10 brands that actually understand undertones for everybody
The last decade has seen the term ‘inclusion’ migrate over from industries such as fashion to beauty. Gone are the days where you can enter a department store and stand before a makeup counter with a slew of pale to beige shades with merely a difference in hue. Or the days that online shopping led you to purchase from a selection of 50 shades of ash of those pesky unreturnable samples, which are hard to judge from a computer screen.
It’s no longer enough to just create a multitude of shades that don’t include every consumer. As with many things in life. It’s less about quantity but more so about quality. Although, we really do appreciate an extensive shade range with realistic, aesthetically pleasing and photo-ready formulas. As a result many brands are now not only representing a vast majority of skin tones, but undertones, too.
Skin is in, but in order to achieve this even-toned base, an undertone must be carefully and precisely selected. Warm, neutral and cool are the most common terms widely associated with undertones and foundations in particular. Having dark skin, we are no strangers to the complexity of selecting the perfect product that will provide us with an excellent finish and more significantly, make us look like our best real and natural selves.
It's been a tough road but like many things in life, we have made it to the other side. After years of experimentation, we have assembled for you a list of 10 brands that truly understand undertones and the essence of complexion perfection.
NYX Professional Makeup Born to Glow Naturally Radiant Foundation, £10, LookFantastic
This super budget friendly, vegan foundation truly lives up to its name. Leaving you with dewy luminosity, it's formulated to deliver medium coverage and a skin-like, radiant finish. Available in a range of 45 shades covering from lightest to darkest in warm, neutral and cool undertones, this is the perfect base to dial-up your glow seamlessly.
PSA: Save money on your order with these LookFantastic discount codes.
Pat Mcgrath Skin Fetish: Sublime Perfection Foundation, £60, Net-A-Porter
This luxurious foundation is not just any old base formula. It’s actually infused with the brand's Diamond Core Powder Technology and soft-focus pigments with blurring superpowers leaving you with a fine lines omitting finish. It’s buildiable, lightweight and offers sheer to medium coverage that will last for hours on end, and the shade range... Oh the shade range... From the palest to the deepest shades, aunty Pat got you covered.
Il Makiage Woke Up Like This Flawless Base Foundation, £36, Il Makiage
This lightweight and streak-free foundation comes in 50 diverse shades, that smoothes and evens out skin tones, minimising the appearance of shadows and pores. Leaving your complexion naturally enhanced and ultimately generating a flawless natural matte finish. It is also packed with Vitamin E which comes with anti-aging benefits and hyaluronic acid that provides hydration to the skin.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Foundation, £34, Cult Beauty
This long wearing, weightless and natural matte foundation comes in a range of 44 shades available in cool, neutral and warm undertones in fair, medium, tan and deep overtones. Not only does this foundation provide full coverage, it’s also packed with skin-loving ingredients to hydrate and protect your skin from harmful pollutants with its anti-aging properties.
Save money when you shop with these Cult Beauty discount codes.
Uoma Say What?! Foundation, £29.50, Cult Beauty
This brand has formulated every product with every Black and Brown woman in mind. Available in a whopping 51 shades each with a range of undertone variations. They also use an innovative shade identifier known as the Fitzpatrick scale: used to measures skin’s reaction to the sun. The brand has then identified not one but six beauty categories depending on undertone, skin chemistry and common issues associated with each skin type. That is how they were able to create this wildly successful and diverse foundation range and we’re here for it.
Save money when you shop with these Cult Beauty discount codes.
Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup, £34, LookFantastic
With over 60 shades, this double wear foundation has become a true powerhouse in the base game. Providing you with 24H wear, true colour, non-creasing and transfer resistance, it’s a non brainer. This fresh matte, oil-free makeup controls oil all day, without stripping away that natural glow and leaving you with a skin-like finish effortlessly, no matter your undertone.
Fenty Beauty PRO FILT'R Hydrating Foundation, £27, Boots
When Fenty released their revolutionary 50 shade foundation range, the hype was so large, other major beauty brands had no option but to follow suit. Not only was the shade range wide, it covered all undertones and delivered a comfortable, almost skin-like base with serious staying power. This is the ultimate hydrating, medium-to-full coverage foundation for all skin tones.
Huda Beauty #FauxFilter Luminous Matte Full Coverage Liquid Foundation, £34, Cult Beauty
This new and improved full coverage formula has arrived and is back better than ever. The range carries 39 inclusive shades, 24H flexible wear, with a luminous matte finish and it’s also fragrance-free, so all skin tones, and types can be included in the #fauxfilter movement. It’s the real life Instagram Paris Filter, but IRL. The foundation is non-cakey, transfer, sweat and waterproof. What more could we ask for?
Save money when you shop with these Cult Beauty discount codes.
NARS Natural Radiant Longwear Foundation, £35, Cult Beauty
With only a pearl sized drop of this foundation you are able to build from a medium to full coverage base. No cakey, heavy, drying or masking feeling in sight. With a range of 33 shades, it does cover undertones across the spectrum. The lightweight and transfer-resistant formula is packed with micronized amino acid-coated pigments and mineral tone-balancing powders which mimic skin’s tone, leaving you with the ultimate natural & radiant finish.
Save money when you shop with these Cult Beauty discount codes.
MAC Studio Fix Fluid Spf 15 Foundation, £27, MAC Cosmetics
This shine control foundation comes in a market leading range of 67 shades and although it provides an overall matte finish to control oil and shine, it can still bring forth your natural glow for a healthy skin finish. It’s non-cakey but buildable coverage means that your base will stay put for 24hours. Don’t forget to use MAC new shade finder for the perfect shade match. Available at maccosmetics.co.uk/virtual-try-on
