Lesson Learned! Or How I Learned to Match Foundation

As told by Ruba Ayoub, Chicago-based makeup artist and blogger

My first bridal makeup job was for a close friend (thankfully). Although she was living out of town, we were able to get through quite a few trial sessions. I wanted to make sure that by the day of her wedding, the makeup routine was perfect and could be done in ten minutes or less.

We mostly practiced in her bathroom, never thinking to go outside in natural light to check the coloring.  Sure enough, at the last trial, right as we were leaving for the rehearsal dinner, I realized I had been using the wrong shade of foundation the whole time! It was a shade and a half darker than her chin, so there was a clear line of demarcation. And to make things worse, her fiancé noticed it first. Talk about embarrassing!

Luckily we caught the mistake before the day of her wedding and found a shade that matched her skin tone better. Now whenever I am hired to do someone’s makeup, I do a quick check in natural light right after I’ve applied the foundation. I also give my clients tips on how to find the correct shade of makeup at the store.

My biggest tip is to match foundation to the tone of your chest—not your face. The reason: your chest bares the most natural skin tone; your face, on the other hand, could get a slight tint or redness from the sun. At the beauty counter, stripe-test different shades on your chest and make sure you’re looking at your undertones. If it looks too pink, then it’s too pink. If it’s too yellow, it’s too yellow. Keep moving on until you find the one that matches the best. Then, before you make a purchase, step outside the store and see how the makeup looks in natural light, or take samples home to test.  

Also for brides, or anyone who will be posing for photos, make sure you don’t have any type of "flashback" from your makeup; makeup should blend in, and not conspicuous. To check, take a picture of yourself with the flash on before you leave. See if your makeup is subtle or too noticeable, and adjust accordingly. After all, you have to live happily ever after with your photos, too.

Follow Ruba on Beautylish here, visit her professional site, and read her blog, A Daily Dose Of Glamour.com

Photo: Image Source