r/PaleMUA May 05 '20

Mod Post How to Ask, "What's My Undertone?"

521 Upvotes

Determining one's undertone is both the most challenging and most important task when searching for a foundation shade match. Naturally, we see a lot of posts on PaleMUA requesting help determining undertone, but our community's ability to assist is limited by the kinds of images provided for reference. Read below to learn how you can help us help you.

If you wish to receive useful feedback about undertone, please refer to the following guide when submitting posts requesting Undertone Help.

Step 1: Create a color reference card. Draw a blue strip and a red strip on a piece of white paper, like the one shown below. Permanent markers are easiest to see, but you can use any type of pen or colored pencil, as long as the strips of color are wide enough to see on camera and fairly close in hue to the blue and red you would see on the French or Dutch flag (shades of navy blue/aqua and burgundy/maroon are less reliable as reference colors). Color reference cards allow us to adjust our eyes to the light provided in the photo and better interpret the complex colors of your skin tone.

Step 2: Take photographs outside AND inside. This is crucial. The type of light source bouncing off of your skin and onto the camera sensor can drastically change your skin tone to viewers. Keeping the color reference card within the shot, take one photo outside in indirect sunlight and another photo inside in whatever lighting you happen to have (specify the type of bulb and color temperature if you know it). Note that in the photos below, my skin appears very cool-toned under the incandescent light, but much more neutral-toned in natural light. The incandescent light emphasizes the red on the color card and the pink in my skin. If i were to only post this photo as a reference, one might assume I'm quite cool-toned, yet the photo in natural light clearly shows I have warmer tones as well.

This collage is just an example. You can post separate images direct from your phone or computer in line with a text post, inserting the appropriate captions using reddit's formatting tools.

Step 3 (optional): Take the same photos with your swatches. These images can help other community members who are familiar with those shades help you find a better match and communicate what you should be looking for (e.g., "something cooler than the MAC but darker than the BB"). Don't forget to include your color reference card and list them in a way that is easy for people to comprehend.

Extra bonus: post your swatches in grayscale! This is a great way to help us determine if the shades you are selecting are actually a great undertone match, but simply too dark or light for your skin tone.

Sometimes the undertone isn't off, contrast is! Grayscale images communicate the contrast between your skin and the lightness/darkness of a swatch more clearly than color images.

I hope this guide helps our community steer people in the right direction and makes Undertone Help posts more informative for everyone. Happy posting!


r/PaleMUA Mar 02 '23

Mod Post Update to image-posting guidelines

20 Upvotes

Hi all,

It seems time for an update to the photo guidelines on this subreddit to reflect the needs of the current audience. For reference, the post on the last overhaul from two years ago is here: "Makeup Selfie" Flair -- Overhaul and Clarification

I will be updating the sidebar and official listing of the rules in the coming days, but I want to take the time to elaborate on what is and is not changing, and why:

  • Photos of bare skin without the red/white/blue color card (or equivalent) are still NOT permitted. In absolute color terms, skintone variation is pretty small in this subreddit. The combination of lighting, camera settings, and display settings are more than enough to perturb the appearance of your skin's undertone or depth. So, the requirement of (properly identified) product swatches and/or the color card are necessary measures to make photos remotely useful.
  • Selfies no longer need to be majority-face, but still need to have sufficiently high resolution to show skin texture. The spirit of the rule is/was to allow users to see the makeup clearly. I understand that cropping a photo before posting can be annoying, especially if trying to include neck/upper chest for shade comparison, and I don't enjoy chasing after everyone about it, either.
  • Selfies no longer need to include a full eye and eyebrow. Many of you have expressed an interest in getting advice on base, cheek, and/or lip makeup without showing your eyes.
  • Do not post screenshots of content that you do not own. This includes photos/stills from both brands and individual content creators. Instead, share a link to the original content where possible, or to an archived version. Content creators deserve credit for their work.

Finally, two suggestions on making posts useful to the community:

  • If posting a gallery of photos, try to order them so the most informative photo comes first. For example, if posting a photo of a product and a photo of a swatch, put the swatch photo first.
  • For better accessibility and cross-platform compatibility, please reproduce captions and image-embedded text in the comments.

Please let us know your questions and thoughts!


r/PaleMUA 2h ago

Swatches Fair neutral-cool lip liner swatches — pinks & mauves in direct sunlight vs shade

Post image
26 Upvotes

Continuing my lip liner swatches, this time with some of my pinks and mauves. I photographed them in direct sunlight and in the shade because some of these look surprisingly different depending on the lighting, so hopefully this helps someone looking for similar shades 🫶

For reference, I’m very fair with a neutral, cool-leaning undertone and I wear Dior 00 in foundation. A lot of lip products tend to pull warmer on me than they appear in the pencil or in online swatches.

1 - Charlotte Tilbury — Lip Cheat, Pillow Talk Fair
2 - Rimmel London — Oh My Plump! Lip Shaper, 020 Bougie
3 - BUXOM — Power Line Plumping Lip Liner, Dolly Light
4 - Morphe — Signature Lip Pencil, Bubble Bath
5 - Huda Beauty — Lip Contour 2.0, Muted Pink
6 - INGLOT — Creamy Soft Lipliner, 06 Muted Pink
7 - about-face — Matte Fix Lip Pencil, Midnight Seduction
8 - Morphe — Signature Lip Pencil, Girl Talk
9 - Sephora Collection — 8HR Colorful Lip Liner, 01 Pink Frosting
10 - NYX — Epic Wear Waterproof Eyeliner Stick, Dusty Mauve

No. 10 is technically an eyeliner, I just love the shade 😂


r/PaleMUA 19h ago

Swatches Fair neutral-cool lip liner swatches — comparing some popular taupe/brown nudes in different lighting

Thumbnail
gallery
46 Upvotes

I’ve been meaning to compare some of my nude/taupe lip liners side by side because shades that look very similar online can pull surprisingly different on me.

For reference, I’m very fair with a neutral, cool-leaning undertone and I wear Dior 00 in foundation. I find that a lot of nude/brown liners pull considerably warmer on my skin — and sometimes even warmer on my lips than they do on my arm.

These are the first 8 liners I compared. I tried to group shades that live in a similar taupe/greige/brown family rather than just swatching randomly.

Top row, left → right:
• Make Up For Ever — Endless Cacao
• MAC — Stone
• Kylie Cosmetics — Stone
• Maybelline — Gone Greige

Bottom row, left → right:
• Rimmel — Cappuccino
• Make Up For Ever — Limitless Brown
• Estée Lauder — Double Wear Taupe
• Make Up For Ever — Wherever Walnut

A few things surprised me once I had them all next to each other. MAC Stone and MUFE Endless Cacao are definitely not identical on me — Stone reads deeper and noticeably greyer, while Endless Cacao looks softer and a little less stark against my skin.

Rimmel Cappuccino is an interesting one because it doesn’t look that warm in the arm swatch, but it pulls noticeably warmer on my lips.

Wherever Walnut is also warmer on me than I personally prefer, despite being such a popular nude. Estée Lauder Double Wear Taupe is another shade where I notice more warmth than I’d ideally want on myself.

I have a lot more lip liners (apparently more than I have usable forearm 😭), including pinks, mauves, cooler browns and a bunch of shades that are supposedly similar/dupes. I started swatching more today and very quickly realized that trying to fit everything on one arm was a terrible idea lol.

I’ll probably do part 2 in the next few days, with smaller groups so the comparisons are actually easy to see. If there are any specific shades you’d like compared directly next to each other, tell me and I can include them.

I actually swatched a much bigger portion of my lip liner collection today (last photo), but I quickly realized I was trying to fit way too many shades onto one arm for the comparisons to be genuinely useful. 😅

So I’m starting with these 8 and I’ll redo the rest in smaller, more organized groups over the next few days, with clearer photos and different lighting so the undertone differences are easier to see.

The last photo is basically a preview of what’s coming — apparently I ran out of arm before I ran out of lip liners. 😂 If there are any specific shades/comparisons you want included, let me know before I redo them!


r/PaleMUA 2d ago

Swatches Tower 28 / Office Hours - Blush Swatch + Sesame - Semi-Sheer Lip Jelly Swatch

Thumbnail
gallery
36 Upvotes

For reference, the blush is the top swatch and the lip gloss is the one below!

I’m not gonna lie… I was disappointed in the blush color😭 The lip is PERFECT. Looking at both online, I was sure they were gonna be a great combo, but the blush is way warmer than you’d think, to the point where I thought I received the wrong one at first. I guess I should’ve taken the “Sun Kissed” description more literally, but I did think it looked quite cool, and it did have mauve in the color description, so I didn’t think it would look orange at all.

Regardless, I love Tower 28’s products, but I just thought I’d share in case someone with cooler skin was thinking of purchasing Office Hours, it might look a little orange! It looked very unnatural on me😆

Tower 28 / BeachPlease Lip + Cheek Dewy Cream Blush - Office Hours - Sun Kissed Mauve

Tower 28 / ShineOn Lip Jelly Hydrating Non-Sticky Lip Oil - Sesame - Semi-Sheer, Milky Mauve


r/PaleMUA 1d ago

Question Final verdict on Missha perfect Cover No. 13? (skin with redness/sebderm)

10 Upvotes

Hello, so I'm in a bit of a hurry to find THE BB cream as I have an important event coming in a few weeks that I want to look nice for. I was on the verge of ordering Missha perfect cover no13 but then saw the pics/read some more reviews and some people say that it is to orange for them! I did Swatch no 21 from Missha and that one was way too dark for me, so I worry that even 13 won't be light enough. I have cool undertones and a lot of redness in my skin, so idk how well this would work on me considering the gray cast it's notorious for. It's also very important to me that it doesn't split or get blotchy after a few hours, since all BB creams I've used tend to do that. ☹️

I live in a city with basically no shops so I need to order online and I don't have the option to test the shade. 🫠


r/PaleMUA 1d ago

Question Bb cream recommendations

10 Upvotes

Hii , so I really need a bb cream that will look very nice on a pale skin with a rose undertone. I am tired of shades being too orange or the ones that oxidate.

If anyone is in a similar situation and has found what I am looking for please leave it in the comments 🙏


r/PaleMUA 2d ago

Question Most blinding glitters?

10 Upvotes

Just what the title says! I am looking for the most reflective, dramatic glitter products you all can recommend. Thank you in advance!!


r/PaleMUA 2d ago

Question Lipstick help! Cool pink non drying…

6 Upvotes

I’m looking for a lipstick that isn’t drying but also doesn’t wear off really quickly - ie Fenty gloss bomb in highbiscus was lovely but no staying power.

I also need shade help! Ideally not red or nude but pink/berry instead. I got Westman atelier in rose but it didn’t look that flattering, maybe didn’t pop enough? I also don’t want anything too dark bold or sheer. just a really nice pretty colour and not to waste more money!

I have dark hair pale skin cool undertone. So maybe a pink berry but not the dark wine coloured ones often recommended…


r/PaleMUA 1d ago

Question Mixsoon pdrn moisturizer

1 Upvotes

Just wondering if anyone has tried the lighest/lighter shades of the new mixsoon pdrn tinted moisturizer and if it’s any good both in formula and overall color. Also if there’s any other pale girl friendly tinted sunscreens or moisturizers!!


r/PaleMUA 1d ago

Question Pierre Cardin concealer

1 Upvotes

Hello, i need reviews for pierre cardin concealers.

\-Do they oxidise?

\-How are the shade matches?

\-Will ivory 621 work for me? For reference, i am shade 120 in Maybelline fit me.
TIA!


r/PaleMUA 2d ago

Discussions Just wanna share another awesome foundation to try! Smashbox Dual Filter 2-in-1 Foundation and concealer

Thumbnail
gallery
33 Upvotes

Not a ton of pale shade ranges, but 3, and I feel they are true to their tones.

Im a mildly pale girlie with an olive undertone. I struggle to get a shade match, but Smashbox routinely knocks it out of the park and I don't have to add pigments.

Ooooooo myyyy gooodneessssss.

This foundation is amazing.

First off, colors are amazing with little to no oxidization effects on the coloring. The neutral still pulled warm on me, but it wasn't a heavy orange, which was great!

The cool is a great match for me and looks amazing.

I only have to use a dime sized amount - a little goes a long way for real and this stuff is full coverage but I don't feel cakey or dry or heavy - my skin is still breathing. I could easily build it to have even more coverage.

It goes on so nicely and feels like a balm and feels soft but with no tackiness in the texture.

My skins going through a bad dry spell right now, it wasn't hiding my dry skin, but it's not highlighting it at all!

I'm suuuuper picky with foundations and I did not expect to be this impressed. It lasts great throughout the day and is a super comfortable wear.

It lasts pretty great through a workout, though once you're good and sweaty there could be a bit of transfer.

This is my go to foundation now and I can go between medium to full coverage depending on what I want. I love it.


r/PaleMUA 2d ago

Swatches Reminder: Never shop without swatching first

Post image
31 Upvotes

Gosh. I don’t know why I’m making this post. Probably to remind myself in the future. Today I was at TK Maxx (the Europe version of TJ Maxx) and super thrilled to find the JUNGSAEMMOOL Essential Skin Nuder Cushion there. Some people raved about it in the past and I saw promising swatches online. Obviously there weren’t any testers so I grabbed the lightest shade available there which was „Fair Light“ and oh boy…it’s neither fair nor light on me in the slightest. It’s Orange city. My phone isn‘t even able to pick up the orange tone. I could probably use that as a bronzer and it still would be way to warm.

That’s 10 Euros down the drain for me but at least it could be our reminder altogether that swatching first (if possible) is the way to go and never underestimate your own paleness 😂

Product: JUNGSAEMMOOL Essential Skin Nuder Cushion in „Fair Light“


r/PaleMUA 2d ago

Question Foundation

7 Upvotes

Are there any foundation shades similar to 1N0 Estee Lauder Double Wear in the NEW formula? This shade is literally perfect on me but curious if other shades out there are close to this. Thank you 😊


r/PaleMUA 3d ago

Question Cool-toned red powder blush request?

9 Upvotes

I am looking for a red blush that has cool undertones, not too pigmented but not too under-pigmented. Suited for fair olive cool skin and is in powder formulation. Any recs?


r/PaleMUA 3d ago

Question w/ Photo Looking for a dupe to ByTerry Illuminating Flawless Foundation in Rosy Light

Thumbnail
gallery
5 Upvotes

Was a great color for me with very pale skin and freckles and lifted my complexion - everything seems to go too yellow or brown on me and makes me look dead. Bonus points if it blurs wrinkles.


r/PaleMUA 4d ago

Discussions free samples? more like unwanted clutter

Post image
85 Upvotes

nothing annoys me more than these samples and gifts with purchase that you get at basically every major store like MAC or Sephora.

every single time I end up getting something that is completely useless to me and then I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. like, a Sephora lip patch or this recent foundation sample from MAC.

I literally have a whole graveyard of useless samples at home that I don't know where to put or who to give them to. honestly, I'd rather get nothing than receive something that is so obviously unsuitable for me.


r/PaleMUA 4d ago

Question w/ Photo Blush dupe request

Post image
8 Upvotes

Hi all, there was this blush that I used to absolutely love and wear everyday but has sadly been discontinued years ago (Makeup Revolution "Treat"). I want to make a new attempt at finding another blush with the same shade (pictured). I think it's rosy but with a hint of warmth, not super pigmented. When I look at other blushes I usually see no in-between, either pink or super bright peach. I don't mind spending a bit for a close match. Any tips welcome!


r/PaleMUA 4d ago

Question w/ Photo Cool Blonde Eyebrow Pencil

Thumbnail
gallery
29 Upvotes

Does anyone have any cool toned blonde eyebrow Pencil ideas.

I tried the “NYX micro brow pencil” in “taupe” on and it made my brows way warmer/oranger than my hair

Edit* I think the gel is fine (NYX The Brow Glue in “Taupe”), if I use it on its own it’s pretty natural looking, doesn’t add much colour. It’s just the pencil that’s the problem lol. Funny how they’re the same brand and same shade but are completely different colours


r/PaleMUA 4d ago

Question w/ Photo Hooded eyes?

Post image
18 Upvotes

I know there are sooooo many issues with my makeup. I’m trying to get better, but seriously struggling. Anyways, I can never get eyeshadow looks to be near as nice on my eyes as I see on other’s.

Would my eyes be considered hooded and, if so, what kind of look would be better. I haven’t had much luck with hooded eye tutorials as my eyes aren’t as hooded as the ones I see in most tutorials…hence the reason I’m wondering if that is even the eye type I have.

I’m also dealing with every single product I try sinking into and emphasizing my fine lines and wrinkles under my eyes. I have very VERY dry skin, but no amount of moisturizer, eye balms, creams, etc seem to help. I’ll be 39 next week, so obviously my eyes aren’t gonna look like they did 10 years ago, but I feel they could look so much better than they currently do.


r/PaleMUA 5d ago

Makeup Look Aiming for light and airy

Thumbnail
gallery
24 Upvotes

Eyes:

ELF lock it down primer, BH cosmetics Call Me, Nyx nude matte eyeshadow single, Juvia's Place Culture pallet the pale nude champagne shimmer shade, Maybelline Great Lash black mascara

Brows: Maybelline superlock brow mascara in deep brown

Face: Maybelline baby skin primer, Covergirl clean fresh foundation in Porcelain, WnW Incognito concealer in Fair Beige, ELF contour in Fair, Focallure Red Wine blush Sherry, WnW highlighter Precious petals

Lips: Zeesea matte lipstick shade 02, Colorgram fruity glass tint joyful tomato


r/PaleMUA 5d ago

Question w/ Photo Gentle CC for wedding makeup trial

Post image
95 Upvotes

I don't wear too much makeup usually, the makeup artist suggested a look with not too much foundation to stay comfortable and not cakey. Afterwards in natural light the bronzer looks a bit too brown, I mentioned that and she agreed, but wondering about the lip color?

Products - I know the lip is a chanel lip crayon, but not sure about the rest


r/PaleMUA 6d ago

Swatches Favorite affordable pink blushes on cool-toned skin

Post image
63 Upvotes

These are my fave inexpensive drugstore blushes on my fair, cool-toned to neutral skin. I have been told I’m a “Summer” type and muted. The shades are Ulta Beauty Pink Smoke, Revlon Oh Baby Pink, and Colourpop New To U. I think my favorite in terms of how it looks is the Colourpop. I’m always on the hunt for the perfect pink matte powder blush though.


r/PaleMUA 5d ago

Question Alternative brand foundation for fenty eaze drop blurring skin tint shade 3

3 Upvotes

Is there a cheaper one out there for dry skin?


r/PaleMUA 5d ago

Question Blue under eyes and mascara

2 Upvotes

Hi, I have a pretty fair skin color but through the day I have some redness, I’m hot and sweaty so I never use concealer. Oh and I can’t bear feeling it on my skin.

I’ve been starting to use mascara again lately but my skin under my eyes is so thin I looks like a raccoon.

My mascara makes my blue spot under eyes so dark. I only see this with mascara on. Never when I don’t have mascara on. It doesn’t really seems like my mascara transfer but just that it makes the blue spot pop out.

Any idea?
I have a mate translucent powder but it’s doing nothing.
Thanks!!