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WHAT FOUNDATION SHOULD I WEAR?

A guide to help you choose the best foundation to suit your needs.

With our latest expansion of one of our cult favourite categories. We thought we would help you find your perfect Illamasqua foundation match. After all it is one of the key ingredients to many makeup bags across the globe.
Foundation acts as a second skin, a layer to smooth the surface of your skin and create a flawless finish. However, we are all unique with our own tastes and preferences, so finding the right foundation for YOU is not always easy. Read below to help you find yours.
What foundation should I wear? Your personalised foundation guide – Take our quick test below

WHAT UNDERTONE AM I?

The term ‘undertone’ isn’t as complicated as it sounds and figuring out what undertone you have is easier than you think. Your undertone refers to your ‘second layer’ of skin. Usually you are either a Rose (warm, red, pink), Golden (cool, olive, yellow) or Neutral (a balanced mix of golden and rose) undertone. If you aren’t sure what your undertone is, Do not fear Illamasqua is here. Try the following tests to help you figure it out:

The Jewellery test

If silver is your jewellery colour of choice, you’re likely to have a Rose undertone. If gold is your colour of choice, you probably have a Golden undertone. If you’re one of the lucky people that can wear both colours, you might have a Neutral undertone.

Veins test

Probably the simplest way to tell what undertone you have. If the veins in your wrist are green, then you are likely to have a Golden undertone, however if your veins look blue, you probably have a Rose undertone. If you can’t tell, you may be in the Neutral group.

Tan test

Do you tan or not? If you usually go brown and do not burn, then you are most likely to have a Golden undertone. If you have to avoid the sun at all costs then you will have a Rose undertone. Again, if you swing both ways then you are most likely to be Neutral. Some deep tones may have red undertones, which we all have suitable shades for.

 Now you know your foundation type and your undertone, which shade of Illamasqua Foundation is best for you?

POWDER FOUNDATION

Our Powder Foundations are perfect if you prefer a matte finish. Providing medium to full coverage, this foundation will give you a smooth finish, whilst hiding any unwanted imperfections.

With 14 shades available we have you covered (no pun intended!).

Screen Shot 2015-04-23 at 10.54.17
Fair skins with neutral undertone – Shade 115
Fair skins with pink undertones – Shade 120
Fair Skins with yellow/golden undertones – Shade 135
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Medium/Olive skins with neutral tones – Shades 210, 215 or 243
Medium skins with pink undertones – Shade 150
Medium/Olive skins with yellow/golden undertones – Shades 140,  200, 233 or 240
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Deep skin tones with Neutral undertone – 325
Deep Skin tones with yellow/golden undertones – 323
SHOP ALL FOUNDATION HERE

SKIN BASE FOUNDATION

If you prefer more of a natural-looking finish, our award-winning Skin Base Foundation is perfect. Lightweight, conditioning and easy to blend makes this our go-to product. This vitamin-rich formula is also very easy to build for those times when you need slightly more coverage. With 24 shades available, we have a large range of skin tones and undertones catered for. See below to find what shades are best for you.
Fair skins with pink undertones – Shades 02 and 3.5 are for the very fair and shades 07 and 08 are a little warmer.
Fair skins with yellow undertone –  Shades 03, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5 are fair and yellow based.

Medium skins with neutral/olive undertone – Skin Base 06 is our most neutral and popular tone, shades 8.5, 09, 10, 12 and 13 are all suitable for medium skins.
 
Deep skins with yellow undertone – Skin Base shades 14 and 15 are suitable.
Deep skins with red undertone –  Skin Base 16
Deep skins with olive undertone – Skin Base shades 17 or 18

SWATCHES

Here is our Skin Base shades swatched for you so you can see the shade’s in true form.

Light Skin Tones 

illamasqua skin base foundation swatches

Medium Skin Tones

illamasqua skin base foundation swatches

Medium/Dark Skin Tones

illamasqua skin base foundation swatches

Dark Skin Tones

illamasqua skin base foundation swatchesSHOP ALL FOUNDATIONS HERE 

BEYOND FOUNDATION

Beyond Foundations ultra-silky texture blends seamlessly for a healthy looking, glowing complexion. The ultra-lightweight Foundation creates the perfect base. The vegan & cruelty-free formula gives you sheer coverage for a dewy, illuminated glass skin finish. Infused with Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin E, Beyond Foundation draws water to the surface of your skin and keeps your complexion looking refreshingly hydrated and conditioned throughout the day.

Available in 25 shades across light, medium and dark, the range is easy to navigate between warm, neutral and cool shades with a shade for every skin tone.

If you already know and love Skin Base Foundation, use our shade guide to find your closest shade in the new Beyond Foundation formula here

BEYOND FOUNDATION: HOW TO FIND YOUR PERFECT SHADE

We have developed a super easy and simple 3 step system that allows you to identify either the colour you need or the colour you want. It’s important to point out that while identifying your shade, look not only at your face, but also your neck and décolletage, as ideally you want your face and body to have some shade consistency.

Step 1

Identify which colour category you sit within, from Light, Medium or Dark. These are generalised categories that can often be identified as to how your skin reacts when in the sun.  So for example, LIGHT skins tend to burn very easily in the sun, but will slowly develop colour and eventually tan, MEDIUM skins will tan in the sun, but if exposed to the sun for a longer time, can burn and DARK skins, tend to tan easily and will rarely burn.

Step 2

Identify your undertone, from GOLDEN, ROSE OR NEUTRAL. Undertones can be confusing if you’re not used to looking at skin in this way, but it is essentially the tones you have in your skin, aside from pigmentation, rosea, blemishes or when you blush. We have separated our undertones in to 3 overarching shades; GOLDEN is cool, olive, essentially skin that has a little more yellow tone than pink. ROSE is rosey, warm blush tones, essentially skin that has more pink or red within it. NEUTRAL is the perfect mix of both ROSE and GOLDEN tones, creating a beige, peachy skin tone.

Step 3

Choose your depth from 1-3 and in some cases 4. The depth of the Foundation is based on how dark or light you want or need your Foundation to be. So within each category and within each undertone we offer a sliding scale of shades from 1 being the lightest and 3 (or 4) being the darkest.

As mentioned previously, most people like to have a foundation that matches the face and body perfectly, but there are many people that want a shade that is darker and lighter than their actual skin tone – and this is fine! Makeup and especially skin is a very personal, bespoke element of beauty.

SHOP ALL FOUNDATIONS HERE 



Katie Shaw

Katie Shaw

Writer and expert


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