How to Find Foundation for Cool Undertone Skin

Foundation Guides  ·  8 min read

Cool undertone skin has pink, rosy or blue tones beneath the surface. Foundation that echoes this cool quality looks natural and harmonious. Foundation with even a slight yellow or golden quality can look orange or mask-like on cool skin in natural daylight. This guide explains how to identify cool undertone foundations and which options work best at every price point.

Reading Foundation Labels for Cool Undertones

Cool undertone foundations are labeled with a C in the shade code, words like cool, pink or rose in the shade description, or NW in MAC products which is a cool formulation despite the neutral-warm name. Fair cool shades are often described as porcelain or ivory with a pink quality while medium and deeper cool shades may be described as beige, tan or espresso with a rosy or cool quality.

Avoid shades with W, warm, golden or yellow in the label for cool undertones. The NC coding in MAC which is actually warm-toned is one of the most common sources of confusion for cool undertone shoppers. NW is the correct MAC coding for cool undertones, counterintuitive as that seems.

Drugstore Options for Cool Undertones

Maybelline Fit Me Matte and Poreless has a reasonably good cool undertone range particularly for fair to light cool skin. The 115 Ivory and 128 Warm Nude shades work for light cool undertones despite the naming. L'Oreal True Match uses a C coding that is among the most reliable in drugstore. The C range covers fair to deep cool undertones with good consistency.

Revlon ColorStay has a mixed range for cool undertones but the ivory and porcelain end of the range tends to suit fair cool skin reasonably well. For deeper cool undertones, the drugstore range becomes thinner and many women with medium to deep cool undertones find prestige brands offer more appropriate options.

Prestige Foundations for Cool Undertones

MAC Studio Fix Fluid NW range is one of the most comprehensive cool undertone ranges in prestige makeup. It covers fair pink to very deep cool in approximately 20 shades with consistent undertone quality across the range. Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless uses a cool descriptor system that is clear and reliable.

For deeper cool undertones, Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r is exceptional. The range of cool-undertone shades in medium to deep skin is broader than most other prestige brands. NARS Sheer Glow has a well-regarded cool undertone range particularly for medium cool skin. Rare Beauty Liquid Touch uses a C suffix system that is easy to navigate.

Common Mistakes Cool Undertones Make

The most common mistake is buying the wrong MAC shade. Because NC sounds like it should mean neutral-cool and therefore suit cool undertones, many cool undertone women buy NC shades and end up with orange foundation. The NW range, not NC, is the correct choice for cool undertones in MAC.

The second most common mistake is assuming that because a foundation is labeled neutral it will work for cool undertones. Neutral formulations vary significantly between brands. Some neutral shades lean warm and some lean cool. Always test a neutral shade on the jawline in natural light before assuming it will work.