Education & Science - gloMininerals:

Foundation Matching :

When matching foundation, an artist must first determine undertone and identify any surface tones.

bullet Undertone: The color of one´s skin created by both melanin and blood under skin. Undertone
designation does not change, only the value may change. (i.e. If an individual has an olive undertone, she
will be olive for life.)

bullet Value: How light or dark a color is. Depending on age or exposure to the sun, one may appear darker or
lighter.

bullet Surface tone: Varying color on the surface of the skin (redness, hypo/hyperpigmentation, etc.)

Identifying Undertone :

One can possess either a warm or a cool undertone.

Warm Undertones: Warm, Olive (yellow/green), Peach

bullet Make up 97% of the population, 80% of which are yellow or olive.

bullet Peach undertones generally result from yellow undertone with red surface tones.

Cool Undertones: Pink

bullet Cool undertones occur in only 3% of the population.

bullet Frequently found in individuals that have extremely low pigmentation.

bullet A result of blood rather than pigment.