Choosing a foundation can be so tricky. When you’re shopping for a new one, it can feel like you’re Goldilocks searching for the product that is just right. And when you get your hands on the holy-grail foundation for you? Well, you hold on to it for dear life.
There are a lot of things to keep in mind when on the hunt for a foundation: Your skin tone and undertones, how much coverage you need, etc. There’s one shopping “mistake” I just learned about that I wish I knew a lot earlier: I wasn’t thinking about how my coloring is different throughout my face and neck. “We have different colors on our face,” says celebrity makeup artist Andreea Ali, whose clients include Natalia Vodianova and Izabel Goulart. “The forehead would usually be darker, and the neck is usually lighter. So try to find a balance that works between forehead, chin, neck, and chest. Apply foundation in the center of the face and make sure you spread it on the jawline as well. The foundation should disappear somewhere between the jawline and neck so it does not have that mark we’re all familiar with.”
With that in mind, when you’re searching for a new foundation, Ali has some tips for both online and in-store experiences. Online is a bit trickier than in-store, but you most likely only have that option right now. “It is really a guessing game when it comes to choosing the right shade,” Ali says. “Usually, foundations are categorized by tone and undertone. Tone is fair, light, deep, rich, etc., and the undertone is the hidden color of your skin, which could be warm, warm olive, peach, yellow, red, etc. If you know which one is your tone and which one is your undertone, then you might actually win the game.”