Let's face it, few things look worse than a woman wearing the wrong foundation shade.

So, let's work it out, shall we? Just how do you determine the correct shade for your skin?

In 3 easy steps 
1. Choose 
2. Stripe 
3. Cook

Here's what you do:

1. Choose your test shades 
Choose three different foundations that you think look close to your skin tone. How?

By looking at the value (depth) and hue (undertone) of your skin.

Match Your Value 
Look at your depth of skin tone. Are you fair, or darker in complexion? Set aside the foundations that are in your skin tone range. For example, if you are fair, pull all the fair foundations aside.

Match Your Hue 
Now, narrow it down a bit more by choosing the foundations in your undertone. Are you warm or cool? If you are a warm, pull from warm/golden/yellow shades. If you are cool, pull from cooler/pinker/bluer tones (Note: If you have a lot of surface pink or redness to your skin, this does not always mean a cool undertone. You may need to try a test with both warm and cool shades to determine which works best).

Pull these jars out of the above selection. If you end up with more than three test colors, choose three to start with. It becomes to confusing to test more than three at a time.

2. Swipe & stripe your test shades 
You should have 3 jars to work with. Take a swipe of each color and make thick stripe, a heavier layer than you would normally use, of each shade next to each other on your cheek/jaw line.

3. Let it cook 
Now that you have your three stripes next to each other, take a minute to do something else. The stripes need to 'cook'.

Call your mom. Sort your underwear drawer.

After a few minutes, take a look in the mirror, in natural light. The stripes will have changed; two of them will most likely stand out in an unflattering way. One of them should have disappeared.

That is the one you want. You want your foundation to match your skin, avoiding the line that separates your face from you neck.

The goal is one continuous matching skin tone.

Instead of striving to add color to your face with your foundation, which leads to the two-shade demarcation on the jaw line, match your skin tone with your foundation & use your bronzer and cheek color for a rosy glow. It will look so much more natural.

Seasons of Time 
Your skin tone will change over time, It is important to re-test your foundation every few years to be sure you still have a good match. Just as the seasons of the year bring more (think summer) or less color to our skin, the seasons of life play a role here as well. As we age, our skin tone softens in depth, and you want to be sure you are making the necessary adjustments. Don't get stuck in a time warp!

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