There are three broad categories of skin types: dry, normal/combination and oily. Asking yourself ‘what is my skin type’ you have is going to be crucial in your quest to finding the perfect foundation. Using a matte foundation on dry skin or a luminous foundation on very oily skin can really make or break your entire makeup look. If you often find yourself dealing with flakiness or irritation on your skin and struggle with these things even more during the winter, you most likely have dry skin. If you find your skin often feels more moist or is prone to feeling greasy throughout the day, chances are you have oily skin. For those with combination skin, you sit right in the middle. Most people have normal to dry skin, but experience oiliness in their T-zone.

Determining your skin undertone is a little more subjective but is another important step to find your foundation shade match. Are you cool, neutral, or warm? If your skin has a more ashy, blue hue to it, you have a cool undertone. For those who tan quite easily and seem to have more of an orange tinge to their skin, you mostly have a warm undertone. And for those who are unsure, or perhaps sit somewhere in between, you’ve got a neutral undertone.

Once you have determined your undertone and skin type, look for a foundation that lines up with those things. If you have a light, cool skin tone, find a lighter shade of foundation that pulls blue. If your skin is extremely warm, find a foundation that pulls for orange. Our foundation shade finder makes this process much easier by doing the work for you. All you need to do is determine your personal shade and input the details.