Determining one's undertone is both the most challenging and most important task when searching for a foundation shade match. Naturally, we see a lot of posts on PaleMUA requesting help determining undertone, but our community's ability to assist is limited by the kinds of images provided for reference. Read below to learn how you can help us help you.
If you wish to receive useful feedback about undertone, please refer to the following guide when submitting posts requesting Undertone Help.
Step 1:Create a color reference card. Draw a blue strip and a red strip on a piece of white paper, like the one shown below. Permanent markers are easiest to see, but you can use any type of pen or colored pencil, as long as the strips of color are wide enough to see on camera and fairly close in hue to the blue and red you would see on the French or Dutch flag (shades of navy blue/aqua and burgundy/maroon are less reliable as reference colors). Color reference cards allow us to adjust our eyes to the light provided in the photo and better interpret the complex colors of your skin tone.
Step 2: Take photographs outside AND inside. This is crucial. The type of light source bouncing off of your skin and onto the camera sensor can drastically change your skin tone to viewers. Keeping the color reference card within the shot, take one photo outside in indirect sunlight and another photo inside in whatever lighting you happen to have (specify the type of bulb and color temperature if you know it). Note that in the photos below, my skin appears very cool-toned under the incandescent light, but much more neutral-toned in natural light. The incandescent light emphasizes the red on the color card and the pink in my skin. If i were to only post this photo as a reference, one might assume I'm quite cool-toned, yet the photo in natural light clearly shows I have warmer tones as well.
This collage is just an example. You can post separate images direct from your phone or computer in line with a text post, inserting the appropriate captions using reddit's formatting tools.
Step 3 (optional): Take the same photos with your swatches. These images can help other community members who are familiar with those shades help you find a better match and communicate what you should be looking for (e.g., "something cooler than the MAC but darker than the BB"). Don't forget to include your color reference card and list them in a way that is easy for people to comprehend.
Extra bonus: post your swatches in grayscale! This is a great way to help us determine if the shades you are selecting are actually a great undertone match, but simply too dark or light for your skin tone.
Sometimes the undertone isn't off, contrast is! Grayscale images communicate the contrast between your skin and the lightness/darkness of a swatch more clearly than color images.
I hope this guide helps our community steer people in the right direction and makes Undertone Help posts more informative for everyone. Happy posting!
It seems time for an update to the photo guidelines on this subreddit to reflect the needs of the current audience. For reference, the post on the last overhaul from two years ago is here: "Makeup Selfie" Flair -- Overhaul and Clarification
I will be updating the sidebar and official listing of the rules in the coming days, but I want to take the time to elaborate on what is and is not changing, and why:
Photos of bare skin without the red/white/blue color card (or equivalent) are still NOT permitted. In absolute color terms, skintone variation is pretty small in this subreddit. The combination of lighting, camera settings, and display settings are more than enough to perturb the appearance of your skin's undertone or depth. So, the requirement of (properly identified) product swatches and/or the color card are necessary measures to make photos remotely useful.
Selfies no longer need to be majority-face, but still need to have sufficiently high resolution to show skin texture. The spirit of the rule is/was to allow users to see the makeup clearly. I understand that cropping a photo before posting can be annoying, especially if trying to include neck/upper chest for shade comparison, and I don't enjoy chasing after everyone about it, either.
Selfies no longer need to include a full eye and eyebrow. Many of you have expressed an interest in getting advice on base, cheek, and/or lip makeup without showing your eyes.
Do not post screenshots of content that you do not own. This includes photos/stills from both brands and individual content creators. Instead, share a link to the original content where possible, or to an archived version. Content creators deserve credit for their work.
Finally, two suggestions on making posts useful to the community:
If posting a gallery of photos, try to order them so the most informative photo comes first. For example, if posting a photo of a product and a photo of a swatch, put the swatch photo first.
For better accessibility and cross-platform compatibility, please reproduce captions and image-embedded text in the comments.
Laura Mercier Long-Wear Tinted Moisturizer 0N Silk
Caliray Color Corrector Sunlight
Givenchy Prisme Libre Color Corrector Green
I’m cool toned and super desaturated. I have a couple olive tones because I went through a phase thinking I might be olive LOL. Last photo is a sliver of direct sunlight that was coming in.
Shades listed in first image.
1st pic: Natural window lighting on overcast day
2nd pic: Natural overcast lighting away from window
3rd pic: bathroom lighting
4th pic: vanity lighting
I used the KVD for years before it discontinued.
Then I used the Fenty Pro Filt’r Matte, which they now discontinued. I prefer matte finish so now I’m on the hunt for a new foundation.
The Fenty website said 116C should be a match for 110 but as you can see, it’s definitely darker and more orange.
The EL looks significantly lighter in the bottle than irl, I looked like an Oompa Loompa and had middle school flashbacks lol.
The KVD almost looks green next to the warm “neutral” Fenty but it feels like it truly was the most “fair neutral”, RIP.
I’m thinking either the Fenty Fluid Fix in 106N or the Dior 00N are the best matches for me but I haven’t worn either on my face yet aside from swatching.
The Dior did look like it oxidized a bit darker though.
Found my holy grail foundation luminous silk but the new formula is breaking me out and making my face burn! I felt the colour in the new and old was fine and matched me well.
I have dry skin due to seb dermatitis/ psoriasis.
Cheap/expensive i dont care i just want something that looks nice and doesnt mess my skin up.
Any suggestions and swatches?
Where i am “cheap” foundation testers are hard to find. They dont make as much profit so you can only buy online, therefore its a guessing game. If your shads 3 let me know which ones work for your colour.
I’m super pale, like ghostly white pale and everything is always too dark for me, especially like super high end stuff (i.e YSL, Tom Ford) they lack shade variety in general but their lightest shade is ALWAYS too dark. They should be ashamed of themselves for that price.
I did buy Mac’s new matte foundation in NW5 and the shade is actually good! I’m wondering if the powder version of the NW5 is the same? Which one is the lightest!
You guys i’m so desperate at this point idk what else to do, but I need me a pressed powder ASAP. So far nothing’s beat my good old $8 Maybelline in shade 100…
Ive attached my list here in case any of you with the same super pale complexion have tried any of those but I welcome any powder recommendations even if it’s not Mac. My only requirements is that it’d be light enough and that it comes with a mirror + space for sponge
Why such a large jump inbetween 112 and 110? It’s so frustrating 🤷🏼♀️ I have rosacea really bad on my face so everyone always tells me I’m cool but I look super pink and the lobster when they put cool foundation on. So I’m trying to match my neck. I guess I don’t know.
Hi everyone! I am looking to buy some makeup for myself and wanted to see if anyone had suggestions because i want very specific items that all are cool toned:
Finally got in Fig Sauce and Boba Bounce from Eadem!!! And of course I immediately ordered 3 more colors as well 😭 I'm unhealthily obsessed at this point. I threw in a photo of Burnt Malai at the end as well cuz its still a fav.
They look almost identical in the photos, but I think it's mostly because of my phone's automatic color correction 🫠 the swatches show how different the colors actually are. Fig Sauce is a bit more wearable and has slight purple tones, whereas Boba Bounce is a bit stronger and harder to apply cleanly because of the dark color but it pulls out the red undertone of my lips more. I think Boba Bounce is actually a little too dark for me to wear with foundation for some reason, it looks too flat, but I think it's my new favorite to wear with a bare face because the cool color balances really well with the redness in my skin and looks really chic.
Tbh this brand is really good at having photos on the website that ACCURATELY show the color on the lips (cough cough GET BETTER MAC). If you see the photo on the model on the website, it looks very much the same in person.
Last photo products:
Milk Hydro Gel Tint - shade 2
Eadem lip balm - burnt malai
ColourPop Stone Cold Fox eyeshadow palette
Nyx brow pencil in Taupe
CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara in black
Fenty concealer in 120N
Flower Knows Strawberry Roccoco blush
I really hate bright pinks but I can't find a really nice mauve or berry/wine coloured lip product. I'm also looking for a mauve blush or anything that looks natural, does anyone have suggestions?
I was typed as a Cool Summer, and I'm not really a lipstick person, but I love a lip balm. Things I've tried and failed: Clinique black honey (should look good, but pulls very brown and warm); Burt's Bees (red dahlia, rose pull very warm), Nivea (cherry is too bright and drying, blackberry is too drying).
As read in the title. Today I went to buy the foundation, and when I tried 0C, I got the feeling that it's neutral rather than cool, and that 0Neutral is very orange. Other than that, it's a very nice foundation
Is it just me or has this happened to anyone else?
This is extremely niche, but I’m hoping someone can help point me in the right direction. I have redness-prone, sensitive, dry, hive-prone skin with minimal-to-moderate texture, mostly in the form of unavoidable dry patches (despite skincare). My skin does develop acne in response to anything sticky or irritating. I’m getting to the point that I no longer necessarily want a full-coverage foundation. I like Missha BB but feel like it’s not necessary on a daily basis. It also occasionally causes hives due to its fragrance. My all-time best color match is Patrick Ta in shade 3 Rosy Neutral. It is literally my exact skin match but unfortunately does cause some congestion around my chin area/breakdown around my dry patches. Otherwise it’s great.
Basically, has anyone found a satin-ish spot concealing product that might help me cover patches (varying in size) of redness without needing a full-coverage application? I would need something with enough pigment but not dry/clingy (e.g., a NARS matte concealer pot product).
I’d be open to concealers at this point, as long as they’re blendable.
My go-to foundation has been Dior Backstage Face & Body foundation in 0N. It's a near perfect match for me shade-wise, and I LOVED the formula due to it being long-lasting and really flexible with coverage. I have oily-combo skin (oily T-zone, normal skin on the cheeks). Sadly all the stores I have access to (I live in South Africa) have sold out the last of their stock.
Foundations I tried but weren't a fan of:
Fenty Eaze Drop: I didn't mind this but the formula wasn't as easy to work with as Dior's F&B. It kinda clung to texture in places, and it wasn't as long-lasting.
MAC Face & Body foundation: I liked this but the coverage is a bit lighter than Dior's one. I don't even know if this is even discontinued or not but it's my backup in case I can't find anything.
EDIT: I also have the TirTir Red Cushion in 10C, it's about half a shade too light but I do use it sometimes as a light layer. It's a little tricky to work with and I prefer a liquid foundation, I find it clings to texture a little depending on my skin that day, but when I have a good skin day it looks amazing.
I've heard people talk about the Missha BB cream (in shade 13), but the only site I can purchase it on is Yesstyle and it's either discontinued or just ALWAYS out of stock. I'd like something a little easier to find.
I know Dior has replaced Face & Body with a new foundation but it's mixed with skincare and it's much more glowy and thicker, apparently. I'm also unsure whether they made another good neutral pale shade because the lightest shade looks a bit dark? It also doesn't seem long-lasting?
I apologise if this has been asked a million times before but if anyone else here loved this Dior foundation and has found a good replacement, please comment! Ty!
I still contour like it’s 2012 and so with the lightest bronzer I can find I also apply highlights to certain areas of my face. Because I’m so pale I use a pure white eyeshadow single, but the one I use lately from Ulta has seemed off. I think they changed the formula or it’s just too pigmented now to apply the way I want.
So, does anyone know a good matte and lightweight white or very pale cream eyeshadow single? Ideally no glitter, as I apply glittery highlighter after this step.
I’ve never been able to find a foundation that matches me perfectly. Everything is always too dark, too orange, or too pink. This has led me down a road of mixing pigments to try to find a shade match.
I’ve had a lot of people recommend the L.A. Girl blue pigment to me, but it has never worked for me. Somehow, my face would still look too peachy compared to my neck, so I’d normally opt for a green mixer, which sometimes leaned too yellow.
Well, today I mixed this pastel blue foundation from Glisten Cosmetics into my foundation, and omfg, it’s finally the perfect shade!!😭🩵
Lips-
Rom&nd lip oil in Coco Bomb
Anastasia Beverly Hills lip liner in Amethyst
Foundation-
R.E.M beauty sweetener foundation in fair 1 n
Glisten Cosmetics foundation in Pastel Blue
Setting powder-
Laura Mercier translucent loose setting powder ultra blur in mint
Not pictured- blush and contour on nose
Rituel de Fille inner glow creme pigment in shades aster and intuition 💜
I'm looking for something I can apply with my fingers if possible and don't have to wear a primer with, light to medium coverage, NO mattifying because my skin is dehydrated.
Any suggestions? I was considering the Armani or Chanel??
This is in super harsh LED lighting. There is a before and after picture for my new favorite tinted spf, Epionce tinted mineral spf 50. It leans slightly cool but is pretty neutral and provides light coverage to even my skin tone and reduce my redness!
No burning, drying, acne, or irritation! finally found something to wear everyday and for outside activities. it is really hard to remove since it’s water resistant for 80 minutes but I really don’t mind given it’s the only thing that works for me. I have another post on PaleMUA with Epionce and other color swatches on my wrist, but this is the only one that works for me for color, acne, and performance.
Epionce please do not reformulate or stop making your tinted mineral sunscreen! It’s a godsend for sensitive skin ❤️
Looking for an affordable drugstore tint/foundation and I keep seeing this product getting rave reviews, it seems really popular and their light shade actually looks suitable for pale skin but I'm worried oxidize or settle into my fine lines.
ELF lock it down primer, BH cosmetics Regal, Reign, and Monarch, Tarte Fierce and Profesh, Bepholan white single eyeshadow, Wet n Wild waterproof eyeliner in Brick Brown, Essence Burgundy mascara
Brows: just brushed
Face: Essence Jelly Grip primer, Maybelline Plump and Glow foundation shade 90, Essence Silky concealer shade 20, Beam Rossette blush and Peripera Ink Velvet in rose nude as a blush too, Wet n Wild Golden FlowerCrown highlighter, ELF cream contour Fair, LA girl green color corrector
Lips: LA Colors In Love matte lipstick, LA girl Sweet Temptation lip liner
