You cringe a little when you see someone whose face is a different color than her neck and the rest of her body due to improper use of foundation, concealer and bronzer. It’s just as bad when a star walks the red carpet donning a lipstick shade that makes her look like a cast member on “The Walking Dead” (even celebrities are guilty of a makeup faux pas now and then).
Most of the time, knowing your skin tone is the best way to avoid unflattering makeup mishaps. Here are some tips to help you determine your skin tone and guide you in applying makeup.
Find Your Match
Your skin undertone determines which makeup (and clothing) shades look best on you. Take this handy quiz to find out which shade of undertones your skin has. Typically, if you have a cool undertone, the veins on the inside of your wrists appear blue and you burn easily in the sun. If you have a warm complexion, you should have greenish veins and tan easily in the sun. Neutral-undertone skin, on the other hand, has both blue and green veins (and you are blessed to be able to look great in nearly any shade of lipstick).
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In addition to undertone, you need to determine your complexion shade. Most complexions fall into the fair, olive or dark categories. To find the best foundation match for your skin tone, swipe a bit of foundation onto the center of your jawline with a cotton swab or makeup brush. You want the foundation to look as near to invisible as possible, meaning it blends perfectly with your skin. Be sure to do this in good, natural lighting.
Get Cheeky
Blush is an important step in the makeup application process because it warms up your complexion, gives the illusion of more defined cheekbones and offers a healthy glow. Blushes in the shades of baby pink and peach are ideal for fair skin because it offers a bit of natural color. Olive skin tones look great in rose, orange and mauve shades, and bronze, raisin and cranberry shades tend to flatter darker skin.
Do Your Eyes and Lips
When it comes to highlighting your eyes, beauty experts agree that it’s best to focus on shades similar to your undertone. For example, if you have yellow undertones, choose warmer shades like bronzes, coppers and corals for your eyes. If you have pink undertones, blue- or purple-based shades, like raisin or rose, work best.
As a rule of thumb, dark red shades of lipstick work well on fair skin (anything too light makes you look washed out). Neutrals, pinks and oranges all work great on olive skin, and deep plums, berry and red shades complement dark skin tones.
Watch a Tutorial
Who needs to go to the makeup counter anymore? When in doubt on how to correctly apply makeup, simply head to Google. There are a plethora of beauty vloggers and beauty companies that provide free step-by-step video instructions on makeup techniques. From the comfort of your home, you can learn everything from filling in brows to contouring to applying foundation.
Despite these general rules, the bottom line is that makeup is an accessory, just like a necklace or a scarf. It should make you look and feel your best. So if you’re feeling rebellious, scrap the rules and do what makes you feel happy and great about yourself.
Sheryl Coonan is a fashion, beauty and lifestyle writer, news reporter and natural health fanatic living in metro Detroit.
1 thought on “Makeup Tips to Complement Your Complexion”
Why show celebrities for examples of aging makeup? They have professionals and plastic surgery. They don’t look like me and my 60ish friends! My skin tone changed after menopause. I used to be a cool olive that tanned dark. I still tan easily but have several diseases that effect that. I don’t know what to do with my facial makeup anymore. Very dark circles. By watching a video I learned how to shade my hooded eyes for the first time. I greyed very early and now my hair is more white than grey at 59. I have a fantastic stylist who shapes my hair short; I get many older women ask me who does my hair. But I still don’t know what to do with my brows. Should I make them darker as the trend is? They are thinning in areas. What to do? Please help us ordinary ladies over 55!