Undertone help!

Oct 26, 2011

Sabrina B.

So i'm having a hard time figuring out what "undertone" i have.
I have blue eyes, pale-ish skin (which tends to get red sometimes), and blue veins , which usually would mean i'm a cool toned.
but then i look better in golds, neutral colors, and i'm italian (the girl at mac said i have somewhat of an olive tone)
also i have dark hair, if that even matters.

honestly, i am so confused on what foundations i should try for. if i get something too warm, it oxidizes and it makes me look orange. if i get something cool,it washes me out. -___- if anyone can help me or have suggestions that would be great lmao.

Oct 26, 2011

Drea L.

Based on your photos, your warm. I think you'd be better off just using warm toned foundations - also, try to find a foundation that doesn't oxidize as much so you'd end up having great color match. I suggest looking into long wearing foundations for that. :)

Oct 26, 2011

Sabrina B.

See thats what i thought, but then i'd see people saying that blue veins mean cool toned and im just all confused ahaha. but thank you! i really need a good foundation. i have so many that people recommended but dont work on me. like loreal true match? that oxidizes horribly on me.

Oct 26, 2011

Jane A.

You can always mix two foundations to get a shade right for you.

I know MAC has a system where undertones come into to play. NC = Neutral Cool or NW = Neutral Warm. You can go to them to test, just test out some foundations. Keep in mind, MAC is based on the color wheel, and they basically want to "neutralize" your face. So most times, the OPPOSITE of the color they give you, is usually your actual undertone. For example, I'm a warm. In MAC my foundation would be "NC42" -- Neutral Cool to neutralize my warm undertone. ***Note: I don't work with makeup or have any schooling on it, this is based on what videos I saw from MAC workers explaining undertones, or what I've read about MAC and my understanding of the whole 'color wheel' stuff.

As far as drug store foundation, I'm really enjoying Revlon ColorStay.

If you want you can go Temptalia and do their foundation matrix. It gives you a bunch of colors to try for different brands from drug store to department to strictly online makeup.

As far as oxidizing, if there is "SPF" in the foundation, it tends to make the foundation oxidize more than foundation with out SPF protection.

Oct 27, 2011

Courtney A.

Place a white piece of paper, or a tissue or something next to your skin. Putting it against a white canvas will help you see the undertone. Also, maybe try doing it somewhere other than your face. Having redness in the face can be confusing when trying to figure out the undertone.
If all else fails do a swatch of a yellow based foundation and a swatch of a pink based foundation and see which one appears to match better. If the yellow looks yellow on your skin then you are probably cool and vice versa =]

Oct 27, 2011

Tamara R.

When you're looking at your skin, look beyond your face. A lot of people carry more redness in their face than the neck & chest.

From your description it does sound like you may have some olive tones, which puts you in the middle and can make it more difficult to match with one product.

If you can check out the Make Up For Ever HD range at Sephora, you may have better luck. They've got a lot of options for olive, alongside the usual pink/yellow.. which can really help narrow it down.

Oct 27, 2011

Drea L.

Sabrina - I found that the blue/green vein thing is useless. I have no idea why so many people use that to find their undertone because it's sooo not accurate!
I have some of the BLUEST veins you will ever see but I'm also very very VERY yellow. I've even had to buy Asian-skin type foundations because I'm so warm toned. Most professionals will tell you it's crap. lol Especially since you figured out that cool toned foundations wash you out. :)