While this is true, both Stroh and Bromhead agree that we should really be matching our skin tone to the rest of our body (i.e. Previously, we’ve been taught that our foundation should match our face as closely as possible, effectively disappearing into the skin. Now, what part of the body should we shade match to?
#Mac foundation shade finder full#
Makeup artist Lucky Bromhead notes that “sheer formulations help to balance out the skin tone, but will not hide any imperfections,” whereas, “a full coverage foundation will be much more opaque and will conceal a lot more, so matching your skin tone is quite crucial,” she adds.Ī good example is Ilia’s Super Serum Skin Tint Foundation, which starts on the light/sheer side, but can be layered for more coverage. “It’s so much easier to start with spot concealing, or using a tinted moisturizer with it and seeing if you need or want more,” says Stroh. If you don’t know where to begin, Stroh suggests starting with something sheer and going from there. Pick a formula, and decide where on your body you want to shade match. “If you don’t see either of these, then you may be a Neutral undertone,” she adds.ģ. However, she cautions not to mistake skin irritations that make the skin pink/red for your undertone. “If you see yellow in your skin, your undertone is Warm, and if you see pink, your undertone is Cool,” says Stroh. You examine your skin in natural light while wearing a white t-shirt, and your undertone will present itself against the contrast of the pure white. Instead, we prefer this hack, straight from makeup artist Sheri Stroh: Well, there are a few “hacks.” You’ve no doubt heard of the dreaded wrist vein trick the one where you look at the veins in your wrist, and if they appear green, you have a warm undertone, and if they appear blue you have a cool undertone.īut, like most tips for identifying your undertone, this doesn’t always work. How do we figure out what our “undertone” even is? And once we know it, are we supposed to find a foundation that matches our undertone? Or that counteracts it?īeauty experts and graphics make this seem so easy, like this:īut how do I KNOW if I’m a “warm beige” or a “natural tan,” other than just staring at myself in the mirror and guessing? The word “undertone” is a howling nightmare. Use this trick to identify your undertone.
We mostly stay away from drugstore foundations for this reason.Ģ. You’re better off spending a little more on something that better matches your skin tone, with a formula that you truly love, and with a way to test the color first. Then the cycle starts again, and we do this over and over until we’ve wasted hundreds of dollars on foundations that just…aren’t great.ĭrugstore foundations purport to save you money, but they don’t. So we buy multiple at a time, hate all of them, and never use them again. But there’s no way to sample them in the drugstore, like at Sephora or a department store. Drugstore foundations are kiiiiind of a scam.