Being a makeup artist for the past 17 years and a woman of colour, I've noticed for a long time the void or lack of colour selection when it came to foundations. Over the past decade the beauty industry has come a long way when it comes to really listening to consumers' needs. Companies like Elate Cosmetics, are taking more time to understand and provide their consumers with more information and options within their brand.
No matter what your skin tone is, finding the right foundation shade is hard enough – especially for women of colour. The key to finding a perfect match is understanding your undertone and choosing the correct shade.
Skin Tone: is your skin color; this can vary depending on the amount of sun exposure (ie. Med, Med-Deep, Deep).
Undertone: the subtle, muted color beneath your skin’s surface; this tone never changes (warm, cool and neutral).
Cool – pink, red or bluish undertones
Warm – yellow, peachy, golden undertones
Neutral– a mixture of cool and warm undertones
HOW TO FIND YOUR UNDERTONE
A quick and easy way to find your undertone is by checking the appearance of your veins beneath your skin in a natural light.
If your veins appear blue or purple, you have a cool skin tone.
If your veins look green or a greenish blue, you have a warm skin tone.
If you can’t tell whether or not your veins are green or blue, you most likely
have a neutral skin tone. Those of you with an olive complexion will probably fall into this category.
Once you have an understanding of your skin tone and undertone, choosing the right foundation should be much easier (with practice), especially with Elate’s easy to follow coding system.
R= Refresh Foundation
N= Neutral Undertone, W= Warm Undertone
U= Uplift Foundation
N= Neutral Undertone, C= Cool Undertone
P= Pressed Foundation
N= Neutral Undertone, W= Warm Undertone
CR= Creme Revealer
N= Neutral Undertone, W= Warm Undertone, C= Cool Undertone
Foundation Pro Tips
Colour correction
Don't be afraid to use a little colour corrector in your life (those with deeper skin tones should look to a peach or orange, depending on the depth of your shade). Most women of colour tend to have hyper-pigmintation usually located on the outer perimeter of the face, forehead, and mouth. Use discretion and keep in mind, the more corrector you use, the more you have to cover up.
Create Balance and Dimension
When applying foundation I like to use 2 different shades to create balance and dimension on the face. The lighter (or same colour as your complexion) shade would go in the center of the face . The darker shade, which is usually 1-2 shades deeper would be applied to the outer part of the face or used to sculpt.
Remember, beauty starts from within. To me, it is a branch of self love. It's not only determined by your outer appearance but your inner-peace. Beauty comes in all colours, shapes and sizes.
You define your own vision of beauty because BEAUTY IS YOU!
Follow Eunique on Instagram at @facesbyeunique for empowering beauty inspiration or to book an appointment with her!
