How to Choose the Right Foundation for Your Skin Tone

How many times has wearing the wrong foundation color ruined your entire look? Well! Just like a painter needs a well prepared canvas to start his painting on, our face also needs to be prepared for application of makeup, with a proper base.

A foundation makes your skin look smooth and clear while providing a base on which you can apply your make-up

and to ensure that foundation looks natural, you need to choose a shade that closely resembles your own color or skin tone.
Choosing a foundation just because you like the look of it is wrong, as no body’s skin is exactly the same as anyone else’s. People have different skin tones and can be grouped under:
A- Yellow toned: ivory complexions without much redness (pale skin)
B- Orange toned: a mixture of red and yellow.
C- Red toned: pinkish tones without much yellow (mostly fairer skin).
Compare your skin tone to these groups and try not to choose a foundation shade that is outside your color group, although you can go for a lighter or darker shade depending on the time of year and the effect you want to achieve.
The simple 3 step process for choosing the right foundation for yourself is:

1: Know your skin type

Your skin type is also important to be considered while choosing the right foundation. Oil free foundations that have a matte finish are best for oily skin. Foundations that moisturize and are creamy are best for people with dry skin. If you have combination skin, get a foundation that is moisturizing, but oil free.
— oily skin: use foundations that come in bare minerals
— dry skin: use foundations that are water based
— Combination skin: I recommend for you to use a water-based foundation as well, but before applying makeup, use an Oil-Free Moisturizer for Combination Skin.

2: Know your tone

Determine whether you are warm toned, or cool toned. Individuals with a cool skin tone have pink undertones, while people with a warm skin tone have yellow undertones. An easy way to determine this is to extend your arm & observe your veins under the sun. Are they blue? Green? Or Both?
— cool tone blue veins
— warm tone green veins

Therefore the catch line is when choosing foundation

cool tones should choose more pink-based colors and warm tones should choose more yellow-based colors. If you feel that you are balanced between cool or warm tones, choose neutral colors.

3: Know the testing area

when choosing a foundation always try it on by rubbing a small amount along your jawline and not on your wrist or cheeks as color on skin in these areas are often different from your facial skin color. The right shade of foundation will “blend” on to your skin, while smoothing out uneven tones and giving you a near-perfect complexion.
I believe that choosing the right foundation couldn’t have been this easy till now, so know your skin, know your tone and create your base!