The Best Foundation

Buying Guide

Whether you’re going all-out with daring hues and deep red lipstick or just trying to bring out your natural skin tone, it all starts with a good foundation. This “base” makeup is the first thing you put on your face every day, and it just might be the most important.

There are a lot of factors that go into choosing the right foundation type, and for some it can be a lifelong search to find the perfect one — especially since complexions can change over time, and new products come out on the market every day.

There are plenty of ways to narrow things down, though, and the first one is to determine your skin type. Oily and dry are the basic classifications, but bear in mind that some faces can be oily in one area and dry in another. If you’ve got primarily oily skin, you’ll want to steer toward a powder or perhaps a cream formula. Needless to say, you’ll want something that’s oil free, or you can expect to reapply often as the makeup slides off.

Dry skin typically does better with a liquid or cream foundation, and something with moisturizer will help your pores stay healthy while they’re being covered with makeup. For combination skin types, you may want to do more experimenting. A powder will generally work best but one key is to find a moisturizer that you can layer easily, working in more on the areas where you need it. Liquids or creams are great when it comes to that sort of flexibility.

That takes care of your skin’s consistency, but you won’t get a natural look unless you consider your skin’s undertones. You’ll often hear makeup artists refer to warm or cool undertones, and it’s not the same thing as skin color. Some faces naturally have a golden tint that denotes a warm undertone, and it’s usually most noticeable in bright sunlight. Other people might have a pink or blue cast to their skin, which is a cool undertone.

Of course, some undertones are more pronounced than others, and some people may be more or less neutral in this regard. Cool undertones usually do best with foundation in the tan, beige or pink spectrum while warmer undertones work well with darker colors in a wider spectrum, depending on the skin’s basic shade.

Finally, there’s the finish of your foundation. This is basically the texture of the makeup, and while it has nothing to do with color, it can make a big difference in whether you look like a model or a mannequin. Foundation with a matte finish is common, since it aims to mimic skin’s natural feel. This is the one you want if you need more coverage, since it generally layers well. If you have dry skin that needs a bit of shine, go with a dewy finish that gives the face a freshly moisturized sheen. And on those days where you don’t need much foundation at all, a sheer finish will go on lighter and let the skin’s original texture show through.

Figure out your undertone for the best foundation coverage: look at your vein color. If the veins around your neck have a bluish hue, your undertone is likely on the cool side. If they’re green, you probably lean toward the warm side. Then there is the skin’s reaction to sunlight: Those with a cool undertone tend to burn easily, while warmer tones can take a little more exposure.

Decide what kind of coverage you want (light, medium, full). When you find the color that suits you best, make an initial test along your jawline, not just on your hand, to see how the color blends between your face and your neck. You may want to make sure you understand the return policy if you’re buying online and end up finding the hue you just purchased to be unsuitable.