Choosing the right foundation to match your skin tone
Choosing Make-up foundation to ‘light up’ your face is as difficult as choosing the right colored dress that suits you. It takes time and the willingness to learn the art to be able to match effortlessly each time.
Here are some tips how.
- Get to know your skin undertone (the colour that appears just below the surface skin) – classified as warm, cool or neutral and then move on to select.
Cool - includes pink, red or bluish undertones
Warm - inclusive of yellow or golden undertones
Neutral - undertones from a mix of the above two. Olive is sometimes included in this or considered a fourth class
- The skin undertone could turn out to be olive, red or yellow, if you examine the inner side of the wrist of your hand. Determine which of them, is it, in your case. This unifying colour now narrows your search for the right foundation shade.
- From then, it is getting to know which of the shades of this unifying colour that is best for you – light, medium or dark of yellow/golden, pink / red or olive. Experts like Aliesh Pierce, celebrity make-up artist, aesthetician and national trainer for an ayurvedic cosmeceutical skin care line advises trying out all three shades of the same undertone to be bang on.
- Today many companies state in the details for their foundation products, whether the shade is in the cool, warm or neutral categories. There would be a product that would have three undertones of yellow, red and neutral with mention on the label, to match the complexion of the customer. As mentioned earlier yellow / golden undertone is warm, red / pink undertone is cool.
- If there is no mention, customer care could help. One could also line up different shades to find out whether they have a blue-olive, yellow-orange or red-pink base to ascertain that they fall under neutral, warm or cool classes. Checking in natural light or under incandescent lights give the true shade, fluorescent lights throw off a greenish tinge.
- If the store has testers you could apply the three different shades of the undertone as thin stripes from cheek to jaw line, allow them to remain for ten to fifteen minutes for the body heat to reveal their characteristics and you have the right shade of your foundation – the one that disappears or blends with your skin and shows no demarcation line at the start of the neck.
- And if there are no testers, one could easily go for the three shades of the undertone. For a mix of the lighter and darker could get the perfect shade. Or help even out when during the winter and summer months the skin appears fairer and darker respectively.
- A word of caution for the uninitiated – never use foundation to darken or lighten the skin tone. It gives a ghastly or bizarre appearance. Instead, a blush or bronzer, are the right options.
- When the skin is light or fair, using a slightly lighter shade than that of the skin would be appropriate, to avoid the ‘masking’ foundation seeming obvious.
- And again if there are schemes like free makeovers on certain days, take advantage of going during the day and seeing yourself in the make-up outside in the natural light. After all it is your own eyes that would settle the matter once and for all.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzzhInclW2I?wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]
Fashion and make-up go hand-in-hand in this modern age. While few females are blessed with extraordinary beauty and natural looks, it is the vast majority that needs the help and encouragement of enhancing products and cosmetic lines to make their feminine presence stand out and be applauded.
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