Why Does Foundation Turn Orange On My Skin?

Does this happen to you? A makeup looks great and then it is suddenly orange? Color Theory explains all! Part 1 in a series about makeup turning color on the skin.

Do you struggle with color matching foundation to your skin? Do colors look good in the store and then turn orange as soon as you are in natural light? Is this a problem?

Well, I have a fix for you. Let's face it, most people struggle with color matching and finding a good foundation isn't easy. Brands don't follow color theory when creating foundations and the colors don’t always look like skin. They can be too red, too gray, too yuck! It is so confusing when one brand's "warm" is another's "neutral". How are we supposed to figure it out?

The answer is Color Theory. I love to use color theory to solve problems, especially when it comes to color matching the skin. The more we understand color theory in skin, the more confident we are to find the right fit.

I cannot count how many times I have heard, "all foundations turn orange on me". I know it can be frustrating but let's be clear - It isn't you, it is the foundation. You are not turning the foundation orange, the orange is "bouncing" off your face because it doesn't belong there. You aren't orange! If you were as orange as the the makeup, it would match. Make sense? Color theory is brilliant.

Let's do logic: Orange is warm, a combo of yellow+red, so if a makeup looks orange on you it means that you are cooler than orange, in other words, you don't have a warm red-to-yellow undertone. So you need to look for makeup that has less yellow+red.

Wait, does mean that you are a cool-tone? Yes and no. If this is just the case for one particular makeup, then yes, you are cooler than that particular makeup but maybe not a cool undertone. Try to find something with less yellow+red in it, or correct add a teenzy amount of blue to it.

If this is something that seems to happen with most makeup, then yes you might be cool. However, we need to know that “cool” can be 2 different things. 1. When red tones in the skin are cool, they are mixed with blue. Think of “porcelain” or a “cocoa” color. 2. Yellow can also be cool as it pushes away from red and mixes with blue. These are our olive tones. Think “camel” or “walnut.

So if you turn all things orange you are most likely a cool (red+blue) or an olive (yellow+green) undertone of skin. But how can you tell if you are cool or olive you ask? Ah, I have the answer to that as well. If you skin appears red, if you see red in your skin you are most likely cool. If you tend to look more “beige” or yellow/golden than you are most likely an olive. Remember also that olive skins aren’t just green. They are yellow tones that are cool. Got it?

Too much information? How about a visual to show you what I mean? Time to grab my tools: The Flesh Tone Color Wheel® and The Flesh Tone Fan™. Both tools help you see your undertone and pick out the right makeup. The Fan is probably the easiest for you as it is a paint chip book but for skin! It will make you a boss at the makeup store. My clients love it. You just find the swatch that most closely matches your skin and look for foundations that are that color. Or you can use it to find cool or olive undertone foundations to try.

Okay, what’s next? Here is a list of retailers that sell the Fan and Wheel. If you want to know more about color theory I hope you will subscribe and stay tuned. We are going to learn a lot here. I also have online classes for the pros and virtual consults for consumers at my Makeup101 store. So if you need help with undertone or picking out the best makeup colors for you, give me a shout.

Now let’s go find the perfect foundation!

Until next time, Terri