The Right Makeup Colors For Your Skin Tone

Choosing The Right makeup Colors

By Christine Dion

Choosing the right colors for your skin tone can be easy if you know if your undertone is either a warm undertone or has cool undertones.

This will help to choose the right foundation, concealer and powder as well as lip, cheek and eye color tones.

Choosing the right foundation, concealer and powder are very important as they even out your complexion and prevent shine on camera.
Here’s how to choose and match your skin undertone.

Foundation, Concealer Powder

Foundation: One of the trickiest cosmetics to match is foundation. The match to your skin should be as close to perfection as possible. To match your skin shade you must first understand what your skin undertone is. To find your skin undertone, hold the under side of your wrist facing upward in good light.

Do you have a golden, yellow, orange, green, or bronze cast to your skin? If you do, your skin is a warm under tone.

Do you have pink, rosy, beige, or red/brown cast to your skin?
If you do, your skin is cool under tone.

If still in doubt, remember that 75% or most people fall into the warm category. When it comes to choosing a foundation, concealer, and powder, remember to choose shades with your same undertone.  A great way to test foundation shades is to apply a swipe of foundation down your jawbone onto your neck. The neck gets very little sun and shows your true skin shade. See if the shade blends well into the skin tone on your neck. This will help prevent your face from looking a different color from your body. Note: if your face color is much darker or lighter than your neck, match your face color to your shoulder and chest. Blend the foundation evenly onto your neck. Allow the foundation to sit a minute, as many change color as they warm to the skin. Always check the match out in daylight or under a very bright lamp.

Note Performers: If you are a performer remember to always lean towards more golden/yellow undertone foundation, concealers and powders as they correct skin tone color under hot lights helping makeup look more natural on stage. It will also be important as a performer to match your foundation to your body more than your face color.  So much skin often shows in costumes and if your face is lighter than your body this can make you look washed out. Remember not to use Mineral Foundation on stage or in camera lighting as this product is light reflective and creates a shine distortion called a”Hot Spot”. Oil-free liquid foundation is best. Try our Mode Dion Oil-Free Foundation custom created for stage use in beautiful golden tones to look natural on stage or camera light.

Correct With Powder: Powder can be a great corrector to adjust skin color. Because of the sheer texture, it can look more natural than correcting with foundation. If your skin is very pink, dust a yellow undertone powder over the foundation to tone down and correct redness. If foundation is too light, dust a powder one shade darker over foundation to deepen. This works great for summer time to add a little color and still look natural. Mode Dion’s Oil-Free Translucent Loose Powder lasts for years and keeps makeup fresh. Remember not to use Mineral Powder on stage or in camera lighting as this product is light reflective and creates a shine distortion called a”Hot Spot”.

Choosing Lip, Cheek and Eye Colors.

With so many colors and shades available of lipstick, shadow, and cheek colors, making a decision on what looks best can be very confusing. Keeping in mind your undertone, either warm or cool, will provide you the insights as to how these colors will look on you.
Professional make-up artists will tell you that anyone can wear any color they like as long as you understand the effect that color has against your skin. Make-up artists follow only one rule, “The Warm/Cool Undertone Theory”.
When it comes to choosing the right lip, cheek, and eye colors it helps to remember that colors in your natural undertone will look natural against your skin. You might even feel washed-out in your natural undertone colors. The opposite undertone from your skin tone adds more drama and will look stronger and more intense for instance a pink lipstick against a golden warm skin tone.

Mode Dion Cosmetics had a few colors that look great on all undertones. For a Pink/Peach lipstick see Hush Lipstick and the matching cheek shade in Hush Cheek Color.

Here are some guidelines for you to follow:
If you are a warm undertone:

For a warm undertone natural look:
Lip shades: orange, corals, orange/brown, peach, golden brown, bronze, red/orange, red/brown, gold, yellow/beige.
Cheek shades: Same as lip shades.
Eyeshadows: black, charcoal brown, all golden or orange browns, peach, khaki, orange, yellow, green, gold, cream.

For a warm undertone dramatic look:
Lip shades: All pinks, pink/brown, plum, purple/brown, mauve, rose, burgundy, blue red, silver/white
Cheek shades: pink, mauve, plum, purple/brown, pink/brown, rose, burgundy.
Eyeshadows: Gray/black, plum/brown, purple, blue, lavender, mauve, pink, rose, silver, white.

If you are a cool undertone the color choices are reversed.

For a cool undertone natural look:
Lip shades: All pinks, pink/brown, plum, purple/brown, mauve, rose, burgundy, blue red, silver/white
Cheek shades: pink, mauve, plum, purple/brown, pink/brown, rose, burgundy.
Eye shadows: Gray/black, plum/brown, purple, blue, lavender, mauve, pink, rose, silver, white.

For a cool undertone dramatic look:
Lip shades: orange, corals, orange/brown, peach, golden brown, bronze, red/orange, red/brown, gold, yellow/beige.
Cheek shades: Same as lip shades.
Eye shadows: black, charcoal brown, all golden or orange browns, peach, khaki, orange, yellow, green, gold, cream
.
RED LIPSTICK TIP: If you are wearing a red lipstick for the first time, try to find a red in your natural undertone. The color, although bright, will look softer and will be easier to adjust to. Mode Dion’s Stage Red Lipstick is leans towards warm and really looks good on everyone! Very light lip colors look best in your dramatic look undertones. Try to keep lips, cheeks and nail shades all in the same color family. Remember when it comes to the foundations, concealers, and powders the choices are always in your natural skin undertone.

Colors that bring out your eye tones

For blue eyes: choose shadow or eye liner shades in yellow/browns, blue/grays, gray/black, mauve, silver and white. Khaki and wheat colors bring out the gray in blue eyes.

For green eyes: choose eye shadow or eye liner shades in red/brown, khaki, purple, plum/brown, lavender, peach and pink.

For hazel eyes: choose red/browns, true green, orange/peach, purple, rose, pink.

For brown eyes: choose eye shadow or eye liner shades in red/brown, orange, bronze, golden/brown, plum/brown, black and gold.

Colors That Bring Out Hair Tone

Bring out highlights in your hair by using a shimmer powder highlighter on eyelids, under brows, and on cheekbones like Mode Dion Shimmer Pots. For lips, add a shimmer lip-gloss to highlight the center of your lips like Mode Dion Lip Sparkle.

If your hair has golden or red highlights, use a golden shimmer highlighter. Try Mode Dion’s Shimmer Pot in Moongold.

If your hair has blond or platinum highlights, use a white/silver shimmer highlighter like Mode Dion Stardust.

Clothing Colors:

Warm undertone make-up colors go best with clothing colors in red, blue, black, brown, khaki, orange, peach, gold, yellow, beige, cream, or white.

Cool make-up colors go best with clothing colors in purple, lavender, mauve, indigo (between blue and purple) pink, rose, silver gray, green, black, or white.

Tip: notice how all make-up colors go with black and white? That’s because these are considered non-colors on the color wheel; to work with all color undertones.

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