A new hair colour is the fastest way to change your look – and the most common reason a make-up suddenly feels off. Your skin has not changed, but the frame has: light hair makes the complexion look warmer and rosier, dark hair makes it lighter and cooler, copper brings out every hint of red. Three things are worth checking afterwards.
1. Foundation: check the shade, do not swap it
Foundation should match your skin, not your hair. Still, take a look in daylight: if the complexion looks too pale and flat next to dark hair, a darker shade is rarely the answer – blush and a little bronzer at the edges are. If it looks yellowish or reddish next to blonde, the undertone is usually the reason – try a neutral undertone in the same depth.
Our foundation comes in 15 shades and three undertones; the shade chart on the product page helps you compare.
To the INCEPTION Liquid Foundation
2. Brows: one or two steps apart
The brows anchor the face. Rule of thumb: with light hair, brows may be one or two steps darker than the hair; with dark hair, one or two steps lighter. Taupe or light brown suits blonde, a warm brown without red suits copper, a dark brown rather than black suits black hair – so the brows look soft, not painted.
With the Eyebrow Definer you draw in individual hairs instead of filling the brow. Short strokes in the direction of growth, then brush through with eyebrow brush No. 10.
To the INCEPTION Eyebrow Definer
3. Blush: match the temperature
Blush links hair and skin. Warm hair colours such as copper, honey blonde or caramel take a warm blush in peach, terracotta or brick. Cool colours such as ash blonde, black or cool brown look more harmonious with a rosy or berry blush. The same applies to dark skin – just one step more intense so the colour stays visible.
INCEPTION Blush comes in six colours, in the refillable bamboo case.
What you do not need to change
- Lipstick: a nude lip suits every hair colour. With a strong red the blush rule applies: warm to warm, cool to cool.
- Powder: loose powder in your depth stays the same. Only if you look paler after colouring, go one step warmer.
- Eyeshadow: browns and earth tones work with every hair colour; copper and gold look especially good with red hair.
The three-minute test
Stand by the window with your new hair, apply foundation only and look in the mirror from a metre away. If the face looks flat, blush is missing. If it looks sallow, warmth is missing. If it looks busy, the brows are too dark. Usually one of these three corrections is enough.