The right foundation shade disappears into your skin. This method, based on advice from Estée Lauder, is simple enough to follow in a shop or at home.
1. Work out your undertone
Undertones are cool, warm or neutral. Check whether the veins on your wrist look blue or green in daylight, which jewellery colour flatters you, and how your skin reacts to the sun. Shades are often marked C, W or N to match.
2. Swatch on your jawline
Test the shade along your jawline and onto your neck rather than on your hand, because hand and wrist skin often differs from your face.
3. Use natural daylight
Shop lighting can make a shade look warmer or cooler than it is, so check the swatch by a window or outside.
4. Wait a few minutes
Foundation can change as it dries and mixes with your skin’s natural oils. The shade that still looks seamless after drying is your match.
Do not skip sunscreen
Mayo Clinic advises broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher as the final step of skincare, before makeup.
Sources: Estée Lauder: how to find your foundation shade and Mayo Clinic: wrinkle creams.
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