The right foundation shade should match your skin's undertone. While your skin tone is how light or dark your skin is, the 'undertone' refers to the colours under the surface of your skin and can be warm, cool, or neutral. While your skin tone may change with the seasons, your undertone should remain consistent.
Blend The Foundation Lighter Than You
When in doubt, always pick a shade that is slightly lighter than your complexion rather than darker. This can prevent your complexion from looking darker than the rest of your body. It is the safest way to go when unsure about two shades that may look too light or too dark.
In natural light, check the appearance of your veins beneath your skin. If your veins appear blue or purple, you have a cool skin tone. If your veins look green or a greenish blue, you have a warm skin tone. If you can't tell whether or not your veins are green or blue, you probably have a neutral skin tone.
The experts have spoken, and the answer is, foundation should be one or two shades lighter than your skin tone. This is because when you use bronzer or contour then the foundation should be able to blend and give the perfect look to your face.
People with warm undertones look great wearing foundation with orange and gold hues. If you have cool undertones, then your skin has more blue or pink in it. In this case, you'll want to look for a foundation that has more of a bluer-base in shades of red and pink. Neutral undertones have a mix of both.
Flip over your arm and take a look at the inside of your wrist. If your veins appear to have a blue or deep purple tint, you likely have cool skin undertones. If they look more greenish, you likely have warm or olive undertones. If you can't tell one way or the other, you may have neutral undertones.
Your foundation should blend seamlessly with your natural skin tone. You don't want there to be an obvious difference between where your foundation ends and your bare skin begins. Otherwise, your foundation will look unnatural and caked on.
Your neck is another place you shouldn't match with because it is literally always in the shadow of your face, and doesn't get tanned. So, it's not ideal to match your foundation to that. Instead, it's better to apply your foundation down to your neck, so that it blends into the colour of your chest.
If you're not sure, checking the color of your veins is a quick way to find out. Take a look at the veins in and around your face and neck. If you see blue veins, you have cool undertones. If your veins appear green on the skin (olive), you're warm.
In a place with bright, natural light, hold up a piece of printer paper and look at how your skin reacts to it. If your skin looks pinkish against the paper, you probably have cooler undertones; if your skin looks yellow against the paper, you're probably a warm tone.
'Beige' and 'Sand' foundation shades have warm tones.
If your makeup is too light, you will look ashy or as if you have a gray cast on your skin. If the formula is too dark, it can make your complexion look muddy. Look for the shade that disappears into your skin most is your right match.
How do you know if your foundation is too dark? If you use the wrong foundation shade, your face will appear tanned, but the rest of your body will not, and your skin will appear as if it has an additional layer.
What is the colour of your veins? The easiest way to determine your undertone is by opting for a closer inspection of the insides of your wrists. If they appear green, your undertone is warm while blue veins signify cooler undertones. If you can see a mix of both, you likely have neutral undertones.
If you are COOL and pick a WARM or NEUTRAL foundation, it will look yellow on you. If you are WARM and pick a COOL foundation, it will make your skin look pale and icy. If you pick a NEUTRAL foundation, it will look grey.
Many of us think that we should apply base products all over the face, but this isn't actually the case and is a common foundation mistake. “Too much product on the skin doesn't look natural,” says Naoko.
PSA: The back of your hand and inner wrist are not the best places to test whether a foundation is a color match for your skin; it's actually your neck or jawline.
The general rule of thumb is that you should always opt for a shade lighter than foundation when choosing your concealer colour. Doing so helps to mask darker discolouration, but be careful not to over-correct! Knowing how to pick the right concealer is essential to ensuring that your look does not appear ghostly.
Consider how sun affects your skin
“If you have blue/purple veins and burn easily, you likely have a cool undertone. If your veins are more aqua/blue-green color and after time in the sun you burn first and then tan, you are likely a neutral undertone.”
If you've made the mistake of buying a shade darker, simply blend it with your concealer or mix it with a moisturizer. A little moisturizer can lighten your foundation and you can set it with finishing powder. But if you've bought a way darker shade and it has become impossible to use, worry not.
Color correctors are great for balancing your skin tone and creating an even base for shade matching. If you have multiple skin tones, color corrector can make finding the right foundation shade much easier. If you're looking to just wear concealer, it can also help to create a more even skin tone.