering how easy it is to waste money on bottles that may or may not match at any given time, I think BoldHue makes a lot of sense if you frequently wear foundation—especially high-end foundation. If you wear drugstore foundation, you have a skin tone that‘s easy to match, or you wear your foundation very sparingly, BoldHue might not make as much sense. But if your skin tone varies seasonally or you wear foundation every single day, I think investing in BoldHue is smart.

Wearing BoldHue’s custom foundation every single day, with the same refill pace as its average customers, you’re looking at $20 to $40 a month. If you wear high-end foundation every day, or you go through foundation quickly, or your shade changes often, BoldHue could save you money in the long run. (As one example, the Nars foundation I referenced earlier costs $49 per bottle, and it doesn’t match my skin in the summer.)

Using BoldHue is fast and simple, and you’ll never run the risk of a bad match again. It would also come in handy for professional makeup artists—BoldHue has a program called BoldHue Pro that’s meant for exactly this type of work, and members get discounts on the products as well as access to some other benefits.

Overall, BoldHue is one of the coolest intersections of beauty and tech that I’ve ever experienced. Unlike some other smart printers for things like lipstick, I feel like foundation is the hardest part of makeup and makes the most sense for technology like this to be involved. If you can stomach the initial investment, I think it’s worthwhile.