The makeup should look flawless, it should be like your second skin. And people who think that using a lighter foundation will make them look fairer, they are completely wrong. It will only give them a white cast and it will make them look zombie-like in photos."
The experts have spoken, and the answer is, foundation should be one or two shades lighter than your skin tone. This is because when you use bronzer or contour then the foundation should be able to blend and give the perfect look to your face.
One of the easiest ways to fix your light foundation is to add in a bit of bronzer. The warmer tones of bronzer will darken your light foundation and leave a gorgeous sun-kissed touch too.
If your makeup is too light, you will look ashy or as if you have a gray cast on your skin. If the formula is too dark, it can make your complexion look muddy. Look for the shade that disappears into your skin most is your right match.
Select the right shade.
“You can't have a concealer that's too light,” she said, adding that women should choose concealer that's one to two shades lighter than the color of their foundation. “One to two shades … the right color blends itself.
To avoid drawing unwanted attention to the area, many makeup artists would recommend not applying too much, if any, foundation around the eye. Instead, they suggest using a hydrating, lightweight concealer that has been designed specifically for the under eye area.
The general rule of thumb is that you should always opt for a shade lighter than foundation when choosing your concealer colour. Doing so helps to mask darker discolouration, but be careful not to over-correct! Knowing how to pick the right concealer is essential to ensuring that your look does not appear ghostly.
If you are COOL and pick a WARM or NEUTRAL foundation, it will look yellow on you. If you are WARM and pick a COOL foundation, it will make your skin look pale and icy. If you pick a NEUTRAL foundation, it will look grey.
The pigments and oils in your makeup can react to air, your skin's acidity and natural oils, causing your foundation to turn darker.
This usually means your skincare products underneath are clashing. Always leave enough time for your serums and moisturisers to dry between layers. Applying hydrating serums to damp skin can also help. If foundation separation is your issue, try to use products with similar textures.
Flip over your arm and take a look at the inside of your wrist. If your veins appear to have a blue or deep purple tint, you likely have cool skin undertones. If they look more greenish, you likely have warm or olive undertones. If you can't tell one way or the other, you may have neutral undertones.
If your foundation looks orange, it could be a clear indicator that you're dealing with excess oils. You already know that an oily complexion can offset the formula of your foundation. So, it's important to start your face makeup routine on the right note.
Celebrity makeup artist Frederick Sanders recommends starting with two or three shades that look closest to your complexion and blending them all in fully. "The foundation should match the side of your face and your neck to prevent you from looking like you're wearing a mask," he says.
Lightening: Dilute With Moisturizer
Mixing a bit of moisturizer is one of the best ways to lighten the pigment of foundation. The method sheers out the formula, allows your true skin tone to shine through, and adds a dewy finish, which is perfect for when your skin looks slightly dry and dull.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is choosing a foundation with the wrong undertones. If the color doesn't match your skin, then you can wind up with a sharp contrast line on your neck where the makeup ends and your natural skin begins, and no one wants that.
'Beige' and 'Sand' foundation shades have warm tones.
In a place with bright, natural light, hold up a piece of printer paper and look at how your skin reacts to it. If your skin looks pinkish against the paper, you probably have cooler undertones; if your skin looks yellow against the paper, you're probably a warm tone.
Finding your undertone: The colour of your veins
Take a look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. Do they appear more blue or green? If your veins appear more blue, you're cool-toned but if you see more green, you're warm-toned. If you see a fair amount of both both green and blue, you have a neutral undertone.
If you've made the mistake of buying a shade darker, simply blend it with your concealer or mix it with a moisturizer. A little moisturizer can lighten your foundation and you can set it with finishing powder. But if you've bought a way darker shade and it has become impossible to use, worry not.
Blend The Foundation Lighter Than You
When in doubt, always pick a shade that is slightly lighter than your complexion rather than darker. This can prevent your complexion from looking darker than the rest of your body. It is the safest way to go when unsure about two shades that may look too light or too dark.
The right foundation shade should match your skin's undertone. While your skin tone is how light or dark your skin is, the 'undertone' refers to the colours under the surface of your skin and can be warm, cool, or neutral. While your skin tone may change with the seasons, your undertone should remain consistent.
Applying foundation first creates an even base to reduce overall redness, discoloration and minor blemishes. If you apply your concealer first, you may end up wiping some off when you apply foundation or using a lot more product than necessary, which can create a heavy, cakey look.
So, do you use concealer before or after foundation? The proper way to apply the two products is to first smooth on a foundation and then apply your concealer. Foundation will create that even canvas we talked about earlier, and then concealer can be used to spot correct any outstanding areas that need extra coverage.
In order to create a contrast, bronzer should almost always be darker than your foundation. The only exception is if you didn't want to create the illusion of a tan, but did want to make your skin appear healthier and more dewy.