Right Foundation For Your Skin Color

The question of determining skin tone comes into play most often when shopping for your ideal shade of foundation. When you’re testing foundation shades, it is critical to identify your overall, exact skin color and find a foundation that matches it, regardless of how ashen/olive, sallow, or pink it appears on the surface. The goal is to use foundation to neutralize whatever overtones are present with a neutral-to slightly yellow toned foundation, thus matching the skin’s natural undertone.

Why a slightly yellow undertone? Because skin color, more often than not, always has a yellow undertone: that’s just what the natural color of melanin tends to be. For the most part, regardless of your race, nationality, or age, your foundation should be some shade of neutral ivory, neutral beige, tan, dark brown, bronze brown, or ebony, with a slight undertone of yellow but without any obvious orange, pink, rose, green, ash, or blue. Adding those shades to a foundation is never flattering and can look obvious and contrived.

Using a lighter foundationall over is usually not a good choice. It’s much easier to deepen skin tone with foundation than to lighten it. When you apply light foundation on darker skin it tends to look gray (ashen) and unnatural. Also, the lighter color won’t blend into the neck area properly, giving you the illusion of wearing a mask.

The best way to work with this situation is usually to purchase two foundations. You can create a “spotlight” effect that is very attractive and draws attention to the center of the face. The lighter foundation is used as a highlight toward the center of the face; the darker is used as contour around the edges. Another option is to choose the shade that matches your neck. The center of your face will look deeper in tone and your all-over look will be even.

Testing foundation
Most women when testing a foundation rub a small amount on the top of the hand and that's a huge no-no! Because of daily exposures, it's most likely that the skin tone of your hands and the skin of your face are not nearly the same.

One of the main goals when purchasing a foundation is to give our face a smooth, natural appearance with good coverage. The foundation must blend at the jaw line without any lines of separation to show that we are wearing foundation. The skin on the neck tends to be a few shades lighter on most women and the ideal place to test is actually on the jaw line. If you're wearing a foundation and testing on the jaw line may not provide you with answers because of the make-up you're wearing…don't worry.

Know that color is one thing. Formulation is another. Is your skin oily, dry, prone to breakouts? Are you in the sun a lot? Are you showing signs of aging? All these factors need to be taken into account as well when deciding on a foundation.

Foundation for skin types
Here's a guide to some of the more common types of foundation on the market so you can find the one that's right for you.
* Moisture-rich/hydrating - this moistens skin and stops the make-up from feeling tight or irritating on the face. Good for dry skins.
* Mattifying/oil-control - reduces the appearance of oil on the skin, making the face look less shiny. Good on oily skin or the T-zone.
* Light-reflecting - brightens up dull or dry skin by providing a surface that allows light to bounce off, making your skin look brighter. Best on dry or more mature faces.
* Line-smoothing - a formula that fills out facial lines to reduce their appearance rather than sinking into the skin and emphasizing wrinkles.
* 'Colour match' - the newest types of foundation come in a limited palette of shades that 'adapt' to an individual's skin tone. There's some debate about how well they work, but they're worth a shot if you're struggling to find an ideal match. Go for the shade nearest to your natural skin.

Application
* Moisturize face and let it absorb. This keeps foundation on top of the skin.
* Stroke it on and blend quickly.
* Set it by dipping a brush into powder and going over the face in circular strokes. Don't worry about getting every bit of shine off your face. A matter face looks dated.

Finally, don't forget to check the new product works with your current shade of concealer and powder - cover-up should be a little darker than foundation, while powder should match it closely.

But regardless of these skin tone categories, when it comes to foundation, trying it on and making it sure it matches your skin exactly (especially in daylight) is the best way to get a color that looks like you, not like you’re wearing foundation or, even worse, a mask.