Properly matching your foundation to your skin tone is essential for smoothly blending the product to adequately blur your skin and allow you to look as youthful and effortless as possible. While you may not feel inclined to go into a store and get shade matched by a professional, knowing how to do it yourself can make for an easier time purchasing foundation and ensuring flawless application every time.
We spoke with Katie Jane Hughes, celebrity and editorial makeup artist, as well as Oxygenetix’s resident MUA Sophia Knapp for their tips on the best methods for shade matching foundation, so you can easily choose the ideal color to flatter your undertones and work to enhance your complexion.
Match To Your Jaw
When shade matching foundation, many people first apply the product to the back of their hands to determine if the coloring is correct. However, the skin on your hands is often not the same shade or undertone as the skin on your face, and this can skew the results and make the match less accurate.
“Always shade match your face, not your hand. I would go near the jaw and pick three shades, swatch them all in a line vertically, blend in & pick the one closest to your skin tone,” suggests Hughes. Applying product to your jawline will make it easier to see how the formula reacts with your skin as well as how effortlessly the shade blends into your complexion, determining if this is the proper match. “Selecting multiple shades will help with the process of elimination,” she adds.
Know Your Undertones
Knowing the undertones of your skin will make it that much easier to choose a shade that compliments your coloring and adequately blurs into your complexion without creating the stark appearance of wearing makeup. “If you have rosy pink, plum, and blue undertones, you have cool blue-based skin. If you have peachy pink, golden, amber undertones you have yellow-based or warm skin,” explains Knapp. With this information, you can then determine if the undertone of the foundation you choose will blend well with your skin. “Whichever shade seems to disappear the most is the right pick for you,” she notes.
If you have a cool toned complexion and are using warmer foundations your makeup is likely to look cakier and artificial, and with warmer toned skin, using a cool foundation can make you appear drawn and sickly. Choosing the right shade can make all the difference in enhancing your natural, youthful glow, so look at the veins on your inner arm to determine your undertones.
Compare To Clean Skin
If you’re comparing a new shade of foundation to your complexion when you’re already wearing makeup it can significantly skew the results of the matching process, so going to try on foundation bare faced will provide you with the most accurate shade match at the end of the day. “Make sure you're applying to clean skin and not over any base makeup,” notes Hughes.
Keeping your skin hydrated before applying a new foundation will also allow the product to sink into the skin more easily, priming your complexion for makeup and creating a natural base for the best application possible, giving you a better idea of whether or not the foundation formula will work for you. Hughes recommends the Make Up For Ever HD Skin foundation as it comes in a broad range of 40 shades and applies fairly sheer for easy build up which will make it even easier to find a number of shades that will match with your undertones.
