If you’re a woman of the toffee, caramel, beige or dark chocolate shade, buying cheap makeup from the drugstore isn’t exactly an option for you. You’re left with two looks: either ghost or oompa loompa.
For ladies with darker skin tones, finding makeup isn’t a 10 minute trip; it requires an entire day devoted to finding the right brand and the exact shade to provide full flawless coverage. Here are some tips for women of color to find their perfect shade and avoid those embarrassing photos.
If you know you’re going to need makeup soon, explore different stores and try their shades. Look at the ingredients and see whether they will treat your skin well. Our tip: Don’t shop online. You will most likely be disappointed.
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Women of deeper shades are more prone to pigmentation, so we often don’t have even skin tones on our faces, let alone our bodies. To learn your undertones, look at the skin around your eyes and mouth. Does your skin look better with gold or silver? Do your veins appear blue or green? Do you tend to tan or burn? If you answered gold, green and tan, than you have warmer undertones, which is not uncommon for bronze or brown skinned women. Stick to warmer, earthy shades for your look.
Unfortunately, you can’t really bargain when it comes to facial products, especially because makeup for darker skin tones can be found more at big brand cosmetic stores like MAC, Ulta or Sephora. Be prepared to spend at least $40 on your foundation alone.
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Once you think you’ve narrowed it down to one or two foundations, try swatches on your jawline, wrist and neck. Don’t just rely on one swatch to know whether the foundation blends with your skin tone. The color on your wrist may be different from the color on your face and neck. If your foundation blends well on different patches of skin, then it has passed the test!
You’re friends care if you look like a mess. Makeup specialists are reliable, but they are also biased with the motivation to sell the product. Friends aren’t trying to sell you anything so bring them along to get an honest opinion.
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