Four Steps To Choosing The Right Foundation

Choosing the right foundation could be extremely tricky and overwhelming, especially as a makeup beginner or if one decides to try a new product. There is the problem of not just choosing the right shade but also choosing a foundation that matches one’s skin type. The foundation is to help one’s skin look best and not to look like one has layers of makeup on.

Here are 4 steps to choosing the right foundation to give one’s makeup a flawless finish:

Finding the Best Foundation for Your Skin Type

Foundation shades

The first and most important step to choosing a foundation is to find one that matches your skin type. Each skin type has a particular type of foundation that matches it and works best for it, hence it prevents having a face that it has makeup layered on it. For oil-free skin prone to breakouts, using a thick foundation or one that has a lot of moisturisers could make the skin even oilier. As such, people with acne prone skin should stay away from heavy pancake foundations that could clog the pores. Instead, use a lightweight foundation with salicylic acid whose formulas can reduce or to some extent, prevent breakouts.

Liquid foundation is precisely the best type of foundation or dry skin. While some mineral based powder foundations can nourish the skin, they typically aren’t the best foundation choice for dry skin. Rich creamy foundations work very well with dry skin. For oily skin, matte foundation is the best fit as they would prevent the makeup from breaking.

Matching one’s complexion and colouring
Figuring one’s skin tone is the first step to matching one’s foundation to one’s complexion. Undertone differs from skin colour or tone, while one’s skin colour might change, the undertone remains the same. Undertones could be warm, cool or neutral. In addition to pigment or colour, foundations also have cool, warm or neutral tones. To effortlessly blend one’s foundations seamlessly, it needs to work with one’s undertone. Foundations often come in three shades; fair, dark and medium. For each shade, there is also a range of undertones; cool, warm and neutral. The goal is to find the right shade with the right undertone.

Ensure to Test out Foundation Shades before Buying
Often, buying foundation online is not advisable especially if one has no idea of one’s foundation shade or trying out a new product. To avoid buying a wrong foundation, it is important to test out different foundation shades before buying or better still, visit stores for recommendations. Foundations could look different in a bottle as opposed to when on the skin. Also, these stores have a wide array of options that allows one to choose from. It is important to do test patches before choosing a foundation shade. However, there are rules to this.

For under-exposed faces, the chest is a good option for selecting the foundation shade. The jawline is one of the most common areas for doing a foundation patch test. This is a good way to ensure the foundation matches one’s neck. Note that the skin on the arm or hands is not a good place for a foundation patch test. This is because, more often than not, the skin on one’s face differs in colour and texture from that of the hand. Also, try to see how well these shades look in natural light as opposed to the fluorescent lighting of most makeup stores. Finally, ask for a second opinion from the makeup professionals manning the counter.

Getting the Right Look
The choice of a foundation can make or break a look. Because of this, it is necessary to choose one that matches one’s needs and style. Lightweight water-based liquid foundation gives a luminous glow, an oil-based foundation with moisturiser gives a nice dewy glow and a matte finish can be gotten using matte liquid, matte powder or a mousse foundation. Also, take into consideration the weather and environment, if one’s plans include physical exertion or humid weather, then a water-resistant or sweat-resistant foundation is best. For fluorescent lighting, a foundation with a little warmth is best and for long events, a matte foundation works best.