#Finding the best foundation for your skin color skin

#Finding the best foundation for your skin color skin

'Foundation will adhere to those patches and create an uneven look.' The key is to exfoliate, since your heavy-duty moisturizer can't work its magic on your skin if it's blocked by dead cells. 'Dead or dry skin creates a lackluster finish for your foundation,' says Surratt. Slathering foundation on without prepping first is the makeup equivalent of putting on nail polish without a base coat. Sometimes what appears to be a bad match has more to do with how the makeup sits on your skin. Whatever you do, don't go solely by in-store lighting.

'Some foundations can photograph lighter than expected,' she says. Anything that can cause redness or distort your pigment will also affect your foundation reading.Ĭheng adds that beyond checking how your chosen foundation looks outside, you should take a selfie-with a flash-before purchasing. 'Another great place to examine color match is outside in the middle of the day, where you can see the truest color pigment.' Also make sure that your skin is bare and you haven't, say, gone on a five-mile run just before. 'Ask if you can bring a mirror to an area where natural light is flooding in for the best match,' suggests celebrity makeup artist Carissa Ferreri. (His personal favorite is Catrice Cosmetics HD Foundation because it can easily build up to a high-coverage base.) Instead, Sesnek recommends opting for a sheer foundation with a buildable finish, since it'll allow for more margin of error. Take the finish of your foundation into consideration.įull-coverage foundations are great for covering acne or discoloration, but they're also harder shade match. Many sites like Amazon and Sephora let reviewers leave photos, so you can see what shades look like on other people, while others feature shade-matching charts and model references that help too. This is particularly true if you've had a hard time finding a shade that closely matches both your skin tone and undertones. Read reviews and look for photo references.Įxperts agree that testing shades in-person is the best way to find a match, but it's still worth it to compare online reviews of brands you're interested in first. 'If you look better in cooler-toned clothing, chances are you also have cool undertones,' says Sesnek.

'Blue veins are cool, blue/green are neutral, and green are warm.' You can also consider the clothing and accessories that suit you best. 'Usually, it’s about the veins,' says celebrity makeup artist Robert Sesnek.