How to Choose a Foundation Color Online: Useful Online Tools
Doing your makeup without foundation is like painting without a base coat. It’s possible and can work, but the end result won’t be nearly as good. Foundation sets the stage for the rest of your makeup. It helps smooth textured skin, even out skin tone, and create an even complexion. It enhances your natural beauty, giving you the confidence to handle whatever gets thrown at you.
While foundation is one of the most important parts of your makeup, it’s also one of the hardest to match. If you pick the wrong foundation color, it can change your overall look, making you yellow or washing you out instead of enhancing your natural beauty. Plus, finding the perfect shade in-store can be a challenge. You may feel overwhelmed with your options, and if you’re unable to try on different shades, finding the right shade can feel like finding a needle in a haystack.
If this sounds familiar, don’t worry. There are plenty of online resources to help you choose a foundation color online that compliments your skin while enhancing your beauty. Let’s dive right in!
Foundation Color Matters
Finding the right color foundation is essential. If you choose a shade that’s too light, you may end up looking washed out, too pale, or even sickly. Choosing a shade that’s too dark can make you look yellow, orange, and just plain odd.
Since your foundation is the first layer, finding the right shade is paramount to perfecting your makeup look. It should blend in seamlessly to your skin tone for an indiscernible finish on your face. So let’s talk about what online tools are available to help you choose the perfect foundation color for your unique skin tone.
Try Using Our Shade Guide
The first and simplest way to find your perfect shade match is to use an online shade guide. When looking at a foundation brand, you’ll see different shades offered. These shades may have descriptors that explain what skin tones they go with the best. For instance, HIDE offers a shade match tool that pairs the shades with what undertones they go with so you can get the best results.
To do this effectively, you need to know your skin’s undertones and what skin tone group you’re in.
Find Your Undertones
The undertones are the part of your skin color that influences the way your skin looks, no matter how pale or tan you may be. Another way to think about your skin’s undertones is the hue that shows through your skin and affects your complexion.
There are three different groups of undertones: warm, cool, and neutral.
Warm undertones: If you take a glance at your forearms and connect the words golden, olive, or tan, you likely have warm undertones. Another way to tell if you have warm undertones is to pay attention when you’re at the beach, the pool, or just in the sun for long periods of time. If you tend to tan more easily than you burn, you probably have warm undertones.
Cool undertones: Cool undertones lie at the other end of the scale. They’re characterized by blue, purple, or emerald green tones and look colder rather than golden. If you burn much more easily and have to load up on SPF or spend your pool days in the shade, you might have cool undertones.
Neutral undertones: Neutral undertones are characterized by a middle ground between warm and cool undertones. If you have a little bit of both characteristics and identify with neither warm nor cool, you may have neutral tones. This means any foundation shade will work as long as it matches your skin, and your undertones won’t affect what shade you wear too much!
If you still aren’t sure which undertones your skin has, try the vein test. Take a look at the inside of your forearm or any area of skin where you can easily see your veins. If they look blue or purple, you probably have cool undertones. If they are green, your undertones are warm. If they’re a mix between blue and green, you probably have neutral undertones.
Find Your Skin Tone
Next, it’s helpful to identify what skin tone group you’re in. While your undertones are the underlying hue to your skin, your skin tone is the natural color of your complexion. Everyone’s skin tone is different, but finding the general group you’re in can be extremely helpful in narrowing down foundation colors.
Four broad skin tone groups are those with fair skin tones, people with light skin tones, those with medium skin tones, and people with deep skin tones. Fair skin tones are characterized by a porcelain-like shade. Lighter skin is pale but can hold a bit more pigment than those with fair skin tone can. Medium skin tones are tan but not super dark. Lastly, those with a deep skin tone have a darker, rich skin tone.
Match to Your Shade
Now that you know your undertones and what skin shade group you fit into, it’s time to use our shade guide to find your perfect match! When you’re looking at HIDE’s Premium Foundation, you’ll see a shade guide listing all the available shades and the undertones they correlate with. The list includes the following:
- Linen: neutral to rosy undertones
- Almond: golden undertones
- Porcelain: neutral undertones
- Vanilla: neutral undertones
- Light Beige: neutral undertones
- Warm Beige: neutral undertones
- Sand: golden undertones
- Walnut: golden undertones
- Honey: neutral undertones
- Mocha: rosy undertones
- Espresso: golden undertones
- Truffle: neutral undertones
You can also ask a friend which shade suits your skin tone the best. Just let them know which undertones match your skin and ask which shade matches the best. From there, narrow down your perfect match!
Use a Shade Match Quiz
In addition to the shade guide, you can also use our Shade Match Quiz to help you figure out which shade of HIDE foundation is best for you!
This short quiz will require you to enter a foundation brand you’ve used before. Options range from Zao Organic Makeup to Absolute New York. From here, enter in the product you used from a brand and which shade you used. Based on your information and which shades you’ve used from other brands, we will find the perfect HIDE shade for your skin.
Other shade match quizzes work similarly and will compare other brands to find the best result for you.
Making Your Own Custom Blend
It’s no secret that finding the perfect foundation match is a challenge. With the lack of in-store testing, it can be increasingly difficult to get the perfect shade match. One of our favorite solutions and makeup secrets is to make your own custom blend foundation color!
To do this, begin picking your shade like normal. Find your undertones, find your shade group, and ask some friends or family members what they think matches the best. If you’re still in between a few different shades, narrow it down to two options. One of the options should be slightly lighter, and the other should be slightly darker.
Take the two shades and mix them on the back of your hand until you reach the desired match. Be sure to remember the general amounts of each shade you used to get your color so you can replicate it next time! Blend onto your face, and voila! A perfect match!
Other Tips for Finding the Best Foundation Color
When it comes to finding the perfect foundation color online, there are tons of tools and resources to help along the way! Our blog is packed with advice, tips, makeup secrets, and makeup trends we’ve tried, so you don’t have to!
To learn more about finding the perfect foundation color, check out this resource! If you’re looking for tips on using foundation like a pro, we’ve got you covered there, too. And if you’re looking for tips for finding the best concealer and learning how to use it, we’ve got information to help with that, as well.
Summary
Foundation is a must-have in your beauty arsenal. If you don’t know which foundation to choose, try HIDE’s Premium Foundation! With a custom formula, it’s designed to stay on all day and offers seamless coverage that’s buildable to your preferred level. Plus, it’s perfect for any skin type, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve got oily, dry, or combination skin. HIDE can do it all!
Looking to hide blemishes, dark under-eye circles, tattoos, scars, or acne? Try HIDE’s Premium Concealer too!
Sources:
How To Determine Your Skin Tone | Empire
The Biology of Skin Color | Biointeractive
The Best Clothing Colors for Different Skin Tones | Color Psychology