As a woman of colour with dark skin prone to hyperpigmentation, picking the correct foundation is the equivalent to gambling in a casino: Your chances of failure are high, getting played is likely, and hopes and expectations are often always better than reality.
That doesn’t always have to be a black woman’s reality. So to make life easier for you we’ve put together key tip to help you find the perfect foundation shade.
There are several ways to determine undertone shade. The go-to method is to look at the colour of your veins on your wrist; if they look green, then your undertone is golden or yellow, hence warm. If your veins look blue, then your skin’s undertone is pink, hence cool. Now, this doesn’t work for most women of colour as many of us can not see our accurate vein colour through our darker skin tones.
Fear not! Most women of colour have warm undertones. You probably have a golden or red underline pigment.
Always try to test at least three foundation colours on your skin, along with your jawline, to find the perfect match. These three shades should be within your skin-tone rang – A light, medium and dark shade. Once applied to leave the foundation on your skin for a few minutes and the shade that disappears will be the one most suitable for your skin. P.S. If you can avoid testing makeup under harsh store lights that can distort colours. Take a walk out of the store into natural light and see what you look like after application.
A great hack when looking for the right shade of foundation is to match it to your chest—this one of the easiest ways to find the right shade if you’re diligent at protecting your face and neck with SPF. Also, don’t be afraid to mix colours. If you’re still struggling to find a shade that best compliments your whole face, it’s possibly because some elements of your face are lighter than others. Try using two shades on your face: preferably a concealer that’s one shade lighter than your foundation. Many women use two different foundation colours for summer and winter ( depending on how much sun they’ve been exposed to) and mix them together in between those two seasons.
