Finding the perfect foundation match can be a challenging process. With so many formulas, shades, and undertones to choose from, it’s important to know where on your skin to actually test potential foundation matches. Read on for tips on the best places to color match foundation for an ideal skin tone match.
Inside of Your Wrist
One of the most popular places to swatch foundation is on the inside of your wrist. This part of your arm tends to be relatively smooth and neutral in tone compared to other areas of your body. It also allows you to easily compare the foundation to the natural color of your wrist skin.
When testing foundation on your wrist:
– Apply a stripe of foundation down the inside of your wrist, blending it in slightly so there are no harsh lines.
– Allow it to dry completely before assessing the match.
– Compare the swatch to the surrounding skin on your wrist, looking for an identical match.
– Be sure to test the foundation on both wrists, as there may be subtle differences in skin tone between arms.
Checking foundation on your inner wrist is quick and convenient. Just be aware that the skin on your wrist tends to be lighter and more neutral than other areas of your face and body. Make sure to double check the match on your actual face as well.
Jawline
After testing foundation on your wrist, consider also swatching it along your jawline. The skin on your jaw and neck tends to match the skin on your face more closely than the inside of your wrist.
When checking foundation on your jawline:
– Apply foundation from underneath your ear/jawbone down to your chin area. Blend it in.
– Let it fully dry. Observe if the foundation is an accurate match for your jaw/neck skin or if it looks too light, dark, pink, yellow, or oxidizes.
Pay extra attention to how the foundation wears on any areas of discoloration on your neck and jawline. You want the foundation match to seamlessly blend in with your complexion in these spots.
Your jaw/neck skin may not be a 100% perfect match for all areas of your face. But checking foundation along your jawline gives you a better idea of the match than just swatching it on your wrist alone.
Chest
Along with your wrist and jawline, your chest is another common place people use to color match foundation. Your chest and neck area tend to share similar skin properties and tones.
To test foundation on your chest:
– Swipe a stripe of foundation across your chest, above your cleavage and near your collarbone. Blend it in.
– Give it time to completely dry and set.
– Look at it in natural lighting to see if the foundation is an accurate match for your chest skin or if it looks off.
Pay attention to whether the foundation oxidizes more yellow, pink, or dark on your chest. Chest skin can sometimes be more neutral than other areas.
While matching foundation to your chest can give you a starting point, keep in mind your chest may not always align with your exact face color. Check the foundation match on your actual face as well.
Back of Your Hand
While less common than wrist swatching, the back of your hand is another area you can use to test potential foundation matches.
To try foundation on the back of your hand:
– Apply a stripe of foundation on the back of your hand, below your knuckles and blend.
– Let it dry fully before assessing.
– Look to see if the foundation disappears into your hand skin seamlessly or if the tone looks off.
The back of the hand tends to be more neutral and smooth for foundation testing. However, the skin tone and undertones on your hand likely will not be an exact match for your facial skin. So use your hand for an approximation, but follow up with facial swatching.
Forehead
While wrist and hand swatching is quick, to get the most accurate foundation match you’ll want to test it directly on your face. One of the best facial areas to swatch is your forehead.
To test foundation on your forehead:
– Apply a small amount of foundation near your hairline and blend it in.
– Let it dry fully before assessing the match.
– Look at it in natural light to see if the foundation seamlessly matches your forehead skin or not.
Focus on whether the foundation applies smoothly over your forehead skin without looking washed out, too dark, or the wrong undertone. Pay extra attention to any areas of discoloration, melasma, or pigmentation on your forehead.
Your forehead is often one of the most neutral areas of your face, making it ideal for foundation matching. Just keep in mind your forehead may not perfectly align with more pigmented areas like your cheeks or neck.
Cheeks
While your forehead is frequently neutral in tone, your cheeks tend to be more pigmented with redness, freckles, sun spots, or other discoloration. To get a great foundation match, you’ll want to check it on your cheeks too.
To test foundation on your cheeks:
– Apply a small stripe of foundation along your cheekbone and blend in. Make sure to extend it slightly onto your upper cheek.
– Allow it to fully dry before analyzing the match.
– Look at it in daylight to see if the foundation seamlessly blends into your cheek skin or not.
Pay close attention to whether the foundation covers any discoloration/pigmentation on your cheeks naturally without masking it. It should disappear into your cheek skin without looking flat, heavy, or the wrong tone.
Matching foundation on just your forehead could skew too neutral. Checking it on your cheeks gives you color accuracy for a seamless look.
Chin
Like your cheeks, your chin area tends to see more sun exposure, acne scarring, melasma, and general pigmentation than more neutral areas like your forehead. It’s important to check potential foundation matches on your chin as well as your cheeks.
To test foundation on your chin:
– Dab a small amount of foundation along your chin and blend it in. Make sure to extend it slightly onto the lower part of your cheek.
– Let it dry fully before analyzing the match.
– Look carefully at the foundation in natural lighting to see if it seamlessly blends into your chin skin without looking heavy or the wrong tone.
Pay extra attention to how the foundation wears on any pigmented areas, scars, or spots on your chin. It should cover discoloration naturally without masking or looking mismatched.
Checking the foundation match along your chin ensures it aligns with the frequently pigmented properties of your lower face area.
Neck
While sampling foundation on multiple areas of your face is important, you also want to check it along your neck. There is often a discrepancy between your face skin and neck skin tone and undertone.
To test foundation on your neck:
– Apply a stripe of foundation along your neck, starting under your jawbone and blending down onto your upper neck/chest.
– Let it fully dry before analyzing the match.
– Look to see if the foundation blends seamlessly into your neck skin without looking too dark, light, pink, yellow or unnatural.
Pay extra attention to any pigmentation, freckles, or sun spots on your neck. The foundation should cover them naturally without looking heavy or mismatched.
Checking foundation along your neck ensures your face makeup will transition seamlessly rather than having an obvious line.
Décolletage
If you plan to wear more décolletage-baring tops or dresses, you’ll also want to check your foundation match along your upper chest/décolletage area. This ensures your chest skin doesn’t look drastically different from your foundation-covered face.
To test foundation on your décolletage:
– Apply a small stripe of foundation along your upper chest near your collarbone. Make sure to blend it in.
– Allow it to dry fully before analyzing.
– Look to see if the foundation naturally matches and blends into your décolletage skin tone and undertone.
Pay attention to any sun spots or discoloration on your chest. The foundation should cover them seamlessly without looking heavy or mismatched.
Getting the right foundation match for your décolletage prevents obvious foundation lines on your chest and shoulders.
Behind the Ear
One often overlooked area to check foundation is behind your ears. There is frequently a discrepancy between face skin and the skin behind your ears in tone, texture, and pigmentation.
To test foundation behind your ears:
– Use either your finger or a brush to blend a small amount of foundation behind your ear and onto your upper neck.
– Allow it to fully set before analyzing the match.
– Look to see if the foundation naturally blends into the skin behind your ear or if it looks too light, dark, or wrong undertone.
Pay extra attention to any pigmented patches, acne scarring, or sun spots behind your ears. The foundation should cover them seamlessly without looking heavy or mismatched.
Checking for an accurate foundation match behind your ears helps prevent demarcation lines and blending issues in that area.
Collarbone
Your collarbone area is another transitional zone where you want your foundation to seamlessly blend. Test potential foundation matches along your collarbone.
To swatch foundation on your collarbone:
– Apply a small stripe of foundation right along your collarbone and blend it in.
– Let it fully dry before analyzing the match.
– Look to see if the foundation naturally blends into your collarbone area or if it looks too light, dark, or wrong undertone.
Pay extra attention to any sun spots or pigmentation along your collarbone. The foundation should cover them seamlessly without looking heavy or mismatched.
Getting the right match along your collarbone helps prevent demarcation and blending issues on your neck and chest.
Shoulders
For complete blending with any shoulder-baring styles, you’ll want to check your foundation match on your shoulders as well. There is often variation between your face skin tone and your shoulders.
To test foundation on your shoulders:
– Swipe a stripe of foundation along your shoulder near your collarbone. Make sure to blend it in.
– Allow it to fully dry before analyzing the match.
– Look to see if the foundation naturally matches and blends into your shoulder skin or if it looks off.
Pay attention to whether the foundation adequately blends into any freckles, sun spots, or pigmented areas on your shoulders without looking heavy or mismatched.
Getting the right foundation match on your shoulders prevents demarcation lines and blending issues along your upper body and neck.
Décolletage and Shoulders Together
For the most seamless blending with off-the-shoulder and strapless styles, check your foundation match along your décolletage, collarbones, and shoulders together in one continuous area.
To test foundation across your décolletage and shoulders:
– Starting at your collarbone, apply a stripe of foundation diagonally down across your upper chest to the top of your shoulder. Blend in.
– Let it dry fully before analyzing.
– Look to see if the foundation seamlessly blends into your décolletage, collarbones, and shoulders without obvious color discrepancies.
Pay extra attention to any sun spots, freckles, or pigmentation across your chest, collarbone, and shoulder area. The foundation should cover evenly without looking heavy or mismatched.
Checking for an accurate foundation match all the way across your décolletage and shoulders prevents demarcation lines and ensures smooth blending.
The Middle of Your Face
While testing foundation on individual areas of your face is helpful, you also want to check the overall match by blending it across the center of your face.
To test foundation on the middle of your face:
– Apply foundation to your forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin. Blend together seamlessly.
– Allow your center face area to fully dry before analyzing.
– Look head-on in natural lighting to see if the foundation blends smoothly or looks too light, dark, or wrong undertone anywhere.
Pay attention to whether the foundation adequately covers and blends into any discoloration or pigmentation across your nose, cheeks, chin, and forehead without looking heavy or mismatched.
Checking the overall blended foundation match across your center face ensures consistency between the different zones of your face.
Your Full Face
The ultimate test for identifying your perfect foundation match is to apply it across your entire face. This lets you see how the foundation wears and blends across all of your facial features and problem areas together.
To properly test foundation across your whole face:
– Apply foundation to your forehead, cheeks, nose, chin, jawline, undereyes, and neck. Make sure to blend evenly and seamlessly.
– Let it fully dry before analyzing the match. This may take 10 minutes or more.
– Examine the foundation in natural lighting, checking for consistency across your entire face from top to bottom.
Look for whether the foundation adequately matches and covers any discoloration or pigmentation from your forehead down to your neck without looking heavy. It should disappear smoothly into all of your facial skin.
Testing foundation all over your face confirms whether the formula and shade is truly right for your unique combination of skin tones and discoloration.
Tips for Getting Your Best Foundation Match
Here are some top tips for using these areas to find your perfect foundation match:
| Tip | Details |
|---|---|
| Check foundation in natural lighting | Test potential matches near a window or outside in daylight for the most accurate color analysis. |
| Let it dry fully | Give foundation 5-10 minutes or more to dry down and oxidize before determining if it’s a match. The color and finish can change as it dries. |
| Blend it in | Make sure to blend out foundation instead of leaving harsh lines. This allows you to see how it wears when applied properly. |
| Try a few shades | Test out a couple different shades that seem close to your skin tone to compare the options. |
| Check pigmented areas | Pay special attention to how foundation wears on pigmented patches, spots, acne scars, etc. It should cover them seamlessly without masking. |
Taking the time to thoroughly test foundation matches in different face zones will help you identify your perfect shade match for a beautiful, natural looking complexion.
Conclusion
Finding your ideal foundation match involves testing shades on multiple areas of your face, neck, and body. While checking foundation on your wrist can be quick, also make sure to swatch it along your jawline, chest, shoulders, forehead, cheeks, chin, and neck for the most accurate match.
Allow foundations to fully dry before analyzing the color match. Test in natural light for the best results. A properly color matched foundation will seamlessly blend into your skin for an even, natural looking complexion.
With so many potential places to test foundation, take your time swatching shades across your face, neck, décolletage, and shoulders to find your perfect match.
