Do you feel overwhelmed and confused when choosing a foundation shade that is right for you? It is not easy I know. Especially when foundation plays such an important part of your makeup regime. You have to get it right, or the rest of your makeup may not look quite right. I will share some of my tips for how I choose a foundation shade and provide a few considerations to make the process easier.
As you know, foundations come in many different finishes. Matte, semi-matte, natural, satin, dewy and very dewy. And also different coverages, full, medium, light, tinted moisturizers etc. I know, so many choices. These both can be a topic for another post. Today, we will focus mainly on tips for finding the right shade, otherwise this post will be too long. Actually it is already quite long 🙂
Shade Finding
Choosing a foundation shade for your skin tone is tricky. Main thing is, it does take patience. Also, trial and error. It can be an ongoing goal to get to the right shade. However, it does get easier and easier and better and better as you get closer and closer!
The reason it is so tricky is because not only are there umpteen brands, colour ranges and different finishes, foundation shades come in warm (yellow and golden), neutral and cool (pink) undertones. The undertone plays an important role. For example, you can find many similar shades of medium beige, yet they can look very different from each other due to the undertone. So how is one to know where to start?
Deciphering your skins undertone is also a bit tricky. Basics are that if your veins appear blue or purple, you may have a cool undertone. If your veins look more green, you may have a warm undertone. If you can’t tell, you probably have a neutral undertone. The other guideline is, if silver complements your skin you may have a cool undertone, if gold complements your skin you may have a warm undertone. If both are equal, you may have a neutral undertone. I am neutral as I am not noticeably different in either direction. My opinion is if you stay within the neutral foundation shades, you can’t really go wrong, no matter your undertone.
When choosing a foundation shade, you want to find a shade that is as close to your face colour as possible. That may seem obvious but some people will choose a shade that is darker than their natural skin tone because they may think it makes their skin look tanned and more healthy. Or some may choose a different shade to change their face colour slightly. I would recommend not going either route.
If your are in between shades, it is my opinion to opt for the shade that is slightly lighter than your skin tone rather than darker. I have never regretted a lighter shade, but I have regretted a darker shade. There are two reasons I say go slightly lighter:
- Some foundations oxidize. Meaning they turn slightly darker (than it appears in the bottle) once exposed to the air and applied to your skin. A slightly darker shade is not a huge crime, I just have an opinion that lighter is better. The reason is, is that lighter will give you a fresher, more youthful appearance. You can always add bronzer to warm up your skin tone and also your look will come together with blush. By the way, if you wear foundation, you have to wear blush. Wearing foundation without blush or not enough blush is not the most flattering.
- A darker foundation shade can be aging. It will also be more obvious you are wearing foundation, therefore, your complexion will not look as natural.
If you do not feel confident to choose a shade yourself, getting assistance from a professional is helpful because it can be overwhelming. However, this means going to a department store or Sephora and purchasing a foundation at a higher price point. Spending a little more may be worth it as you will likely end up with a correct shade. I would always take a couple samples home from Sephora before covid, hopefully we can do that again soon as that is the safest bet. Also, a trick I do is I ask the opinion of a couple different Sephora associates to ensure I have consistent opinions.
If your budget does not afford a higher price point, the drugstore has amazing foundations now that compare to high end. Therefore, if you are shopping at the drugstore and need to choose a shade yourself, here is what I do:
- If you have a foundation shade in your current collection that works, take it shopping with you.
- Then, select the type of finish and coverage you are looking for from a few different brands. You need to know this first. You can’t go wrong with a natural finish with light to medium coverage. Most foundations will give you a hint in the title, or a description on the bottle.
- Compare the foundation bottle you brought to other shades on the shelf. If this is your first foundation purchase, grab some shades you think look close to your skin tone. You will find out quickly if the shades do not work. You just simply go back and grab more.
- Then, grab a bunch of options that are similar shades to yours. Side note, be open to alternatives! You may love the shade you have and think it’s perfect for you, however, you may find during this process a different shade that is even closer and better than what you had before! Trust me, this happens. Remember, your tastes, your colouring and your preferences can change over time and products improve, so it is always good to try something new.
- Once you have chosen some alternatives, take them with you and find a mirror.
- Now put two different bottles up to your face – one on each side of your cheeks. By doing this, you can tell what shade works better than other one.
- Then simply go through a process of elimination. By comparing one on each side of your face, you will get a sense of what shades have neutral, pink or yellow undertones by comparing them to each other. Unless you are more experienced, when looking at a shade on its own, it is hard to see the undertones until you compare two shades to each other.
- Continue the process of elimination until you reach the top 2. If you are having difficulty deciding, it could be that they are both very close, either could work and neither would be wrong.
Considerations
- Some brands may not have a shade match for you. Meaning, there may be some brands that just don’t have the right shade or the right undertone that works for your skin tone. This has happened to me before, where one brand has tones too grey-ish, pink-ish or orange-ish and that is ok, there are lots of other choices.
- When you look at the shade in the bottle, the product is condensed and concentrated. However, when applied to your skin, the product spreads out and the concentration is less intense, therefore, slightly different shades (different from each other) can work once applied. For example, I have 5 foundations in my collection, that are all slightly different shades, yet they all work for my skin tone. I have one foundation for summer as it is a smidge deeper when my face gets a little sun.
- Whatever foundation shade you wear, I do not recommend you blend foundation down your neck (or lower than your neck). If you buy the correct foundation shade to match your face it will also match your neck, therefore, you should not have to blend it down your neck. Here are reasons not to blend foundation down your neck:
- How do you hug someone with foundation allover your neck?? I am a big hugger (or was before covid), I hug everyone (or did before covid). I would be horrified to see my foundation allover someone’s clothes! You do not want to leave someone with a dry cleaning bill from a hug.
- It’s obvious. It’s obvious you have foundation on your neck. Skin on our neck is not as nice as the skin on our face. It is thicker, has more pores, larger pores and more lines. Therefore, putting foundation on the neck will emphasize what we do not want emphasized and frankly, it will age your neck.
- If you tan or apply self tanner to your body and neck and not to your face, this scenario causes a foundation colour dilemma which is:
- Do you wear a shade to match your tanned neck and body or do you wear a foundation to match your natural, untanned face?
- It is my opinion to match your face. Others will disagree but hear me out. There appears to be an ‘over concern’ with having to frantically match your foundation shade to your neck. I have no issue with a little self tanner on the body and neck, however, the self tanner shouldn’t be so dark that you have to wear a foundation that is quite a few shades darker than your natural skin to match it. This doesn’t necessarily work because it is too obvious. It is obvious that in attempt to match your neck, your foundation is too dark and doesn’t match the genuine you. The genuine you is the skin colour at your hairline, your scalp, ears, eyebrows, eyelashes etc. Do not concern yourself that your face doesn’t ‘exactly’ match your neck. No one is going to stop you on the street and say to you that your foundation does not match your neck, so do not over stress about it.
- Do you wear a shade to match your tanned neck and body or do you wear a foundation to match your natural, untanned face?
Final thoughts
I hope these tips and considerations help when choosing your next foundation shade. I always look forward to a new foundation, as it means I can get closer to the one that makes my skin look amazing!
The important thing is, is to be open to new shades and new finishes and always be searching for one that is better than the last. My whole life, up until a few years ago, I only owned one foundation at a time. When that one ran out I would go buy a replacement. Now, I have a few different foundations in my collection for different seasons, events, daytime, evening, finishes, coverage, my mood etc. I cannot imagine only having one foundation now. I encourage you to have a few different options in your collection to fit what you need it for.
All the best and until next time…
