Where should I test foundation?

Along the jawline between face and neck, then check it in daylight. Testing on your hand is useless — hand skin is a different shade.

How do I work out my undertone?

By the veins on your wrist: greenish means warm, bluish means cool. Another check is whether silver or gold suits you better.

Why does my foundation look a different colour on my face?

Usually the undertone. A foundation of the right depth but the wrong undertone reads as grey or orange on the skin.

Is one foundation enough for the whole year?

Rarely. Skin goes a shade or two deeper in summer, so two shades mixed in transitional months is more practical.

How to match foundation

Matching foundation involves two separate decisions: depth and undertone. You choose depth by eye and you work out undertone — and it is the wrong undertone, not the wrong depth, that makes a correctly matched foundation still look somehow off.

MoodRoom founder — Makeup artist and instructor · Updated 2026-09-08

Test on the jaw, not the hand

Foundation is tested along the jawline, between the face and the neck. The reason is simple: face and neck are frequently different shades, and the foundation has to join them.

Testing on the back of your hand is close to useless. Hand skin is almost always a different shade from facial skin, and the palm is different again.

Identifying your undertone

There are three undertones: warm, cool and neutral. Two practical ways to work out which is yours.

Silver or gold — which suits your wrist better
The colour of the veins on your wrist — greenish means warm, bluish means cool
How you react to sun — tanning quickly, or going red first
White versus cream fabric — which one you look better against

The lighting you test in

Shop lighting almost always misleads: it is either very warm or very bright and cold. Either way the shade reads differently on your face than it will in daylight.

There is one reliable check: apply along the jaw, then walk outside into daylight. That single step eliminates more mistakes than any other.

Your shade changes with the season

Skin depth shifts through the year — usually a shade or two deeper in summer. That means one foundation rarely works for twelve months.

The practical answer is two shades: one for winter, one for summer, mixed in the transitional months. It is cheaper than wearing the wrong shade for half the year.

Mixing two shades

If you cannot find an exact match — common with neutral undertones — mixing two shades is a perfectly normal solution and it is how professionals work anyway.

Mix on the back of the hand or on a palette, never directly on the face. The proportion shifts with the season, so the same two bottles cover the whole year.

Frequently asked questions

Where should I test foundation?: Along the jawline between face and neck, then check it in daylight. Testing on your hand is useless — hand skin is a different shade.
How do I work out my undertone?: By the veins on your wrist: greenish means warm, bluish means cool. Another check is whether silver or gold suits you better.
Why does my foundation look a different colour on my face?: Usually the undertone. A foundation of the right depth but the wrong undertone reads as grey or orange on the skin.
Is one foundation enough for the whole year?: Rarely. Skin goes a shade or two deeper in summer, so two shades mixed in transitional months is more practical.