Picking the right foundation is a bit hard, especially if you’re a beginner and are quite uncertain of what you should or shouldn’t do, as far as choosing the right foundation is concerned.
If perfectionism is one of your traits, good for you, because you can really use it if you need something perfect. And because this is an important issue, I felt it right to write a full article out of it. As such, you have to follow all the steps to choose the foundation that matches your shade, undertone, skin type and purse, of course. Let’s dive right in.
1. FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR SKIN.
Your skin is the canvas on which you’ll paint whatever stuff you buy. So, you have to find out more about your skin before you think of applying any product on it. Here’s what you have to look for.
i) Your Undertone.
If you are a beginner and you’ve only heard of the word undertone but never had a chance to figure it out, it is the base color of your skin. There are three types; warm, cool and neutral undertones.
Your undertone is important to the foundation you’ll wear, because the foundation with your undertone will resonate with your skin. Here’s how you can tell what your undertone is.
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The color of Your veins.
Stretch your arm and observe the color of your veins;
If they are green, you’re more likely to have a warm undertone, and if they are bluish or purple, you have a cool undertone. A sort of combination means you have a neutral undertone.
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The jewelry test.
If you have both golden and silver jewelry, you should try wearing them, each of them alone. If the golden jewelry looks good on your arm, you’re likely to have a warm undertone, but if it’s silver, you’re likely to be cool.
ii) Determine your undertone.
Now that you know what your skin undertone is, you have to find out what’s best for your skin. The foundations bottles might confuse you because they are of the same color, but you’ll need to hold them out together, so you can have a keen observation and properly tell one from the other.
The one with an orange to brownish impression/ undertone warm, while the one with a pinkish impression is cool. Once you know the difference, put the rest away, and remain with the one you’ll make use of.
iii) Get what suites your skin.
Now, this is the part where you don’t want your skin to suffer the side effects of picking the wrong foundation. Foundation, just like food, is made of s combination of ingredients, some of which might not be so gentle on your skin.
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First of all, don’t purchase foundations that can irritate sensitive skin. You can tell that your skin is sensitive if it reacts to certain moisturizers and cleansers. Hypoallergenic an fragrance free foundations are designed to help people like you.
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Avoid oily foundations if your skin Is prone to breakouts. Normally, oily skins would overreact if oily foundations were used on them. Avoid heavy foundations because they might also clog in the pores and cause breakouts.
2. FIND YOUR SHADE-MATCH.
Lastly, you have to visualize yourself when you’re done wearing your foundation, and considering your current appearance before wearing anything, have the perfect image of what you wanna look like after you’re done wearing your foundation.
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Get the shade that matches the season/ day.
Depending on the day you’re going to have, there are different shades that you can try out. Many beauty fanatics prefer to wear something different when they are going to work than what they wear for a party or a date.
At this point, you are the one supposed to decide, basing on that image you already have in mind, of how you wanna look when you’re done.
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Test a few shades.
If you’re in a makeup store, they probably have a variety of products available for customers to try out and see what it actually looks like on your skin.
I know your friends or a few beauty gurus have suggested using your hand to test the shades, but it’s better that you use your face, because that’s where you’ll put all the foundation you pick.
3. CONSULT AN EXPERT.
At the store where you’re buying from, there is probably someone that knows ten times more than you do about makeup. Don’t be proud or scared if there’s something you want to learn. Go ahead and ask them what you need to do, to make the right choice.
Also, you can ask for their help if you want to learn how to apply foundation by yourself. Yes, they can be of much help in many things, including how you have to holf your brush or beauty blender.
4. PERSONALIZE YOUR FOUNDATION. (OPTIONAL)
Now that you’re done selecting the foundation of your choice, it’s time to be a little bit of an artistic perfectionist.
Mix your foundation with another shade so they can come up with the perfect shade of your choice. I for one, haven’t tried it that much, because my foundation just fits. So, it’s up to you, but not essential.