Struggling to Figure Out Your Skin’s Undertones? This Free Service Makes It Easy!

When searching for new makeup products that complement your features, it’s important to keep your skin’s undertones in mind. This applies for all types of makeup — like lipstick, eyeshadow and blush — but it’s especially important when you’re trying to find the perfect shade of foundation. As someone with super yellow undertones, finding an exact shade match can be a serious struggle, which is why I welcomed the new Lancôme Shade Finder Tool into my life with open arms. The tool is available at select Lancôme counters and is meant to help you find a foundation that you feel confident in, as well as provide you with helpful information about those undertones of yours. So much more scientific than trying to figure out whether your veins are more blue or green!

To test the experience in real life, I took a trip to Macy’s in Herald Square in NYC. I sidled up to the Lancôme counter and a beauty advisor pulled out the shade finder tool that was roughly the size of a video game controller. Before scanning my skin, she asked me some questions about my skin type and foundation preferences — read: dry and always dewy. Then, she scanned my forehead, cheeks, chin and neck to recommend a single shade that best matched all of them. After scanning my skin, she turned the shade finder around to confirm that my skin does, in fact, have warm, yellow undertones.

Despite nailing my undertones, there was a little bit of trial-and-error when it came to the foundation the tool recommended. It suggested Ivorie 100 (Neutral), a shade that almost worked but didn’t, due to the fact that we determined my skin’s undertones are warm, not neutral. My beauty advisor suggested Ivorie 95 (Warm), instead, which worked perfectly. I can’t totally blame the machine for the mix-up, though.  Lancôme recently extended its Teint Idole Foundation shade range, and Ivorie 95 hadn’t been added into the system yet.

So if you’ve been curious about your undertones, or maybe you’ve been dying to try Lancôme foundation, I recommend that you do some research to find out if your local counter has the scanning technology. You don’t need to leave with foundation (though a free sample is included) or spend a dime of your hard-earned funds. Just come in, find out your undertones, and be on your merry way. Although when it’s all said and done, you’re probably going to want the foundation. I love mine.

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