How to – find your foundation
You've made up your mind - you want to buy a (new) foundation. You've never bought foundation before, or you've been disappointed in the past because after advice in the artificial light of the store you went home with a foundation that later seemed too light, too dark or orange and was very visible on your skin.
Don't worry, there are solutions for all these typical foundation problems, and from now on you can solve them all by yourself. In this blog we explain how you can choose your very best foundation.
Undertone of your skin
When buying a foundation, besides your skin type and the result you are looking for, the most important factor when it comes to the color is your skin's undertone. Before choosing a foundation, you can find out if your skin has a neutral, pink, or yellow undertone. Most people have a neutral to yellow undertone.
In this picture you see 3 different foundations. From left to right foundation with a cool undertone, neutral undertone and warm/yellow undertone.
But how do you determine which undertone you have? There are several tricks for this.
The colour of your veins – if you bare your arms and look at the underside of your arms in daylight, you can usually see your veins well. Daylight is very important here, artificial light affects your skin colour. With a skin with a yellow undertone, your veins will look greenish. With a skin with a pink undertone, your veins are clearly blue or purple. With a neutral undertone, you cannot make the distinction so well.
The color of your jewelry – with a cool undertone, you will see that silver or white gold jewelry will look best on your skin. With a warm undertone, silver or white gold jewelry will contrast very strongly with your skin. Gold jewelry will suit you better. With a neutral undertone, both gold and silver jewelry will look good.
The color of your wardrobe – Do colors like red, brown, ochre and cognac look best on you? Then there is a good chance that you have a warm undertone. Are you at your best with blue, gray, sea green and pink? Then there is a good chance that you have a cool undertone. You can see this because your skin (without makeup) will glow more when wearing certain colors.
Foundation testing
Now that you have determined the undertone of your skin color, you can choose your foundation. Do you have oily skin that quickly becomes shiny? Then choose a matte (rendering) foundation. Do you have normal skin, that does not shine very quickly or feels tight? Congratulations, actually any type of foundation will suit you, depending on what you like. Does your skin often feel dry and tight? Then choose a foundation that, in addition to the color, also has skin-caring and nourishing properties.
The best place to test foundation is on your jaw. This is where your skin is often calm and relatively even. Redness or pigment spots are usually more likely to be found on your cheeks, nose, forehead and chin. Your neck is often lighter than your face and the back of your hand is generally darker than your face. The foundation with the right colour blends in beautifully with your skin.
To compare foundations, it is best to apply several shades next to each other to see the difference.
PHOTO – Our makeup artist Suzanne has applied several foundations next to each other here. You can clearly see that the foundation on the far right is the best match for her skin tone and undertone.
A foundation that is too dark lies clearly on your skin and is visibly darker. A common mistake is that foundation can be used to give your face more color. This is not the case, a dark foundation looks very unnatural. Much better to use a nice bronzer to warm up your skin a bit. Still a foundation that is too dark? Oops! By using a lighter concealer you can bring your face back into balance.
How to apply bronzer? Watch our video here !
A foundation that is too light is often less noticeable than a foundation that is too dark. If you are in doubt, it is therefore less bad to wear a foundation that is a little too light than a foundation that is too dark. You can solve this with your bronzer.
A foundation that is just right in color melts into your skin, so to speak. You can't see the foundation sitting there and you can't see any clear edges. You've got the right one!
A foundation that is too yellow on a pink skin will look dark and orange or very yellow. A foundation that is too pink on a yellow skin will give a clearly grey or even pink result. Always look at this in daylight, artificial light distorts the colour result. That is why it often goes wrong in the shop; the foundation is applied under artificial light.
Tip - Do you have a lot of redness in your skin now? When you first apply foundation in the right color, you may have the idea that the foundation is much too light. Don't be alarmed, this is because the redness has been softened. If the foundation was nicely absorbed into your skin during the jawline test, this is really the right color.
Want to know how to bring back color to your face? Watch our video on applying blush.
At Bewust Puur you can order sample sets or minis of various foundations. This way you can first try out which shade suits you best, without having to order a full-size product right away. Are you completely stuck? Then you can always contact us and we will have a look with you.