Shopping for makeup shouldn’t be stressful. Here’s your guide to simplifying it
Finding your true foundation shade can feel like the most expensive guessing game. Just when you think you’ve found the one, an hour in the sun later, it looks two shades darker and is clinging on for dear life. Or worse, flash photography leaves you looking ghostly grey. The search gets even tougher if you have olive undertones or a deeper skin tone. More often than not, it ends with an unused bottle or two sitting at the back of a vanity drawer or you simply walk around wearing the wrong shade.
To make this tedious purchase a little easier, I spoke to two makeup artists: Leiya Phinao Ningshen, national make-up artist with M·A·C Cosmetics and Rose Siard, makeup artist and founder of Rose and Ben Beauty, who break down everything from undertones and oxidation to formulas and even how to fix a wrong shade purchase, so you can pick up that dusty foundation bottle with renewed hope now.
The process can be broken down into three steps: shade, undertone and skin type and formula—the foundational pillars, if you will.
Step 1: Shade
One of the most common mistakes people make is swatching foundation on the back of the hand, which is often more exposed to the sun and protected by far less SPF than the face. The result? The colours rarely match accurately. Instead, both Ningshen and Siard recommend swatching foundations along the jawline. This helps you find a shade that blends seamlessly into both the face and neck, avoiding that disconnected, floating face effect.
“Try it to match your foundation to your jawline, neck and chest, not the back of your hand,” says Siard. “And always check your foundation in natural or neutral light. If the light is too warm or cool, it will affect the way the shade reads.”
For many Indians, pigmentation, tanning and discolouration make foundation shopping even more complicated. You rarely ever know which shade to go with. Ningshen recommends resisting the urge to fix every concern with foundation alone and instead using colour correctors where needed. From there, match your foundation to your true skin tone, typically found along the jawline or the center of the face.
“If your face, neck and chest differ in tone, the goal is to create harmony,” she explains. “A good rule is to match your foundation to whichever area best reflects your overall body tone.”
Why foundation looks different after a few hours
Oxidation happens when foundation mixes with your skin’s natural oils and changes colour, turning darker (often orange or muddy) over time. What looks perfect at first, may shift significantly within minutes.
Siard recommends letting the foundation swatch sit for at least five to 10 minutes before making a decision.
Step 2: Undertone
If your foundation looks too pink, yellow or grey, the issue may not be the depth of the shade but the undertone. Undertones refer to the subtle hues beneath the skin’s surface.
A simple way to identify your undertone:
- Cool: Veins appear blue or purple. Foundations tend to lean pink, red or bluish
- Warm: Veins appear green or olive. Foundations tend to appear golden, peachy or yellow
- Neutral: A balance of both warm and cool tones
- Olive: Skin has a subtle green-grey cast, while veins may appear blue-green or teal.
“Colour correcting can do many wonders,” says Siard. “A tiny bit of green can calm redness, peach can neutralise blue or purple darkness and yellow can soften areas that look too pinky/blue.”
Step 3: Skin type and formula
Even the most perfect shade can look off, if the formula doesn’t suit your skin type. Matte foundations can settle into fine lines and emphasise texture, while overly hydrating formulas may break down quickly on oily skin (especially in heat and humidity).
According to Ningshen:
- Oily or acne-prone skin: Opt for oil-free, matte or long-wear formulas that keep shine in check
- Dry or dehydrated skin: Look for hydrating or serum-infused foundations
- Combination skin: A natural or satin finish tends to work best
Not allowing skincare to properly absorb—or pairing with incompatible primers—can also cause makeup to slip, separate or turn patchy.
“Start with less foundation than what you think you need. Apply in thin layers and press your foundation into the skin instead of swiping it around,” explains Siard. “Be mindful of powder, set where you need it, not necessarily everywhere, to avoid cakiness.”
Foundation also tends to fade the fastest around the nose, chin and mouth, since these areas produce more oil. A light dusting powder here can help improve longevity.
Cheat codes to fixing the wrong foundation shade
Lastly, here are a couple of easy tips by Siard to make a wrong shade work better:
- Too orange: Add a touch of blue corrector
- Too yellow: Mix in a tiny bit of purple or a more neutral foundation
- Too cool or grey: Warm it up with a bronzer or a warm-toned mixer.
- Too dark: Lighten it with a white.
Unfortunately, foundation matching still comes down to trial and error. But understanding these basics can make the process far less confusing and considerably less expensive. So, go ahead and swatch until you’re neck-deep in foundations and never be afraid to mix two shades together. The right foundation will disappear into your skin rather than sitting on top of it – that’s how you’ll know you’ve landed your perfect match.
