Know Your Undertone: This Simple Trick Can Help You Find Your Perfect Foundation Match


Picking out the perfect foundation match for your skin is so much harder than it actually looks. With (thankfully) a wide range of shades to choose from, choosing the right shade is a lot harder than it was before and it is definitely not 2010 when all of us were just randomly applying any foundation shade we could find in our mom's dressing table and calling it a day.

We actually owe this huge change to Queen Rihanna who launched her eponymous beauty label, Fenty Beauty with 50 different shades of foundation. Needless to say that the other brands were quaking and this also lead to *skin tone deaf* brands being called out on social media for ignoring women of colour.

Coming back to the main topic, how do we choose the right foundation shade? Believe it or not, your skin's undertone plays a very important role in this. How? Let's find out!

But First, Let's Understand Undertones

Discovering your undertone will help you choose the perfect shade of foundation for your skin but what are undertones, exactly?

In simple words, the underlying colour you see on your skin are undertones. They are a subtle hue of color that lies beneath the surface of our skin. If you look closely at your face or on your wrist, you will see subtle shades of pink, yellow, orange, blue or even green undertones. So, once you determine your undertone, it'll actually help you choose your foundation shade effectively. Yes, even when choosing a shade online.

Wondering how to find your undertone? We've got you.

How To Find Your Skin's Undertone

Here's how you can determine your skin's undertones via one simple method:

The Vein Test

Observing your veins is the easiest way to determine your undertone within seconds. When the sun is shining bright, go outside and look at the veins inside your arm and wrist. If they look green or olive, that means you have warm undertones.

If they appear to look pink, blue or even purple, that means that you have cool undertones.

But if your vein looks like the skin's colours, that means you have neutral undertones.

Types Of Undertones

Now let's discuss these undertones in much detail.

Cool Undertones

Cool undertones are more on the softer side and may look more blue or pink on your skin. Usually, people who have lighter skin tones have cool undertones and a simple vein test can confirm it.

When choosing a foundation shade, make sure you do a patch test on your wrist to match your undertone. The next step is to test it on your neck as your foundation has to match the neck too.

When choosing a foundation shade online, make sure you choose all the correct options that are being asked, especially your skin's undertones as it makes a lot of difference in the final selection of shade. You may choose a foundation that may look like an exact match but it may end up looking ghastly on your or even oxidizing to an unflattering finish. 

Warm Undertones

If you have hints of yellow or peach on your wrist, that means you have warmer or olive undertones. Olive complexions mostly have yellow undertones and usually, us Indians have warmer undertones. Choose a foundation shade that caters to warmer undertones. Although a lot of brands do not cater to the darker skin tones *cough, inclusivity*, matching a shade becomes a bit of a problem.

The best way is to look for a brand that has multiple shades around your skin tone and read the description box for more info on undertones and coverage.

Neutral Undertones

A lot of people do not understand that they have neutral undertones. It is a combination of both warm and cool undertones. It is actually quite an advantage as they can practically get away with any foundation shade (and type) as long as it is a perfect match.

There are a lot of websites that help you find the right match and there are two ways to go about it.

1) Answer all the questions related in terms of your skin tone and undertones so that they can identify your match. The questions range from choosing your skin tone to how you'd describe your skin.

2) Enter the brand name of the foundation that you're using currently, along with the shade number and it'll show you the results of all the brands that have a similar shade. Choose the product you think will be the next best fit and that's it.

The last guy you dated might not be the ideal match, but at least your foundation is going to be!

Ready to set the (under)tone?

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