How to find your foundation shade
Finding your perfect match
Determine your skin shade
Find your undertone
Test foundation shades on clean & hydrated skin
Matching your foundation can be easy and quick.
Join Moody Sister Whit, makeup pro, as she explains how to find your base and undertone of your skin to find your perfect foundation match.
In this moody method we’ll talk about:
How to find your skin’s base shade
How to figure out what is your skin’s undertone
How to swatch foundation for best results
What shades to have for each season
Ivory, Beige or Bronze? Start with finding your base tone.
You’ll find you are generally one of three base tones. Ivory, Beige or Bronze. Your foundation base tone is the first step to finding your perfect foundation match for your skin. Most foundation makeup is categorized by the intensity of your skin pigmentation from fair to dark.
The most common foundation base shades are:
Ivory (fair)
Beige (tan)
Bronze (dark)
Your skin will fit into one of these categories.
While your skin base will vary based on ethnicity, where you live and season of the year — you’ll find that if your ethnicity is Caucasian you’ll usually find your perfect match in the Ivory shades, Hispanic or Native Americans are most often Beige and African Americans are usually Bronze.
To determine your skin base look at the foundation makeup swatches and see what general shades look most like your skin color.
What’s an undertone? Do I have cool or warm skin tone? You need to know, because skin tone will never change.
Now that you know what foundation base color you have you’ll need to find your skin’s undertone.
Your skin’s undertone is the tint of your skin. It’s most obvious in your facial skin. You’ll have one of the following undertones:
cool (pink)
warm (yellow)
neutral (balance of both)
Note: This coloring doesn’t change with seasons or a tan.
When we color match customers we look for tell tale signs such as pink cheeks. If you find you often have redness or pink cheeks then you most likely have a cool pink undertone. When you tan do you get a nice golden glow? You probably have a warm yellow undertone. These easy identifiers will help you determine what shade of undertone your skin has.
Sample your foundation on your face, not your arm.
To match your foundation at home pick the shade that you think might be the closest match and then grab samples of the shades lighter and darker than it. Before you test your foundation samples make sure your skin is properly prepped.
You’ll want to sample and swatch your foundation shades on your face — not your arm — for best results. Make sure your face is freshly washed and hydrated.
The goal is finding a shade that balances your undertone and matches both your face and neck, for the most natural look.
To find your perfect match:
Take a small amount of foundation with your finger
make a line from your jawline down onto your neck
. The color should match both or offer a balance between the two. It should not stand out on your face and neck. We recommend trying at least 3 shades to ensure you have the perfect color.
Have multiple shades for different seasons
Once you have found your perfect shade you can now prepare for the different seasons. Most people have 1 shade for winter and spring and another shade for summer and fall as your skin’s base color will change from sun exposure. For summertime you’ll go up 1 shade and in the winter you’ll usually go down 1 shade.
Still need some help?
Get a free foundation match by a pro
The easiest way to find your perfect match is go to the pros. Email us with a makeup free selfie - standing out of direct sun - near a window. Moody Sister Whit will match your skin to a Moody foundation shade. This will give you the confidence that you get the perfect match the first time.
Sample and Match Yourself
If you’re pretty sure you know your shade you can also grab a foundation sampler pack and swatch the shades at home. Grab an ivory, beige or bronze foundation sampler pack that come with a variety of undertones to find which one is your perfect match.
Try before you go big.
Choose your 4-pack of mineral liquid foundation samples for your skin tone.
1-3 uses per foil packet or jar.
See how you can layer your mineral makeup foundation to achieve full coverage.