Hello Everyone!  For the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the pleasure to chat with some of our fans, loyal customers and aspiring Makeup Artist.  The most commonly asked question has been in regards to color theory and the challenges in matching foundations to skintones, and how to determine the difference between skintone and undertones.  In simple words, skintone is the color you see on top of the skin and undertones is the color you see beneath or under the skin.  With a little time, practice, and patients, you will learn how to train your eye to spot undertones on different people and choose the perfect foundation and/or concealer for you and your client.

Example: I have an olive complexion, but my skintone looks like a sienna bronzy kinda of color (a bronze with a red/cool undertone).  Depending on the lighting, sometimes I appear more golden (yellow/warm undertone) with a green/cool undertone), a green hue.  I have very dark circles and puffy eyes which makes the green undertone under my eyes more prominent.  So to correct this imperfection, I have to use concealers or correctors that have a red hue in them to cancel out the green.  This is where my personal stash of Color Adjusters were created and come into play when I needed to add more red to a product.  When I was finished and achieved the look I wanted, I set my concealer or foundation with a loose or pressed powder that has a red/cool undertone to give me the golden warm look I love.

Back in the day when I was just learning about makeup applications, I would use a yellow corrector and ended up with more green than I wanted.  I wondered why?  Because blue and yellow creates green and all I was doing was bringing out the green more instead of hiding it.  When I discovered Color Theory in Art Class and Cosmetology School, my creative juices really started to explode and was able to create, enhance and camouflage any imperfection that came my way. 

In this blog/video post, I had to break down the video into two parts because there is a 15 min limit for each video.  I’m going to share with you my version of color theory and my secret trick for making adjustments to my foundations or concealers.  I’m going to breakdown color theory in a simple way so that it becomes easier to remember on how color theory is an essential skill in the  profession of being a Makeup Artist.  Soon, you will pick up on this skill and understand its purpose.  First, I highly recommend that you purchase a Color Wheel or Pocket Guide to keep it handy in your kit or studio.  This simple and affordable tool is going to become your best friend as a Makeup Artist.  Below you will find links for some of the items I’ve used in this video for your convenience.  Now go an create a Master piece!  Please feel free to comment, ask questions and enjoy the video…!

Items:

Foundaton Primer

Liquid Foundation

Raw Liquid Pigments

1/4 fl. oz Dropper Bottle

Color Wheel

Pocket Guide

Ben Nye Mixing Palette

Ben Nye Palette Knife

Your Makeup Stylist,
Betty