Finding the right shade of foundation for your skin is no easy task. With hundreds of products promising to enhance, cover and balance your complexion in different ways, it can be hard to know where to start.
The truth is, finding a foundation match calls for more than just comparing colours in store or trying a few products on the back of your hand.
Choosing a foundation that blends perfectly is all about understanding the complex elements that make up your skin, and what that means for how different products will look on your face.
So let’s explore some of the most effective ways to find your foundation shade – and (of course) why DCYPHER is the best option for getting the true match you’ve been dreaming about!
Understand your skin tone lightness
To have the best chance of choosing a great colour match foundation, it’s first worth learning the differences between light and dark skin tones.
The lightness of your skin is determined by the type of melanin it contains. From an evolutionary perspective, it’s all about sun protection. When we’re exposed to excessive UV rays, our skin produces unstable molecules known as ‘free radicals’, which can weaken and damage other cells in the body.
Melanin has special, shield-like properties that can protect our DNA from this kind of UV radiation. Darker skin tones have a type of melanin that’s better at absorbing more UV, while lighter skin contains a less protective type.
While it’s useful to know the lightness of your skin and what that means for you, when you choose DCYPHER as your foundation brand, we’ll take care of everything for you. Our Skin Tone Analyser takes three photos, assessing every element of your complexion to find your unique Skin Tone ID – one of thousands of shades we can custom mix, just for you.
Find your foundation undertone
The next step in finding the foundation shade for you is determining the undertone of your skin. Many websites and makeup brands will advise you to check the colour of your veins to determine your undertone. While it’s normally the case that bluer veins mean a cool undertone and green ones mean warm, it’s not a watertight theory – for a start, this method doesn’t work on darker skin tones.
Another popular method is checking whether gold or silver jewellery suits you better, but as this is fairly subjective and again only gives you two options. Even if one of these undertone techniques did lead you to the right the foundation, they’re time consuming, imprecise and unscientific.
The one definitive rule is that the warmer your skin tone, the more yellow your foundation should be, while the cooler, the more pink. But this can still seem confusing! Knowing exactly how far to take your undertone isn’t easy.
So what’s the solution? DCYPHER is. Our whole philosophy is about taking the guesswork out of choosing foundation, and that’s exactly what our world-first skin tone analysis technology does, taking a comprehensive reading of your skin tone so our high-tech machines can mix a colour to perfection. No need to worry about the colour of your veins or jewellery – just leave it to our advanced colour science techniques.
Blending your foundation shade
Another useful tip for getting your perfect shade is to make sure your foundation matches the skin tone on your neck. Ideally, there shouldn’t be a noticeable difference between the colour of your face and neck, so if matching to your neck doesn’t feel right, chances are you’ve not found the right shade.
Think you’ve found your perfect foundation shade match?
The final step in the process is to test your match on your skin. Start off by applying a small amount of product to your jawline, blending it in and letting it dry completely. If you’re happy with your jawline application, go ahead and apply the foundation all over your face, looking out for a tideline appearing between your face and neck. If it does, the shade isn’t right for your skin.
Your foundation shade will change as it dries, so make sure yours is completely set before giving it a final check in as many types of light as you can find. Different lighting can make a world of difference to your look, so take your time making sure your skin looks natural wherever you are.
Make it easy with DCYPHER Custom Foundation
At this point, you might be wondering how you’ll find the time and money to purchase and test lots of different products – and the good news is, that with DCYPHER, you don’t have to.
While other brands might offer to colour match your skin with an existing shade, we take it one step further. By personalising every product through a unique mix of artificial intelligence and colour science, DCYPHER allows you to tailor-made your own foundation shade – all from the comfort of your own home.
And the best part is, if your custom-mixed perfection isn’t right the first time, we’ll adjust the colour free of charge until it is – making sure you find your foundation true match faster than ever.
Sound good? Explore our range now.
