How to Find Your Perfect Foundation Shade

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How to Find Your Perfect Foundation Shade

When it comes to picking a new foundation, it can be difficult to find the right shade, so here are some tips on how to colour match and find the perfect shade for you.

Firstly, you need to think about what it is you are trying to achieve. Some people use their foundation to give them slight colour, whereas others prefer to match the foundation exactly with their skin and build up colour using bronzers and blushers.

If you are using it to give you a bit of a sun kissed look, it only needs to be one shade darker than your natural skin tone, and you need to make sure you gradually blend in past your jawline and onto your neck, to avoid that harsh line.

You also need to identify your skin tone before deciding on a shade.

There are three skin tones:

Cold tone – This applies to people with pink skin shades. People with this shade will find your skin reddens in the sun, and you burn easily.

Neutral tone – This applies to people with beige skin shades. Your skin tans easily, but you get sunburned in case of prolonged exposure.

Hot tone – This applies to people with peachy, coppery skin shades, who tan easily.

You can also find out this information by looking at the veins in your wrist. If your veins are blue, you most likely have cold undertones. If they are green, you have hot undertones, and if they are blue-green, you have neutral undertones.

If you have any redness to your skin you are better off going for foundation shades with yellow undertones, rather than pink.

Next you need to determine your skin colour. There are 6 types:

Very fair
Fair
Medium
Light Brown
Mid Brown
Dark Brown

It is important to think about what you want from your foundation in regard to coverage. Are you looking for a light coverage, or are you looking for something with a little more coverage? Are you looking to cover up rosacea, pigmentation, scarring, capillaries etc?

Zao offers a wide range of foundations that suit all sorts of requirements some of which we will look at below:

Zao’s compact foundation has perfect coverage. It enhances the complexion whilst hiding imperfections. It is ideal for people with oily and/or imperfect skin.

The silk foundation does offer a good coverage, but it is a bit more sheer. If you want more of a natural glow rather than coverage then a fluid is more for you. Its velvety texture stretches easily, leaving a unified and radiant complexion. This product is suitable for all types of skin.

Zao’s Mineral Silk foundation is a loose powder, which mattifies, unifies and sublimates the face in a light way. It has a light, natural coverage that suits those who do not wish to look overly ‘made-up’ or who prefer a natural ‘no makeup’ look. It is ideal for all types of skin, including those with sensitive or mature skin.

The compact powder unifies and mattifies the complexion, for a peachy skin effect. It balances the complexion and helps create a smooth and silky finish. It is suitable for all types of skin, except mature skin in general as mature skin tends to be drier and so powder can settle in fine lines.

The BB cream offers a light coverage, for perfect, natural and hydrated skin. As well as offering a light coverage, it also moisturises the skin with targeted raw materials, perfects the complexion, blurring imperfections and redness, smooths skin, revives complexion for ultimate radiance, and offers SPF15 protection from UVA and UVB. It is suitable for all types of skin.

You also need to consider what texture you want. Depending on your skin type you may tend to go for a more fluid foundation on dry skin rather than the more matt ones, although the Zao foundations all work very well with dry skins.

It is a good idea to monitor your base makeup for suitability in different times. Often you will need two foundations, one for winter and one for summer, especially if you tan in the summer. In autumn or spring you can mix the two together to match your skin tone as it changes. It is worth noting that skin tone can change with a woman’s menstrual cycle.

When choosing a foundation online it is always a good idea to try samples first if possible. If a foundation is a bit dark for you, you can always mix with a moisturiser to lighten if necessary or use in conjunction with a lighter concealer on your T-zone. If you would like to try any of our products please get in touch and we will do our best to help!

THIS IS A GUEST FEATURE WRITTEN BY ZAO ESSENCE OF NATURE

Zao has developed 100% natural formulas enriched with active organic ingredients to enhance your skin’s natural beauty. Certified organic by Ecocert, this brand is free from all toxic chemicals including parabens, instead using micronised silver as a preservative.

You can find our the full range of Zao products here