How to mix your ideal foundation shade

There are so many different underlying tones and hues responsible for creating a skin tone that is unique to us.

The reality is that no two skin colours are exactly the same and finding the perfect shade of foundation for us is near to impossible.

That is why L.A. Girl is putting the power in our hands and giving us the opportunity to mix our own foundation shades with their innovative L.A. Girl Pro Color Foundation Mixing Pigments.

Designed specifically for use with their Pro Matte Foundations (More on those here!), these pigments allow you to create your own version of a foundation shade in order to get your perfect match. 

But before you can get to blending your optimal foundation shade, you first need to identify your undertone.

Your undertone is different from your skin tone. It is the base tone underneath the skin surface that affects its overall hue.

Your skin tone can change over time for multiple reasons including seasonal change and sun exposure, but your undertone remains consistent.

There are three main undertones: Warm, Cool and Neutral.

You may have warm undertones if your skin reflects gold, yellow or peach colours, your veins appear green in colour, white clothing and gold jewellery suit you better and you tan quickly.

You may have cool undertones if your skin reflects red, pink or blue colours, your veins appear blue or purple in colour, off-white clothing and silver jewellery suit you better and you burn quickly (or burn before tanning).

If your veins are a mixture of colours, you suit both white and off-white clothing, you tan slowly and rarely burn, you may have neutral undertones.

Now that you have identified your undertone, let’s figure out which L.A. Girl Pro Color Foundation Mixing Pigment best suits your foundation needs.

White lightens foundations and neutralises their undertones. It is ideal for light to medium tan shades.

Yellow adds golden undertones to foundations that may be too pink or neutral. It works well with all shades.

Orange adds warmer undertones to foundations that may be too golden or cool. It is ideal for medium to dark shades.

Blue adds neutral undertones to foundations that may be too warm. It is ideal for medium and dark shades.

Who benefits from the L.A. Girl Pro Color Foundation Mixing Pigments?

• Somebody who can never seem to find a foundation that perfectly matches their skin. No matter how hard they try, foundations always seem to be too warm, too yellow, too dark, etc.
• A professional makeup artist who needs to match the skin colour of several clients. Rather than purchasing every foundation on the market in an effort to match every possible undertone, keeping these mixing pigments on hand is an excellent way to quickly neutralise, cool down, warm up or lighten a foundation to suit your client.

Quick tips

• Mix your pigments and foundations on the back of your hand before applying to the face to figure out the best ratio of foundation to pigment for your skin colour before applying it to the face.
• A little goes a long way! Add pigment to your foundation little by little and slowly build your ideal colour.

Shop the L.A. Girl Pro Color Foundation Mixing Pigments for $15.95 now!