How to Choose the Best Makeup for You
Seasonal makeup palettes
Introduction
Do you want to know how to select the right makeup textures and tones for your specific skin tone and type? I will share the best techniques to choose the most flattering, modern makeup for you.
Finding Your Skin Type
First, we need to figure out your skin type to learn which formulas will sit best. Your skin type is how your skin produces oil, how hydrated it appears, and how sensitive or reactive it is. Questions to ask yourself include: Is your skin oily, dry or combination? Does this vary seasonally? What climate is your skin exposed to? Skin types are not a permanent diagnosis. Your skin type can vary because of climate, age, hormones, lifestyle and genetics.
How do I determine what type of skin I have?
1. Notice
Oily: You will notice your skin appears shiny, especially in the T-Zone, or nose and forehead.
Combination: Oily T-Zone, but dry cheek areas.
Dry: Feels tight or appears flaky and dull. You can more easily see fine lines.
2. Test
To be sure, you can use blotting papers to assess the amount of oil on your skin. Alternatively, you can take your clean finger and rub it on the side of your nose. Did your finger come away with oil? If so, you likely have oily or combination skin. If not, you likely have dry skin.
I have found my skin type. What should I do from here?
With this newfound information, you can work on skin improvements specific for you for makeup to look its best. Working to improve your skin’s texture is the best way to achieve natural looking makeup. Makeup sits best on a clean, smooth and hydrated canvas. Correcting underlying issues is the best way to put your best face forward.
1. Make Improvements
Lifestyle: Stay hydrated. This includes drinking water, moisturizing using serums and creams, and misting your face throughout the day.
Hormones/Genetics: You can’t change these factors, but you can find ways to lower stress levels and alter your diet in ways that will benefit you. Noticing patterns in your menstrual cycle or a food group that doesn’t digest well in family members are great observations to make that will affect your skin.
Environment: The humidity in your climate will affect your skin. If you live in a dryer climate, finding hyaluronic serums, face mists, high quality moisturizers and oils are great ways to keep surface level hydration and minimize fine lines. If you live in a more tropical climate, you may want to use lighter, non-comedogenic products that allow your skin to breathe. Find out more about non-comedogenic products here.
2. Find your Undertone
Knowing your skin undertone is important to select the right makeup shades. Undertones are warm, cool or neutral. You can find this out by doing a vein test. Look at the veins on your wrist in natural light. If your veins appear blue or purple, you are cool toned. If they appear green or yellow, you have warm undertones. If they appear both blue and green, you have neutral undertones. If you have trouble telling this way, you can do a white cloth test. Hold a white cloth next to your face in natural light. If your skin looks pink or rosy, you have cool undertones. If your skin looks yellow or golden, you have warm undertones. If your skin looks neither pink or yellow, you have neutral undertones. You can also compare your skin when wearing silver or gold jewelry. Your undertone can change over time because of aging or sun exposure.
Remember, above all, your nutrition and exercise are the key to great skin. You can have a fancy 10 Step Korean Skin Routine and buy the most expensive products, but if you aren’t listening to your body and assisting it with proper nutrient intake and detoxing, the impact will be minimal. A healthy lifestyle is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
Makeup Selection
Now that you know your skin type, skin undertone and know how to address underlying skin issues from the inside and out, you can begin selecting products that work for you. In 2025, no makeup- makeup looks are in. Skin that is glows and feels like skin instead of overdone makeup is in. Celebrities appear very skin-focused and are using products that aren’t heavy. They seem to be spending more time at the med-spa receiving laser treatments and practicing home care instead of layering on thick foundation to cover up issues. Freckles are allowed to shine, and brows are allowed to be natural and fluffy. I personally love this style and feel of this type of makeup. Your daily routine can take less time, and it is easier to remove at the end of the day.
Above all, you need to select products with ingredients that your skin type tolerates best. I recommend purchasing 1 new skincare or makeup product at a time to test for 1 week or longer to see how your skin reacts. There is no one-size fits all approach to makeup for skin types, as it is so personal, but I will share my favorites.
Finding the right makeup for you can be a trial and error process.
Kelsey’s Favorites:
Foundation: ILIA Skin Tint with 55+ SPF
This formula glides on smooth and provides minimal coverage that allows freckles to peek through.
Blush: JONES ROAD Miracle Balm
This formula applies easily with your fingers and offers both color and shine.
Highlight: MERIT Day Glow Highlighting Balm
This convenient stick offers a beautiful, non-creasy iridescent glow.
Lips: WONDERSKIN Lip Stain
With coverage that lasts for 2-4 hours, this lip stain comes in a variety of colors that doesn’t smudge. I prefer a tone that is slightly pinker than my lips to get a natural ‘I woke up like this’ look.
Mascara: THRIVE Causemetics Liquid Lash Extensions Mascara
This tubing mascara doesn’t end up under your eyes after a long work day and removes easily with cleanser.
Eye Shadow: CHARLOTTE TILBURY Eyes to Mesmerize cream shadow
This cream shadow applies easily with a finger swipe or brush. It offers color that reflects light making your eyes appear larger and more even toned.
Eye Liner: BOBBI BROWN Long Wear Gel Liner
I don’t use eye liner often anymore, in stark contrast with the harsh and crisp black winged liner that was popular a few years ago. When I do, I add a more natural looking brown liner to the end of my eyes to elongate them. Madeline Cline is a gorgeous celebrity (As seen in Netflix’s Outer Banks) that does a great job with this. Here is a tutorial by Madeline Cline herself on how to slightly wing your liner for a more exotic look. Skip to 8 minutes for the eyeliner lesson.
Face Mist: EVIAN Facial Mist Spray
This is probably the most bougie part of my routine, and I have been buying Evian face mist for 10+ years now. It is simply clean, mineralized water in a lightly dispersed spray to set your makeup and offer hydration throughout the day. I rely on this to get me through long haul flights, and it feels amazing on your skin. After noting that I always seemed to break out after flights, I also encourage the use of hypochlorous spray like Tower 28 during flights to minimize bacteria exposure. This is an ophthalmologist approved technique for preventing acne. You can read more about it here on the Twenty Twenty website.
This is my whole routine. I also use a JONES ROAD The Face Pencil that I use to conceal specific areas if I have any discoloration, acne spots or redness. For ongoing lip hydration, I rotate lip oils, lip balms and lip glosses. My obsession with the cult favorite Kiehl’s Butter Stick is over, as it was sadly discontinued. Fresh Sugar is the closest dupe I can find. I use the Laniege lip mask religiously overnight to ensure I wake up with soft and plump looking lips. This product does appear to have a plumping effect over time. There is a close dupe now sold by none other than Trader Joes if you are looking for a budget option.
Conclusion
All this to say, you should experiment with products with a lightweight consistency based on your skin type and preferences. If you have mature or dry skin, choosing lightweight, serum based foundations are a better bet than something thicker that will settle in creases. If you have oily skin, you may want to go with a more matte finish skin tint or foundation.
With the abundance of makeup brands available, it can be difficult to choose what works best for you. But if you know your skin type, you will be better equipped to make educated purchases and test what works best for you.
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Works Cited:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uxPYlvOlrE
https://patrickta.com/blogs/articles/how-to-determine-skin-tone-undertone
https://trytwentytwenty.com/products/easy-on-the-eyes-daily-hygiene-facial-spray