The ultimate guide to finding your perfect Ctrl+ SKIN shade
Choosing the right foundation shade can feel tricky. With terms like undertone, overtone and skin tone depth, it's easy to get confused. But finding your match doesn't have to be complicated.
25 shades and endless possibilities
Our new foundation Ctrl+ SKIN launched in September and comes in 25 shades. The range spans from light to deep, with warm, cool and neutral undertones, plus two shades with olive undertones. Once you've found your perfect shade, Ctrl+ SKIN's buildable medium coverage and natural second-skin finish make it versatile for all kinds of occasions.
And last but not least, Ctrl+ SKIN is of course 100% vegan and cruelty free.
Step 1: Get to know your undertone
Your undertone is the subtle color beneath the surface of your skin and can be warm, cool, neutral, or olive. Unlike your skin tone, which can change throughout the year, your undertone tends to stay relatively constant.
A warm undertone often leans towards yellow or golden tones
A cool undertone can lean towards pink or red tones
A neutral undertone is more balanced
An olive undertone can have a greenish tint
There are simple tricks that can help you get a better understanding of your undertone. Here are some things you can try at home:
Gold or Silver
Have you ever thought about whether you feel best wearing gold or silver jewelry? Gold tends to complement warm undertones. Silver, on the other hand, can harmonize with cool undertones. If you feel that both gold and silver suit you equally well, you may have a neutral undertone. It's also worth mentioning that some gold jewelry can have more red in it, while some is much more yellow – these shade variations can also affect how you perceive the jewelry against your skin.
Try a white garment
Another classic trick is to hold a bright white garment close to your face in natural daylight. Pay attention to how your skin tone looks – if it appears pink or slightly blue/purple, it could indicate a cool undertone. If your skin instead appears yellow or golden, you may have a warm undertone. Is it difficult to tell because your skin looks more beige? That usually indicates a neutral undertone.
With an olive undertone, the skin can appear slightly green or have a muted, gray-beige cast. If that's you, we have good news – Ctrl+ SKIN also comes in two different olive shades. Maybe 20 Jenny (WO) or 65 Robin (WO) are worth exploring.
Take a look at your veins
If the veins on the inside of your wrist appear blue or purple, this is usually associated with cool undertones. Greenish veins are often linked to warmer undertones. Do you see a mixture of both colors? Then your undertone may be neutral.
Finding your undertone isn't always an exact science. With a few small tricks like these, you can usually get a good idea of where your skin sits. But your natural undertone doesn't have to dictate which foundation undertone you choose. You might prefer a warmer shade to help balance redness, for example, or simply find that a different undertone makes your skin come alive. In the end, the best match is the one you feel looks best on you.
Step 2: Find your shade depth
Once you've identified your undertone, the next step is to look at your shade depth, meaning how light or deep your skin tone is. Two people can have the same undertone but need completely different foundation shades depending on the depth of their skin tone.
Our color wheel helps you navigate the 25 shades of Ctrl+ SKIN by combining undertone and shade depth.
Start in the center with your undertone. The shades are divided into cool, neutral, and warm undertones. Some shades fall between two undertones and therefore have two letters, such as 15 Sammie (NW) for neutral/warm.
Continue outward to your shade depth. Here, the shades are divided from light to deep. Choose the depth that is closest to your own skin tone.'
Find your shade. On the outer edge of the color wheel, you'll see which Ctrl+ SKIN shades correspond to the combination of your undertone and shade depth.
Step 3: Try our Shade Finder
If you already have a favorite foundation shade from another brand, you can use Shade Finder to find the closest match in Ctrl+ SKIN.
Start by selecting a brand, foundation and shade you know is a good match for you. You can also add several foundations and shades that have worked for you to help refine your recommendation.
Want to see how it works in practice? Watch Linda show you how easy it is to find your perfect match using our Shade Finder.
Pro-stips from the makeup artist
1. Mix and match
Since skin tone can vary across different parts of the face, so don't be afraid to mix different shades. It's common for the forehead, cheeks, and the area around the jawline to have different shade depths. Some prefer to use the same foundation shade all over the face, while others prefer to use several shades to match the skin's color variations. For example, Josephine uses 115 Josephine (W) around the face and 105 Vera (NC) in the center of the face to follow the natural variation in her skin tone.
This can also be a smart trick when your skin tone changes between seasons. Maybe you have a lighter shade that suits you during winter and a darker one that you use during summer? Mix the two shades and you can create your perfect shade.
2. Tone down redness
You can neutralize redness in the skin by using a slightly deeper, warmer shade where needed. Build it up until you've achieved the desired effect and then go in with your usual foundation shade. This tip also works for redness caused by rosacea. Ctrl+ SKIN has a lightweight, non-comedogenic formula that is clinically tested on sensitive skin and proven to support the skin's natural barrier.
3. Adjust the coverage
Did you know that a foundation's coverage can affect how noticeable a shade difference is? Lighter coverage allows more of your natural skin tone to show through, which can make small shade differences less noticeable on the skin.
Ctrl+ SKIN has buildable medium coverage, which can be helpful if your foundation shade isn't a perfect match. By starting with a thin layer, more of your natural skin tone can shine through, making small shade differences less noticeable. You can then build up the coverage depending on your preference.
4. Fine-tune your base
If you've found a foundation that almost matches your skin tone but feel that something still isn't 100% right, there are simple tricks to adjust the shade.
If your foundation is a little too light, you can add more definition with products like Artistick or Infinity Bronzer. This helps bring back your face's natural dimension, creating a more balanced result where the shade difference is less noticeable.
If your foundation is a little too dark, try applying a lighter product to selected areas of your face to create a more even and balanced look.
5. Balance the undertone
Sometimes it's not the shade depth that's the problem, but the undertone.
To adjust a foundation with the wrong undertone, you can use color correction. If you look at a classic color wheel, you'll see that each color has an opposite color on the other side of the wheel. These are called complementary colors and can be used to neutralize each other when mixed. Here are some examples of complementary colors:
Red and green
Blue and orange
Yellow and purple
Let's say that your foundation happens to look a little too yellow – try adding a small amount of purple color corrector to tone down the yellow tones. The same applies if your foundation looks too red. In that case, a green color corrector can help tone down the red tones.
Understanding your undertone and skin tone depth is a great starting point for finding your Ctrl+ SKIN shade, but there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to shade matching. Use our Shade Finder, color wheel and shade images as a guide, then mix, adjust and experiment to find what works best for you.
All our shade-matching tools and tips are designed to help narrow down your options rather than guarantee an exact match.
Explore all 25 shades of Ctrl+ SKIN
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