One of the hardest things to do when it comes to your makeup routine is choosing the right foundation for your skin. There are so many factors that can influence your decision; desired coverage, skin tone, skin type and desired finish. It's a decision mind field!
When I'm choosing a foundation for my clients I always keep in mind four key factors, so I thought I'd share them with you...
1. What is your skin type?
We all have a fairly good idea of what our skin type is like, is it dry? Normal? Combination? or Oily? This will help you determine what formula you'll need. It's also important to think about your desired finish. Do you want a glowing dewy finish? A matte finish or a semi matte finish?
Based on your skin type, you might want an oil-free formula to ensure durability during the day/night, or you might want a more moisturising formula because you have dry skin, so understanding the staying power benefits to your choices will determine what is the best foundation fit for you.
2. What is your desired coverage?
Next is selecting your coverage. Coverage is another familiar term but I thought I'd clarify it for you anyway, which bascially means how much of your natural skin you want to show through your foundation - sheer, medium or full?
3. What is your skin tone?
The next step is to consider your skin tone. Are you fair, medium, or tan? This will head you in the right direction of where you are on the foundation scale for any brand.
4. What is your undertone?
The last thing to consider is your undertone. What is undertone? It's the colour that your skin generally is. What colour shows through your skin the most - pink, yellow, neutral, or golden.
There are many different ways to determine your undertone and you might know this already, but if you don't, I find the easiest way is to look at your veins through your wrist. If they appear green, then you are in the warm / yellow tones. If they are blue then you are in the cool/pink tones. If you have trouble determining if they are blue or green then you are in the neutral area.
Once you've determined your undertone, then test up to 3 colours that appear to be in your skin tone / undertone spectrum and test the colours along your jawline. If one disappears you've found your match!
Extra Tip:
If you use a primer, you can influence your undertone using a colour correcting primer. A green based primer will neutralise an overly pink skin tone. If you feel like you're looking pale and washed out then you can use a pink primer to brighten your skin.