Mix Your Perfect Foundation Shade: DIY Formula
Finding the ideal foundation match for your complexion can feel downright impossible. You may have struggled to find a foundation that perfectly matches your exact skin tone and undertone. With so many options on the market claiming to be THE universal shade, yet never quite hitting the mark for your unique complexion.
Well, struggle no more! With this easy do-it-yourself (DIY) custom foundation mixing technique, you can quit wasting money on mismatched foundations. Now you can create your absolute perfect foundation match at home with just a few affordable ingredients.
Understanding Undertones Holds the Key
The first step towards creating your ideal custom foundation match is to truly understand your skin’s undertones.
Your skin’s undertone refers to the color pigmentation that lies underneath the surface of your complexion. When thinking about undertones, there are a few key categories that are important to understand:
- Warm undertones
- Cool undertones
- Neutral undertones
Warm Undertones
Warm undertones tend to lean towards hints of yellow, peach and golden shades when you look closely at the skin. Those with warm undertones have a golden overtone on the surface of their skin, but the key is to look deeper towards the veins and overall skin coloring to determine the foundation with warm hints needed.
Light warm skin does very well with foundations mixed with a yellow oxide pigment to add brightness and a flattering glow from within. While deeper warm complexions would add in golden or peach pigments when creating a custom foundation mix.
Cool Undertones
Contrary to warm, cool undertones hint towards having pink, red or blue hints just beneath the surface when taking a close look at the coloring. Veins may appear more blue and purplish rather than the green veins that warm complexions showcase.
Those with fair cool skin tones should mix their custom creations with titanium dioxide for lightening and adding luminosity or zinc oxide for opacity and blurred imperfections. A pink oxide pigment plays well for ramping up the coolness as needed for fair to medium skin.
For deeper skin with cool undertones, a red or brown iron oxide is perfect for adding the right hint of coolness without over saturating the handmade formula.
Neutral Undertones
You may also be part of the lucky club with neutral undertones! This means your skin has a balanced blend of both warm and cool traits. Creating the perfect neutral foundation match allows you to play with both warm and cool pigments until finding the right harmony.
Often starting with a base foundation formula already labeled for neutrals makes most sense when formulating a DIY shade. From there add in hints of both gold/yellow and pink/red shades sparingly until finding your matching tone.
So why does undertone truly matter when making your own foundation concoction from scratch? Well, figuring out where you stand on the spectrum of warm to cool is an integral first step to ensure the final result flatters your natural skin coloring beautifully.
A foundation mixed to enhance warm hints will not have the same effect on cool toned skin. So be honest with yourself during the evaluation process!
Gather Your Mixing Supplies
Luckily, creating your perfect custom foundation only calls for a handful of key items you likely already have at home or can easily purchase online or at your local beauty supply store.
Here is a checklist of everything you need:
- Pigment Drops – White, black, yellow, and red foundation adjusting drops or loose mineral pigments made specifically for mixing into beauty formulas like foundation or concealers. White and yellow add brightness and lift. While black, brown, red, etc create depth and slowly darken light foundations as needed.
- Empty Foundation Bottle/Jar/Palette – An airless pump bottle is ideal for storing your finished creation to maintain freshness. But any small, empty sample jars, squeezy tubes, or even cleaned out compact foundations palettes work.
- Mini Funnel (optional) – A tiny plastic funnel can help transfer your finished liquid mixture cleanly into storage containers without spilling everywhere. But skip if you don’t have one.
- Foundation You Already Use – For best customization, use a foundation formula you currently use and love as the “base” for your DIY experiments. This maintains the coverage, finish, and feel you like while solely perfecting the color match.
Mixing Your Custom Foundation Creation
Now for the fun part – it’s time to starting mixing your own foundation masterpiece! Follow these simple steps:
- Start by pouring a foundation shade slightly lighter than your target match into your empty bottle or jar. The lighter the base, the more room you have to build your perfect color up without overshooting.
- Next, add in a few drops of your black or brown pigment, waiting 10 seconds between drops to allow it to fully incorporate. Go slowly and carefully here! Refer to the formula guidance below for help on ideal starting amounts:
If base is 10 grams of Foundation:
Start with 1-2 drops black pigment – mix well
Then keep adding 1 drop at a time, mixing between each until desired darkness reached.
Add other colors similarly in very small amounts.
- Continue mixing in fractional drops of black until the color slightly resembles the depth you want, while still running too light. Test on your jawline to see it against your neck and face.
- At this point, introduce your yellow, red, white or other shade adjusting pigments slowly while continuing to mix. Pay attention to how the undertones shift. Yellow warms and reddens cools the end result.
- Mix carefully and observe as you go until satisfied with the color, depth and undertones of your creation. Additives in slowly is key to prevent going overboard.
- When finished, use your funnel to transfer your liquid gold into your selected storage container and seal.
Important tips when mixing your custom foundation:
- Mix in natural lighting for best accuracy
- Refer to online foundation shade charts for extra guidance
- Less is more with additives – build up mixing capacity with practice
- Name and date your creation to tweak next time
And voila, you now have a perfectly color matched foundation made just for you! Ditch the guessing games, questionable shades and bad makeup counter lighting. Get excited to wake up glowing courtesy of your new custom foundation mixing skills.
Application Tips & Tricks
Once you’ve put in the work to craft your color perfect foundation, be sure to make the most of your creation:
Prep Properly
Start with moisturized, smooth skin by gently exfoliating with a wet wash cloth before application. For added luminous, apply a hydrating primer or facial oil beforehand.
Use a Dense Brush or Sponge Opt for a slightly dampened, firm-bristled foundation buffing brush or pointed Blender sponge to press into skin. Both smooth options provide great buildable coverage.
Press & Stipple
Use light pressing and stippling motions to apply your foundation for the most seamless, streak-free finish. Focus first on the center of the face like cheeks, nose and forehead. Then smooth outwards.
Set with Translucent Powder
Finish off your flawless DIY base with a light dusting of loose setting powder focused on the t-zone to lock in the perfect color all day while controlling shine.
Store Properly Keep your custom formula in an airtight, pump-enabled bottle if possible. Shaking vigorously before each use maintains even consistency and color distribution as the ingredients settle. Make a fresh batch weekly for best performance.
Extra Tips, Tricks & Inspo
Looking to take your new custom foundation mixing skills even further? Try out some of these advanced techniques:
Sheer Out Full Coverage
If you love a super full coverage foundation formula but want to lighten up for more casual days, add a few drops of facial oil when mixing to sheer it out while keeping the perfect shade.
Account for Tanning/Lightening Make multiple versions of your color match based on tanning cycles. Keep a lighter winter version and darker summer edition to match your changing skin.
Highlight & Contour
Take highlighting and contouring to the next level by creating custom shades made to brighten or bronze your face shape perfectly. Mix several for a full highlighting kit.
Mix Into Existing Foundations
Running too light or dark as seasons change? Skip starting from scratch by adding a few drops of pigments straight into what you currently have on-hand to adjust only the color.
Experiment with Textures Branch out from just liquid and play with mixing oil-free mousse, powder or cream foundations. Get creative with finding your preferred finish and feel.
Sample Before Committing Try making sample size batches of multiple shade variations in small jars first. Test drive for a few days before deciding on the perfect match to commit to an entire bottle.
Now that you understand the power blending pigments can have when formulating your foundations – the options are truly endless!
Frequently Asked DIY Foundation Questions
Still have some lingering questions when it comes to crafting your own perfect foundation match? Below are answers to some of the most common custom color mixing questions:
Does it really save money to mix my own?
It sure can! Especially if you currently buy high-end specialty foundation shades. A few affordable additives combined with drugstore base formulas creates similar results for less. Plus avoiding all that wasted product from shades that don’t work.
Can I adjust the finish or coverage?
For best customization success, maintain the existing foundation finish and formula integrity by only focusing on color. But once perfected, you can experiment with mixing in pores filling, mattifying or luminizing ingredients for fun.
How do I color match accurately?
Matching takes patience, great lighting and trial + error. Test on jawline in daylight at a window for most accuracy. Be prepared to tweak a few times. Comparing to your chest/neck color is better than trying to analyze your face.
Is DIY foundation safe for acne prone skin?
Using clean tools and preservatives containing foundation bases is best for acne protection. Check ingredient lists. As long as you don’t introduce new pore cloggers during mixing, it’s generally safe. But completing small patch tests is wise.
How long does mixed foundation last?
Plan to remake your color matched foundation weekly for highest quality. But store in airless containers and it can last 2-3 weeks max. If noticing changes in scent, consistency or performance – time to freshen up your batch.
We hope these tips give you the courage to finally take customizing your foundation color into your own hands! Having a perfect shade match makes all the difference in looking like the best version of yourself.
Let us know if you have any other questions – We’re happy to help with troubleshooting anything that pops up on your mixing journey. Here’s to flawless, even foundation coverage made just for you!