All about Foundations - Colour Match

Ok so as promised I said I would do a short blog on finding the best foundation colour for you. Obviously I cant pick out one for you all so here is just a few guidelines to help you find what works best. 

A major factor is TONE this often gets forgotten. So you need to look at the tone of your skin and then the tone of the makeup. Irish skin can generally be categorised as a pink tone skin. This means, unfortunately most of us are quiet fair and you can see slight pink colours coming through our skin when were not wearing makeup. This skin usually has natural changes in the skin, like darker and lighter areas, freckles and rosy cheeks. We tend to try and make this more uniform with the help of makeup, giving our skin a more even, flawless look. 

A few years ago I went in to a makeup shop and got matched up for a Makeup Forever Foundation. I had so many good things about this foundation ....and yet I hated it. Coverage was good, but I never felt right when I put it on, I would end up taking a makeup wipe to a full face makeup, right before a night out and start again. Same thing happened with M.A.C makeup not long after that. So what was the problem? 

The problem was the tone of the makeup (which I knew nothing about then) I had been told, oh yes you have the typical Irish skin, you have pink tones, here you go this colour matches. No!! No it did not match....Because yes although I have Irish skin and pink tones coming through,... I also had about 3 layers of tan on for a night out. This changes everything. Fake tan holds yellow tones and you want your makeup to look like a natural colour with the rest of you. Now there are the cases where your pink tones are very strong and we would come through your tan but bare this in mind. I would say more often or not if you're wearing tan, you will need a yellow skin tone makeup. 

Now how do you find out what tone the makeup is? Well M.A.C have came up with a system that makes it very easy. Their foundations are split into 2 groups NC and NW (Cool and Warm) NC is cool and for yellow/olive tones. NW is warm and for pinky/red tones. So NC25 will look very different to NW25 on you, look out for these. 
Other brands don't make it so easy. You just have to look at the makeup and see what colour you can see coming through or if it has a hint of yellow or pink in it. If your at a makeup counter, they should be able to help you. Bobbi Brown I think don't have a pink tone foundation, all of them are yellow so they suit me fine. If your a little unsure, ask for samples and try yourself. Use the most natural light you can find, so at window with good light will give you the best results. 

Now COLOUR. As I said earlier you want your colour to look natural and continuous from the rest of you. So match your makeup to your neck. Don't be afraid to take your time and try testers of the makeup against your neck and chest. What you want is for the makeup to almost disappear into the skin, like a camouflage. Testing it on your arm or hand is not gonna cut it. Never go darker. If its a little lighter it can always be blended in the jawline, cheekbones and forehead with a matte bronzer. Darker foundations will age you and don't look very natural on us. Again try these out in natural light. Sometimes I would think I'd look great in my tiny bathroom with no window and lighted mirror... get into the car for work, look in the rear view mirror and I was looking like more of  a close relation of the umpa lumpa's than I cared for. For the winter try to cut down on the fake tan, lighten the colour of your makeup and let contouring give you some colour and definition, along with blush.

Hope you enjoyed this and it helps you a little in the search for the perfect foundation Colour. 

Ger x