Here’s how to find your skin undertone and choose the right colors:
One of the trickiest cosmetics to match is foundation. In daylight your foundation color is very important. The match to your skin should be as close to perfection as possible. To match your skin color you must first understand what your skin undertone is. To find your skin under tone hold the under side of your wrist facing upward in good light.
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Do you have a golden, yellow, orange, green, or bronze cast to your skin?
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Do you have pink, rosy, beige, or red/brown cast to your skin?
If you still have doubt remember 75% of most people fall into the warm category. When it comes to choosing foundations, concealers, and powders, remember to choose shades with your same undertone. A great way to test foundation shades is to apply a swipe of color down your jawbone onto your neck. The neck gets very little sun and shows your true skin color. See if the shade blends well into your skin tone on your neck. This will help to prevent your face looking a different color from your body. Note: if your face color is much darker than your neck, match your face color and blend the foundation onto your neck evenly. Always check the match out in daylight or under a very bright lamp.
Choosing colors
When it comes to color choices many people know the concept of falling into a category under a season. So many times I have heard someone say, “I can only wear this color because I am a spring!” This Season theory is based upon the understanding of undertones, hair, and eye coloring.
Professional make-up artists will tell you that anyone can wear any color they like as long as you understand the effect that color undertone has against your skin. Make-up Artists follow only one rule “the warm or a cool undertone theory”.
When it comes to choosing the right lip, cheek, and eye, colors it helps to remember that colors in your natural undertone look natural against your skin. You might even feel washed out in your natural undertone colors. The opposite undertone from your skin tone adds more drama and will look stronger and more intense.
For instance:
If you are a warm under tone...
A natural look:
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Lip shades: orange, corals, orange/brown, peach, golden brown, bronze, red/orange, red/brown, gold, yellow/beige.
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Cheek shades: Same as lip shades.
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Eyeshadows: black, charcoal brown, all golden or orange browns, peach, khaki, orange, yellow, green, gold, cream.
A dramatic look:
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Lip shades: All pinks, pink/brown, plum, purple/brown, mauve, rose, burgundy, blue red, silver/white
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Cheek shades: pink, mauve, plum, purple/brown, pink/brown, rose, burgundy.
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Eyeshadows: Gray/black, plum/brown, purple, blue, lavender, mauve, pink, rose, silver, white.
If you are a cool under tone the color choices are reversed.
For a natural look choose from the cool shades. (See above).
For a dramatic look choose from the warm shades (see above).
Tip: If you are wearing a red lipstick for the first time try to find a red in your natural undertone. The color, although bright, will look softer and will be easier to adjust to. Lips, cheeks and nails should all fall into the same color family. Remember when it comes to the foundations, concealers, and powders the choices are always in your skin under tone.
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