It’s not often I get to work with dark skin. Which is why I get overly excited when I meet a client with black skin. Black skin is so beautiful in its own unique way. There is so much you could do with a dark canvas. I can use all the boldest, brightest colours in the world and it would compliment this type of skin tone perfectly. I can go crazy! Shocking pink, Emerald green, the brightest yellow…all the jolly colours to play with. Even white glides amazingly on black skin, believe it or not. The only problem – foundation. I have so many dark foundation colours in my kit, some apparently are great for the “blackest” skin tones. People would do or say anything to sell, won’t they?

The current market in beauty, in my opinion, still does not cater much choice for non-Caucasians. I swear by that. It’s not easy for me to find makeup that suits black or oriental skin, especially. So I’m always on the lookout for more makeup to add to my kit and to experiment. Go to any department store and there is limited choice for someone like me or someone with very dark skin tone. Sometimes there are things you can find that will work. Most of the time, though…ergh. Black skin will struggle to find bright bold eyeshadows, blushers that will show up and foundation that is dark enough with a choice between warm undertones and cool undertones. Oriental skin will struggle to find foundation that is yellow enough and eyeshadows and blushers that has less of an orange tone to them.

Differentiating between cool tones and warm tones is not as easy as it seems! You’d simply think red is a warm colour and blue is a cool colour, full stop. But even different shades of reds and blues have cool and warm undertones to them. So if you think you suit cool colours, don’t just run out and get any blue eye shadow you can find. And if you are black, don’t just get the darkest foundation on the counter and think it’s your colour. Orientals…the yellowest foundation on the counter may not be for you. Sometimes you need to mix two shades together. Sometimes NONE of the shades are right for you even when you mix them. Maybe you need to do a little bit more research on warm and cool colours. And don’t assume that you have to use the whole collection from one brand. Just because a few items are great for you, doesn’t mean that you have to stick to everything else within that brand. It’s OK to mix and match different products.