How To Choose Your Perfect Foundation Shade Online

Discover Charlotte's Foundation Shade Finder

Darlings, a flawless foundation shade match is the secret to your best-looking skin. Your foundation can appear unnatural if the shade isn’t flattering for your skin tone, so it’s always important to know how to choose a foundation online that will look seamless.

Choosing the right foundation shade can be difficult if you’re not a makeup artist or a foundation enthusiast, and choosing foundation online poses even more of a challenge as you can’t see how it looks in person. We’re in the digital age, darlings, and I knew I needed to create a virtual shade matching tool that would make shopping on CharlotteTilbury.com easier than ever, allowing everyone, everywhere to discover their perfect foundation shade online!

Discover how to use my Foundation Shade Finder to choose the perfect foundation shade and formula for you, then purchase online or on the Charlotte Tilbury App to perfect the look of your complexion! There’s a shade for everyone, darlings – find yours now!

Get your perfect shade match with my Foundation Shade Finder

Discover How To Choose Your Foundation Shade Online with Charlotte’s Foundation Shade Finder

Get perfectly shade matched in 60 seconds with my Foundation Shade Finder! Powered by BEAUTY AI, LIGHT TECH + an EXPERT SKIN ALGORITHM, my easy and accurate foundation finder mirrors the mind of a makeup artist, reading your skin for a flawless colour match* in seconds!

Simply answer a couple of quick questions about your skin tone, undertone, and foundation preferences, then upload a photo of yourself to let my Pro Beauty Tech determine which of my foundation shades is your magic match!

Get flawlessly shade matched with my Foundation Shade Finder

Need some more assistance, darlings? Discover my tips and tricks on how to choose your foundation shade online using my Foundation Shade Finder, below:

Step 1: Know your skin tone

Skin tone is broadly categorised into fair, medium, tan, and deep shades, and knowing which skin tone is the best match for your complexion will help you to choose the foundation shade that’s right for you.

The easiest place to start when identifying your skin tone is to look at the shades of AIRbrush Flawless Finish. My pressed powder is available in Fair, Medium, Tan, and Deep shades, and the one that has the closest match to the colour of your skin will reveal which foundation shades you should be choosing from.

Discover AIRbrush Flawless Finish

Step 2: Decide where your skin tone sits on the colour scale

Skin tone is a spectrum, darlings! A good foundation will have a wide shade range that caters to a variety of skin tones, but this can feel overwhelming when trying to select your shade. To pinpoint which shades will work for you, decide which end of the spectrum your skin sits on. For example, if you have deep skin, look at the deeper shades of a foundation and think about whether your skin is lighter, darker, warmer, or cooler.

Tilbury Tip: My foundations follow a number system that goes from light to dark, making it easy to choose a foundation shade that’s slightly lighter or deeper. Always look at model imagery and match yourself to the person whose skin tone closely matches yours.

Step 3: Determine your undertone

Skin tones naturally contain a unique blend of colours that influence their appearance. Two people with the same overtone can have an entirely different undertone and will match different foundation shades. Skin can have a warm, cool, or neutral undertone, and a foundation that has a matching undertone to your skin will look the most seamless and flattering.

How To Determine your Skin Undertone

Warm undertones: skin appears yellow, golden, or peach, has green veins, and tans easily in the sun.

Neutral undertones: skin appears beige or olive, has a mixture of green and blue veins, and can catch a tan but is also prone to burning in the sun.

Cool undertones: skin appears red, pink, or blue, has blue or purple veins, and burns easily in the sun.

Discover the different types of skin undertone:

Yellow undertones: warm-toned skin with a hint of yellow e.g. Airbrush Flawless Foundation in 3W

Golden undertones: warm-toned skin that looks naturally tanned with a hint of rich yellow e.g. Beautiful Skin Foundation in 13W

Peach undertones: warm-toned skin with a hint of pink e.g. Beautiful Skin Foundation in 7C

Olive undertones: neutral-toned skin with a hint of green e.g. Airbrush Flawless Foundation in 7.5N

Neutral undertones: neutral-toned skin that’s not too warm or too cool e.g. Beautiful Skin Foundation in 4N

Red undertones: cool-toned skin with a red, pink or blueish tint e.g. Airbrush Flawless Foundation in 2C

Step 4: Decide which foundation coverage you’re looking for

As well as finding your perfect foundation shade match, it’s important to consider the formula and finish that will work best for you. When choosing your foundation, bear in mind which formulas will work for your skin type; have the best longevity; and create the flawless foundation look that you love.

I’ve created a collection of sheer, light, medium, buildable, and full-coverage foundations including my newest foundation innovation: Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint hydrating stick foundation and super-natural skin tint! Discover glowy, matte, and natural-finish options in a wide range of shades to suit everyone, everywhere on CharlotteTilbury.com!

Need some help finding your flawless foundation match, darling? Discover my guide on how to choose the right foundation finish for you.

Step 5: Do you want your foundation to match your skin or lean slightly lighter or darker?

You can make different shades of foundation work for you, darlings. Some people like to wear a foundation that’s slightly lighter than their skin tone for a lifting, brightening effect, whereas others choose a darker shade of foundation to look more tanned. To get the most natural look from your foundation, I suggest choosing a true tone foundation that matches your skin tone as closely as possible.

Tilbury Tip: Always blend your foundation down your neck and into your hairline to mesh it with your skin tone and avoid any harsh lines.

Step 6: Upload a photo for easy and accurate shade match analysis

The final step to finding your perfect foundation shade is adding a photo of yourself for my Beauty AI and Light Tech to analyse. Snap a quick and easy picture of yourself and my Foundation Shade Finder will decode which foundation shade is your perfect match!

To get flawless results every time, bear these Tilbury Tips in mind when taking your photo:

1. Look directly into the camera and avoid group shots

2. Use natural lighting to capture your true skin tone

3. Choose a single colour background and avoid wearing makeup, glasses or accessories

Once my Foundation Shade Finder gets a clear glimpse at your gorgeous face, it will match you with your perfect foundation shade.

Virtually Try On Your Foundation Shade Match

Did you know that you can virtually try on your foundation shade on CharlotteTilbury.com and the Charlotte Tilbury App? Once my Foundation Shade Finder has found your perfect foundation shade match, go to the product page and click the TRY ON button to see what it will look like on your face. You can flick through different foundation shades to compare lighter and darker hues, as well as try on your shade match for yourself… Seeing is believing, darlings!

Tilbury Tip: When using my Try On feature, go makeup-free and sit in natural light for best results.

Your Personalised Complexion Edit

If you already wear a Charlotte Tilbury foundation, my Complexion Edit can decode which of my other makeup shades will work perfectly for you. If you already wear shade 6 Neutral of Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Foundation, my expert algorithm will select shades of other complexion products like Hollywood Flawless Filter, Charlotte’s Beautiful Skin Concealer, and Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint hydrating foundation stick in shades that are a magical match for your current Charlotte Tilbury foundation.

Tilbury Tip: Haven’t worn a Charlotte Tilbury foundation before, darling? Enter the shade match that my Foundation Shade Finder has chosen for you to complete your Complexion Edit.

Complete your complexion edit

How To Choose Your Shade of Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint

Darlings, if you know and love Hollywood Flawless Filter or Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation, here's how to choose your perfect shade of Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint hydrating foundations stick based on the shades you currently use:

Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint + Hollywood Flawless Filter Shade Matrix

Unreal Skin Sheer Glow Tint + Charlotte's Beautiful Skin Foundation Shade Matrix

Book a FREE Virtual Consultation with a Foundation Expert

I recommend my Foundation Shade Finder to everyone, darlings. It’s so quick and easy! However, I do understand the magic of speaking to a makeup artist that can guide you through the process. If you’re looking for foundation shade-matching tips, tricks, and recommendations from an expert, book a Virtual Consultation on CharlotteTilbury.com!

Virtual Consultations are FREE to book and give you 15 minutes of 1-on-1 time with a member of Team Tilbury – it’s like a trip to the makeup counter from home! On your video call, you can talk through your makeup or skincare wishes with one of my fabulous Virtual Artists and they will help you choose the perfect products for your skin tone, skin type, and makeup style.

Each of my Virtual Artists are trained by me and are passionate about sharing my Tilbury makeup secrets with the world, making beauty easy and accessible for everyone, everywhere! Let them know that you want to learn how to choose your perfect foundation shade and they’ll work their magic to design your dream complexion kit which you can add straight to your basket during your appointment.

Book a FREE Virtual Consultation and find your perfect foundation shade