How To Match Your Foundation Shade Online
The perfect shade lies in the palm of your hand…
Time is of the essence. Between school drop offs, in-office work days and catch ups with friends and family, there isn’t a whole lot of hours in the day left for you-time. Or, more specifically, your-shade-time. As one of the more tedious parts of your beauty routine, we don’t blame you for putting it off, but finding the perfect foundation shade is vital in creating a makeup look that is seamless, effortless and uniquely you. Too dark and the notorious ‘foundation lines’ are obvious, too light and the shade will wash you out, masking your gorgeous features.
The good news? It’s now easier than ever to match your foundation shade without having to leave your home. Gone are the days of the in-store consultation, it can now all be done in the palm of your hand. But there is a certain knack that can guarantee you’ll get the right shade every single time. And, luckily for you, we’ve mastered it.
Step 1: Know Your Undertone
As much as finding the perfect foundation shade is about your skin colour, it is also about the undertone of your skin. Warm, neutral, cool—they’re the markers we’re working with. So, it pays to understand which undertone you’ll be shade matching for, to ensure you get a seamless match every single time.
Warm Undertone: The skin has more yellow-based undertones in fair/light/medium skin tones and a more golden and peachy hue in medium/dark skin tones.
Cool Undertone: The skin has a pink or blue tint in fair/light skin tones and a more purple and red undertone in medium to dark skin tones.
Neutral Undertone: The skin has a mix of cool and warm tones, often leaving a more olive complexion.
Step 2: Choose Your Formula
Key to ensuring you get the correct shade is also choosing the correct formula. If you fall on the oilier side of the skin spectrum, a mattifying formula (like our favourite, the Giorgio Armani Power Fabric High Cover Foundation) is the best option for you but as these notoriously dry down to a little darker than they apply, you may want to opt for a slightly lighter shade than what you normally opt for.
If you’re after a dewy formula (à la the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation), these tend to dry down the same shade that they apply—easy peasy! So, once you’ve got your undertone down pat, the shade will effortlessly follow.
Step 3: The Tech Effect
Whether you’re a Mecca devotee or prefer to shop online at Adore Beauty, it’s time to use technology to your advantage. Both offering a convenient online shade matcher when you surf the website for your new coverage companion, you simply populate the questionnaire with previous formulas you’ve loved and the shades you use in each and watch the magic happen.
Il Makiage also offers a PowerMatch algorithm which is basically a two minute quiz that uses AI technology to match your shade. Pretty nifty, right? With over 90 percent accuracy without ever physically seeing your face, this technology is ahead of the curve.
Generally advising of two or three shades that will suit you best, the shade matcher takes the guesswork out of matching online and gives you the peace of mind that whatever you do order will suit you effortlessly. Think of it like Hinge for foundation shades (although, no emotional commitment is involved in finding your foundation soulmate, thank goodness).
How To Match Your Foundation Shade Online
The perfect shade lies in the palm of your hand…
Time is of the essence. Between school drop offs, in-office work days and catch ups with friends and family, there isn’t a whole lot of hours in the day left for you-time. Or, more specifically, your-shade-time. As one of the more tedious parts of your beauty routine, we don’t blame you for putting it off, but finding the perfect foundation shade is vital in creating a makeup look that is seamless, effortless and uniquely you. Too dark and the notorious ‘foundation lines’ are obvious, too light and the shade will wash you out, masking your gorgeous features.
The good news? It’s now easier than ever to match your foundation shade without having to leave your home. Gone are the days of the in-store consultation, it can now all be done in the palm of your hand. But there is a certain knack that can guarantee you’ll get the right shade every single time. And, luckily for you, we’ve mastered it.
Step 1: Know Your Undertone
As much as finding the perfect foundation shade is about your skin colour, it is also about the undertone of your skin. Warm, neutral, cool—they’re the markers we’re working with. So, it pays to understand which undertone you’ll be shade matching for, to ensure you get a seamless match every single time.
Warm Undertone: The skin has more yellow-based undertones in fair/light/medium skin tones and a more golden and peachy hue in medium/dark skin tones.
Cool Undertone: The skin has a pink or blue tint in fair/light skin tones and a more purple and red undertone in medium to dark skin tones.
Neutral Undertone: The skin has a mix of cool and warm tones, often leaving a more olive complexion.
Step 2: Choose Your Formula
Key to ensuring you get the correct shade is also choosing the correct formula. If you fall on the oilier side of the skin spectrum, a mattifying formula (like our favourite, the Giorgio Armani Power Fabric High Cover Foundation) is the best option for you but as these notoriously dry down to a little darker than they apply, you may want to opt for a slightly lighter shade than what you normally opt for.
If you’re after a dewy formula (à la the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation), these tend to dry down the same shade that they apply—easy peasy! So, once you’ve got your undertone down pat, the shade will effortlessly follow.
Step 3: The Tech Effect
Whether you’re a Mecca devotee or prefer to shop online at Adore Beauty, it’s time to use technology to your advantage. Both offering a convenient online shade matcher when you surf the website for your new coverage companion, you simply populate the questionnaire with previous formulas you’ve loved and the shades you use in each and watch the magic happen.
Il Makiage also offers a PowerMatch algorithm which is basically a two minute quiz that uses AI technology to match your shade. Pretty nifty, right? With over 90 percent accuracy without ever physically seeing your face, this technology is ahead of the curve.
Generally advising of two or three shades that will suit you best, the shade matcher takes the guesswork out of matching online and gives you the peace of mind that whatever you do order will suit you effortlessly. Think of it like Hinge for foundation shades (although, no emotional commitment is involved in finding your foundation soulmate, thank goodness).
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