Many makeup artists can attest that matching foundation can be tricky. It’s easy for what looks like the perfect match in the bottle to end up looking muddy or unnatural once it’s applied.
The key is knowing how to properly shade match your complexion. This will help ensure that your makeup blends like a second skin, and doesn’t highlight dry spots or accent fine lines.
Determine Your Undertones
Your skin tone isn’t only determined by how dark or light it is, but also what color undertones it has. In general, there are three types: warm, cool and neutral. Warm-toned skin has more orange and yellow in it, while a cool-toned complexion can have hints of pink or blue. Neutrals can easily vacillate between warm and cool shades and sometimes have a mix of both.
If you’re unsure about your undertones, there are some easy ways to test it. The first is to grab your wrist and check out the veins on it—if they look more green, you’re warm-toned, while a blueish-green indicates a cool-toned complexion. Another way is to look at the color of your eyes—green or brown means you have a warm-toned complexion, while blue or grey mean you have a cool-toned complexion. You can also try a piece of white paper—if it looks yellowish against your skin, you’re warm toned; if it looks pinkish, you’re cool toned.
Many foundation brands have a spectrum of colors that include undertone indicators, so you can find the perfect shade. However, Newman says that it’s important to test swatches in natural lighting instead of store fluorescents because the pigment in the foundation can be distorted by light. He also recommends looking at the words in a foundation description to help identify undertones—words like ivory, vanilla and caramel indicate warm, while cool or olive tones have a neutral undertone. Also pay attention to the color of your hair—if it’s blonde or red, you probably have a warmer complexion; if it’s gray or black, you likely have a cool complexion. And if you have a combination of both, you’re probably neutral.
Compare Your Skin Tone to the Picture
If you’re not sure where to start, consider using makeup ColorMatch. It’ll pair your makeup with your unique complexion, allowing you to shop in a way that’s based on your skin tone.
This method requires a bit more time and effort, but it’s worth the extra work to ensure your photos look as good as possible. Just make sure that the reference and target images are in the same folder when you’re working, and then open them both in Photoshop with the image tab selected so you can compare them side-by-side as you edit.
Another easy way to find your skin tone is to look at the veins in your arms. If they are blue or purple, you probably have cool undertones, while green veins indicate warm undertones. If your veins are a mix of both, you’re neutral.
To get the most accurate results, compare your skin tones with a full-length mirror and in natural light. Be sure to look at the whole face and neck, and pay special attention to any areas that are lighter or darker than the rest of your complexion. Also, don’t forget to sample your jawline—this is the most accurate spot for finding a foundation shade that matches your complexion.
Look at the Veins in Your Arms
When it comes to matching makeup, color can be a bit tricky because there are many factors that affect skin tone. A great place to start is looking at your veins. Veins appear blue or purple because blood is deoxygenated when it reaches the surface of the body and interacts with light differently than oxygenated blood. If your veins are a greenish color, that indicates you have warm-toned skin. If the veins in your arms are a mix of blue and green, that indicates you have neutral skin.
Most people have visible veins in their arms, but some have more prominent ones than others. Veins can be more visible in hot temperatures, after vigorous exercise and when you’re wearing tight clothing. They can also be caused by health conditions like high blood pressure or varicose veins. If you’re concerned about the appearance of your veins, consult with a medical professional to see if there are any underlying issues that need to be addressed. Bulgy veins can also be a sign of overexertion or unhealthy levels of stress, so always play it safe when working out and remember to listen to your body.
Take a Picture
Finding the right makeup shade for your clients can be tricky. When you have the right color match, a little goes a long way and your makeup will blend beautifully into a client’s complexion like second skin. But if you find yourself with foundation that seems to cake on or highlight fine lines and wrinkles, it might be a sign that the color isn’t right.
If you’re a makeup artist that works with people of color, this can be especially challenging. Many cosmetic brands offer a smaller selection of dark tones than they do light ones, and it can be hard for clients to see the difference between shades of brown. And if you use a makeup line that’s exclusively online, it can be even more difficult to test out shades before buying them.
But there’s a few tricks you can try to avoid wasting money on products that don’t work for you or your clients. To start, make sure you’re using natural lighting and not any fancy camera filters or editing software that might alter your skin tone. And take your selfie in the morning or close to noon so you can avoid any sunburn glare.
Once you’ve taken a clean and clear picture, you can start comparing it to different makeup shades. Hopefully, you’ll be able to identify your main highlight and contour colors and then build a custom palette of all the other colors that will complete your ID look. And if you’re still struggling to find your perfect match, ask a professional Seint artist for help! They’re trained to analyze a selfie and determine the right foundation shades that will enhance your client’s natural beauty.