If you've been searching for how to fix your foundation makeup, you're going to get answers now.
Following the 7 steps in SECTION 04 will help you determine if your foundation color is wrong for you due to skin tone or undertone matching.
Finding the right foundation color match is easy once you know what to look for. This post in depth goes over everything you’ll need to know on how to match your foundation to your skin tone.
In This Article
01 Types of Skin Tones
02 Types of Undertones
03 How to Identify Your Undertone
04 How To Find Your Foundation Color
Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and the topic is so far out of your understanding you just nod and smile? Yep…. that was me. Up until about a year ago anytime I would speak to a makeup associate about finding me a new foundation. The terms skin tone and skin undertone would get thrown around and I pretended to know why these were important in foundation. But in reality, I had no clue!
I would let the associate color match me and I’d walk out of the store with their suggested foundation shade. Inevitably, it almost always just quite wasn’t the right color match for my skin.
I love makeup and have loads of it! For me to be clueless on how undertones played such a huge role in application was crazy. Finally, I decided to dig deep and figure out what exactly all this color matching mumbo jumbo was about.
This article will explain everything you need to know in order to make an informed decision the next time you step into that makeup aisle and which makeup brands are tailored for specific undertones.
What Is Skin Tone?
Luckily, skin tones are a pretty straight forward concept and easy to determine right away. Skin tone is the surface color of your skin. The color you see when looking at yourself in the mirror. Often times they are categorized into four broad color ranges which are referred to as: fair, light, medium and dark.
Skin Tone Chart
Fair:
White or freckled skin. Red or very light hair color. Skin burns easily in the sun.
Light:
White to light tan skin. Light colored hair. Skin sometimes burns in the sun.
Medium:
Olive or tan skin. Dark hair. Skin rarely burns in the sun.
Dark:
Brown or dark brown skin. Dark Hair. Skin very rarely burns in the sun.
UV exposure can change skin tone. Because of this, skin tone plays a less important role when choosing your proper foundation match.
What Is Undertone?
A skin undertone refers to the shade that is within your skin tone. Basically, the color underneath the surface of your skin. Unlike skin tone which may change throughout the year, your undertone never changes. Undertones fall into one (or more) of three categorized groups.
Types of Undertones:
Warm – Yellow, Golden Or Peachy Base
Neutral – A Mixture of Warm & Cool
Cool – Pink, Red, or Blueish Base
To determine your skin undertone requires a bit of work but in general does slightly follow skin type and the skin tone chart.
Luckily, there are several easy ways to find out if your skin boasts warm tones or is cool toned.
The internet offers several ideas on how to check your undertone. One common way is based off of gold or silver jewelry. If you find gold jewelry compliments your skin best you likely are cool toned. Prefer silver jewelry with your complexion? You likely have warm undertones.
I personally find this hack to be by far the easiest method!
Check The Color Of Your Veins
This method is one of the best tried and true ways in determining your undertone.
- Go to a location with natural sunlight.
- Turn the inside of your wrist to be face up so your veins are visible.
If your veins appear blue – You have a cool undertone
If your veins appear green – You have a warm undertone
If you feel your veins appear to be a blue and green mixture – You may a neutral undertone
Having a neutral undertone means your undertone is very similar to your skin tone. You don’t have a base color coming through like with warm and cool toned individuals. Neutral undertones are generally very forgiving and can wear foundation shades both cool and warm equally well.
Undertones Based off of the Skin Tone Chart
Fair: Fair skin tends to lean towards a cool undertone.
Light: Light skin tends to lean towards a cool or neutral undertone.
Medium: Medium skin tends to lean towards a warm undertone.
Dark: Dark skin tends to lean towards a cool or warm undertone.
Knowing your undertone gives you a head start when trying to pick a foundation color but sometimes your skin pulls different colors after you’ve applied the product.
If you have the option I would highly suggest sampling the product in store before taking it home!
If I try on a foundation which has even the slightest bit of warmth my skin instantly makes it look orange on me. Others with cool undertones like me may not experience this.
Finding Your Exact Foundation Color
Luckily most makeup companies are creating foundation formulas with undertones in mind and labeling them with their respective undertone color. This makes it easier to narrow down the shades you should be trying on.
You’re standing in front of a huge row of foundation.
- Find the foundations which most closely match your skin tone. (This narrows down the selection significantly)
- Within the range of those few – pick the foundations which are labeled to suit your specific undertone.
(Usually there is a number and a letter as the name. C for Cool, W for Warm and N for neutral) - Now that you’ve narrowed down the foundations which work for your skin tone AND skin undertone it’s time to swatch. (Swatch=Try On)
- Using a dime sized amount of foundation, place it onto your skin in a straight line from the middle of your cheek down onto your neck.
(It’s important to make sure the color is similar to your neck because you don’t want any harsh makeup lines after you’ve covered your full face in foundation.) - Try and find a natural light source to view swatches.
(Artificial store lighting can play tricks on showing true colors!) - Take note that some foundations do oxidize throughout daily wear time which makes colors turn warmer than their original appearance.
(Be sure to ask a store associate if you are working with someone if they have knowledge on the specific brand.) (Sometimes we just have to learn the hard way – so keep your receipt for returns!) - Does the shade match?
Yes – VIOLA! Your hard work paid off!
No – Some brands do not offer a full color range for all individuals. Choose a different brand and start back at step #1.
(Don’t worry you’ll find one – it’s worth the process!)
I personally had the hardest time trying to find a foundation which matched my skin seamlessly. After, three hours of testing swatches and over 20 brands and shades later… I have found my prefect match!
DIOR Forever Skin Glow Foundation
My skin tone falls into the end of the light skin spectrum almost into the medium tones and my undertone is cool. This proved difficult because a lot of brands tailor their medium foundation colors to warm undertones. There are some neutral options in the medium shades but as I mentioned earlier any warmth in a foundation makes me turn Oompah Loompa orange status.
The list below are all foundations I have sampled. These are my personal feelings towards which brands have products favoring either warm or cool undertones.
COOL
- Dior Forever
- Dior Air Flash
- Estee Lauder 24 Hour Double Wear
- Sephora Collection
- KVD
WARM
- Too Faced Born This Way
- Gorgio Armani
- Make Up Forever HD Stick
- NARS
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