How to Choose Foundation for Your Skin Type

When it comes to your beauty routine, foundation is the base that supports the rest. Get it wrong, and your following products will struggle to sit right. Use the perfect match, and you’ll have glowing, radiant skin all day long. Knowing how to choose foundation comes down to picking the right shade and formula combination for your skin type and tone. Different foundation types work to support oily, dry or mature skin types. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the options out there, this guide will make it super simple to find the best foundation for your skin’s unique needs. We show you the best tips for determining your undertone and skin type, so that you can find your best foundation formula and shade. Read on to find your base. Your makeup routine will thank you for it!

Determining Your Undertone

Let’s start at the beginning. We’re all familiar with our skin tone – be it light, fair, medium or dark. Your skin tone is your top or ‘surface’ colour, and we mostly only consider that when picking a shade. However, your undertone figures just as importantly into how true a foundation shade will be.

Your undertone is what it sounds like. Sitting underneath your skin tone, an undertone will present a cool, warm or neutral colour that doesn’t change when you tan. Read below to find out how to know what undertone you have. 

Cool Undertones

If you have a pink, red or bluish hue through your skin, you have a cool undertone. The easiest way to know is if your veins appear blue. If you also compliment silver jewellery, this is your tone! When matching foundation, avoid yellow shades and opt for colours that look slightly pink. This pairs well with natural hues and doesn’t contrast. 

Warm Undertones

Those with warm undertones have a golden or olive glow through skin. If you’re undertone is warm, you’ll have green-appearing veins on your wrist. If you suit gold jewellery, this is you! To match your foundation shade, look for colours with a slightly yellow tone. 

Neutral Undertones

Neutral tones suit most shades of colour, including both silver and gold jewellery (lucky you!). If you have a mixture of pink and yellow hues beneath your skin, neutral undertones are yours. Look for peach foundation shades as they blend well with both yellow and pink hues. 

Matching Foundation to Your Skin Type

When matching your foundation, there’s a few practical steps that can ensure a shade is right for your tone. The edge of your jawline is the truest representation of your skin tone, as it doesn’t catch sun as much as the rest of your face and neck. Dab your foundation on your jawline – if it sits right, you’re good to go! Prepping your skin beforehand is also an important step, to ensure that your foundation will blend properly into skin and avoid transfer throughout the day. Make sure to moisturise skin with a day cream like the Confidence in a Cream Face Moisturiser & Day Cream  before applying your foundation. For the best foundation for your skin type, read below. 

Best Foundation for Dry Skin

It’s only natural that those with dry skin types look for further hydration in their foundation. If your skin dries out by end of day, can go flaky, and requires commitment to exfoliation, look for foundations that list “hydrating” as one of their key benefits. For a foundation that ensures all day hydration, use Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare. Packed with hyaluronic acid, a game-changing ingredient in hydration, this lightweight but effective foundation leaves skin with a natural radiant finish. Included as well is aloe vera extract and Vitamin E and B5 to improve skin texture and increase brightness. Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare comes in 40 true-match shades. 

If you're looking for a CC Cream, our Your Skin But Better Illumination CC+ Cream SPF 50 is the choice for dry skin types. It provides a radiant finish, and added luminosity.

Best Foundation for Oily Skin

If you struggle with a shiny T-zone, breakouts or blackheads, you’ll benefit the most from dual-acting foundations. And good news: they’re out there! Our classic Your Skin But Better CC+ Cream SPF 50 or our Your Skin But Better Oil-Control Matte CC+ Cream SPF 40 are multi-tasking products that diffuse the look of blemishes like large pores and acne scarring. To improve complexion and build a beautiful base, these full-coverage foundations prime, moisturise, and protect skin with SPF50.

Best Foundation for Combination Skin

If your skin is dry in some places and oily in others, you have combination skin—and that actually gives you a bit more leeway in your choice of foundation. Leaning toward a finish that leaves your skin looking dewy and radiant? Or are you more of a matte lover? Either one will work for you! Think about your preferences – if you’re after full-coverage protection that focuses on complexion-boosting, opt for the Your Skin But Better Oil-Control Matte CC+ Cream SPF 40. If light-medium coverage is more your style, go for Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare. It contains hydrating hyaluronic acid and hepes acid to gently exfoliate—perfect for clogged pores and rough patches!

Best Foundation for Mature Skin

If you have fine lines, wrinkles and other visible signs of aging, it’s important to find a foundation that won’t cake or settle into creases. Look for ingredients that firm skin and target signs of ageing. Your Skin But Better™ CC+™ Cream SPF 50+ contains hydrolysed collagen and antioxidants to visibly renew skin and promote firmness. 

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