Free · runs on your device
Foundation shade finder
Your depth level and undertone letter — the two coordinates every shade system uses — measured from your jawline pixels instead of guessed at a counter.
CostFree
TimeUnder 1 min
SignupNone
DataStays on device
Tap-to-sample color read
Step 1 of 2 · your photo
Add a photo to sample
Daylight, bare skin. Tap the jawline especially — it's where foundation must match.
How it works
Add your photo
Camera or upload, either works.
Mapped in your browser
478 landmarks, entirely on your device.
Your measured result
Numbers and lines drawn on your photo.
On-device · never uploaded
Depth + undertone match
Free · no signup
Tap 2–5 points on your jawline and lower cheek — skip shadows and blemishes.
Start your glow up
SkinPal on iPhone and Android
Next step · SkinPal app
Finally know what your skin needs.
No more guessing, no more wasted products. Take one selfie. SkinPal shows what's going on with your skin and gives you a simple plan to improve it.
What you unlock in the app
- Full face analysisProportions, symmetry and skin, measured from one selfie
- Full skin report cardSee what's good and what needs work, from acne to skin age
- Heatmaps of your faceSee exactly where redness, oil and breakouts are
- Flare, your AI skin coachAsk anything, get answers based on your own face
- Morning and night routineMade for you, and it changes as you improve
- Ingredient scannerKnow if a product suits you before you buy it
- Progress trackingSee your before and after, week by week
The science
Why foundation matching is two numbers, not a thousand shades
01
Every shade system reduces to two coordinates: depth (how light-to-deep, usually a number) and undertone (warm, cool, neutral, or olive — usually a letter). This tool measures both from your skin pixels: the ITA angle used in dermatology colorimetry for depth, and the Lab hue angle for undertone. Armed with those two, any brand’s shade chart becomes navigable.
02
The jawline rule exists because your face and neck usually differ — foundation must bridge them, so that is where you sample and where you test. And the classic failure modes are undertone errors, not depth errors: a foundation that turns orange was too warm, one that goes ashy or pink was too cool. Olive skin gets mis-matched most because many ranges simply skip it.
From measurement to counter: the shade-code cheat sheet
Most Western ranges encode depth as a number and undertone as a letter: C/R for cool-rosy, W/G for warm-golden, N for neutral — so a light-medium neutral is a "2N/3N" neighborhood in most lines. Korean and Japanese ranges often encode differently (21/23 systems, pink vs beige suffixes) — your measured undertone still translates: pink-suffix for cool, beige for warm-neutral. Olive users: look for lines with explicit olive shades, or shift one step yellower than your instinct in neutral shades. And the universal rules regardless of brand: match the JAWLINE not the hand, check in daylight, and expect to sit between two shades seasonally — faces tan.
FAQ
Common questions
How do I know my foundation undertone?+
Measure it — this tool reads the hue angle of your actual skin pixels. Warm skins suit shades ending in W/G, cool in C/R, neutral in N. If past foundations turned orange on you, you were buying too warm; ashy means too cool.
Why does my foundation match in the store but not outside?+
Store lighting is warm and dim, which hides undertone mismatches. Test on the jawline, walk to daylight, and check in a phone selfie before buying.
What if I am between shades?+
Go slightly lighter for daytime (faces photograph darker than they look) or mix two shades — most people are between shades seasonally anyway, since faces tan and pale through the year.
Why is my foundation oxidizing orange?+
Partly formula chemistry (pigments darkening with oil contact), partly a warm-of-you undertone choice that the oxidation exposes. A cooler or more neutral shade at the same depth usually survives the day; oil-controlling primer slows the chemistry.
Should foundation match your face or neck?+
The jawline boundary between them — that is where a mismatch shows as a line. Faces run darker than necks (sun), so a jaw match slightly brightens the face while staying seamless: the intended effect.