Did you know?
That in 95% of clients I work with have the wrong shade of foundation in their makeup bags! This isn’t necessarily their fault. Sometimes the lighting in the beauty hall is misleading, it may have been purchased online with a ‘foundation matcher’, the assistant may have urged a ‘darker shade’ purchase or they may just have no idea how to match it. I’ve talked about this topic before in a previous blog, but, this time I want to talk about some key things that often get overlooked.
How you apply the foundation swatch
To you it may not seem like an important thing but how the swatch is applied will skew your view of the colour.
If the swatch is ‘rubbed in’ you will never get a true idea of the colour because it will look nothing like the shade, because it will have become nearly transparent. And equally if the opposite was to happen where lots was put on the colour will really ‘show up’ much more striking and deeper than how you would wear it!
The perfect way to apply it is to transfer it to skin with your finger but then use a second clean finger to go over it so that it isnt really wet or blended in but a nice thin layer is transferred to skin. See below all three are the same foundation shade. the left has been blended (not enough product), the second transfered evenly (how you would wear it), and third transferred wet (too much product).
How to check the foundation swatch
It’s most likely you will look at the foundation swatches in the mirror straight away. But, I urge you to wait! Why? because some foundations oxidise…. in a nutshell this means they make contact with the air and then can alter in shade! I know, like it isn’t difficult enough. So I always suggest waiting a few minutes until the foundation swatch is completely dry and then go back to look at it. If it is going to alter it will have done. Take a look below the left swatch is dry and the right wet. Both swatches are the same colour! although they don’t appear to be!
Where to check the foundation swatch
I know the most obvious place is in the actual store or place we are in but the best place to check it is in natural light. The yellow poor lighting in all beauty halls (I haven’t come across one with natural lighting yet!) will taint the way the foundation appears. Even I find it tricky to see shades properly and have been caught out myself because of this.
Other things to remember
Always test 3 shades. If you have a perfect match, but want to buy a different brand, use that as the example and compare the others to that. Always use an inch on the jawline and upwards to colour match. This area isn’t somewhere that naturally alters in color i.e redness or freckles and is close to your face and neck so is perfect to test on. Unlike hands and cheeks where colour can alter frequently or be quite different to the rest of your face.
What to do next?
If you’re completely unsure about your foundation, what type you should wear and want to explore this further join me in a one to one session so we can take a deep dive into this together. The bonus being you’ll understand not only which foundation works best and have your’ colour match but also know how to use it best with all your other products!
We also stamp out some of those other problems like ‘patchiness’ or feeling ‘caked’ in foundation, and ‘getting it to last’.
If you’re looking for some other resources then check out the ‘Online Coaching’ where you can learn about everything including foundation for the price of a foundation!
There is a way to change things, I promise!