Match Your Base: A Guide to Finding the Perfect Foundation

One of the biggest beauty challenges that we’ve all had to face is finding the right shade of foundation. You’ve probably bought one or two foundations, but only to find out that it’s the wrong shade for your skin. We know the feeling! When it comes to a beauty staple like foundation, it’s very important to get the right shade that complements your skin and looks #BetterOnYou.


Identifying your skin tone

How exactly do you do that? Don’t worry. We’re here to help you and share a few tips to identify your skin tone and undertone, both of which are very crucial in shade-matching.

Skin tone refers to your skin color, which can be fair, medium, or dark. On the other hand, undertone is the hue beneath your skin that affects your overall color.

Your undertone can be warm if you have peachy or golden hints, cool if you have pink or bluish hues, or neutral if it’s a mix of both. It’s also worth noting that while your skin tone can change over time, your undertone does not.


Narrowing down your skin undertone

Here’s a quick test to identify your skin undertone: Look at the veins on your wrist or at the back of your hand!

If your vein color looks greenish, you have a warm undertone, while a more purple or bluish appearance means that you have a cool undertone. If the color of your veins falls somewhere between the two, then your undertone is most probably olive or neutral.

Skin tone and undertone — check!


Finding your foundation shade match

Next up is to swatch. If it’s any other makeup, then the back of the hand will do. But, since this is foundation, the same tip doesn’t apply because the back of your hand tends to be a different shade from your face.

It can be lighter if you apply sunscreen mainly on your face or darker than your hands because it gets much more sun exposure. So, our tip is to swatch anywhere between your cheek and neck. Once you find the shade that “disappears” or blends onto your skin, then that’s the right one for you.

Our own collection of mineral foundation covers a variety of skin tones. The Ellana Loose Mineral Foundation comes in 10 buildable shades that fall within the spectrum of light-to-deep skin tone and warm-to-cool undertone. It leaves full and long-lasting coverage, provides SPF 16 for skin protection, and helps correct skin imperfections with allantoin, zinc oxide, and kaolin clay.

Prefer a sheerer formula? Check out the finely milled Pressed Mineral Foundation, featuring five flattering shades that cater to different skin tones and undertones. It comes with SPF 50 broad spectrum and Ellana’s signature Mineral SkinShield for the ultimate protection, while providing sheer-to-medium, cake-free coverage for skin with a flawless finish.

Now, with all these tips in mind, you can set out to find the right shade of foundation for a base that perfectly matches your skin and looks #BetterOnYou! Wondering how your foundation can work as skincare, too? Read about how mineral foundation can help your skin!