How to shade match foundation properly

Buying foundation online sounds impossible. It is not — but the method most people use is wrong.

Stop testing on your hand

The back of the hand is a different colour from the face, usually darker and with a different undertone. Test along the jawline, and check it in daylight rather than under a shop's warm lighting.

Find your undertone first

Depth is easy to adjust. Undertone is what makes a foundation look like a mask.

• Warm — golden or peachy. Gold jewellery tends to suit you. Veins look green.
• Cool — pink or reddish. Silver suits you. Veins look blue or purple.
• Neutral — neither dominates.
• Olive — a green or grey cast alongside warmth. Very common in South Asia, and the undertone most ranges handle worst.

If foundations consistently go orange on you within an hour, you are probably olive and being matched to warm.

Depth changes through the year

Most people shift one to one and a half shades between winter and the end of summer. If you wear a single foundation year-round, you are wrong for half of it. Two shades, mixed in different ratios, covers the whole year.

Oxidation

Some foundations darken about thirty minutes after application as they react with skin oils. Always judge a match after half an hour, not immediately — the shade that looks perfect at the moment of application is often half a shade too dark.

Buying online

Check the brand's shade *numbering system* rather than the shade name. Names are marketing; numbers usually encode depth and undertone consistently within a range.