Virtual Salon

Foundation
There are more than forty shades between the lightest and deepest of dark skin, so finding the right foundation can be a real challenge. Always test foundation on your cheek or jawline. The skin around the outside of the face is often darker than the skin in the center.

Very dark skin has a lot of yellow pigment, so look for foundations with yellow undertones. Choose oil-free formulations, as darker skin reflects more light and is often slightly oily. Finish with a powder that’s either transparent or slightly lighter that your skin.

Eyes
The general rule is that the darker the skin, the deeper the eye color.
This is because darker skin tends to absorb color. Use rich eye colors like gold, deep fray, purples, russet, copper, and brown. Pale pink and beige are enhancing highlighters.

If your eyebrows are a little sparse, use dark brown or black pencil to fill them in. Use a kohl pencil to rim your eyes and a couple of coats of mascara.

Lips
The same rule of “the darker the skin, the darker the color” applies to the lips. Red lips are perfect for evening, but choose reds with warm, brown tones, rather than blue undertones, which tend to be too cold. Women with darker tones usually have darker pigmentation outlining their lips, so they have their own natural lip line. If you do find that you require a lip liner, stay in the brown tones.

Blush
Peach or brown tones are most flattering to darker skin. You’ll fund that pink shades contain too much of a blue undertones. For day wear, use a large soft brush to spread the color. For evening glamour, use a bronze shade a couple of tones darker than your natural skin color.