It is tricky as the weather gets cooler – or warmer if you are on the other side of the world – when you want to use up your present coverage shade but your tan is basically washing off in the shower. So here are some tips to lighten and darken your present coverage to avoid any product waste!

brightening tips

If you feel like you are a shade lighter already than the shade you are using – for example – your summer coverage was macadamia but you are pale enough to be vanilla now – a brightener will save the day. If you just want to be lighter but the same undertones, you can apply a little white brightener to your face over your macadamia coverage to brighten where needed. If you would like to brighten and cool your present shade – try pink or beige. If you are almond or burnt almond, you can try white, yellow, or peach to brighten your coverage. If you are burnt almond, white, yellow, peach, deep yellow to brighten. The lightest brighteners will brighten up your present coverage shade the most. If you would like to lighten and warm up your present shade – opt for yellow or deep yellow. If you are raw agave or warm agave, try deep yellow or orange brighteners to lighten your coverage. If you are almond cacao or cacao in coverage, try gold or amber brighteners.

darkening tips

If you need to add some colour or depth to your coverage and you are vanilla or macadamia, try illuminating cream tint. If you are almond or burnt almond and need a more olive deep tone in areas, adding trifala shade-changer where needed will create more depth. If you are raw agave warm agave, chaga shade-changer or henna cream tint will increase depth. Henna has a more red undertone. If you need to add more colour to your coverage and you are almond cacao and cacao, try acerola shade-changer or possibility balm.

choosing the best texture when brightening or darkening

If you prefer serums, you will likely prefer the brightener serums but both the cream brighteners and serums works well. The creams have a little more brightening impact because they do not spread out as thinly as the serum and the brightening is easily custom buildable in small areas. You can be more precise with the brightening with the creaams, but I like the brightener serums around the eye area as they meld into the skin and feel light. The same goes for the shade-changers, tints, balms, and stains if wanting to add colour instead of brightening. If your coverage is a serum, you can even pour another serum into it to alter the colour, whether it be to brighten or darken. But if that seems a little scary, stick with applying a little brightener or colour over your coverage you are trying to use up and if you would like a more customized shade of two different shades mixed or a brightener or shade-changer and coverage mixed together, I am happy to whip up a formula that is customized to you. i can also increase or decrease coverage, alter the texture, and create cooler or warmer undertones for you. The possibilities are endless!

advanced custom blend tips with the shade-changers

Since I went from having my line in spas where I was custom blending shades for clients in front of them, my goal has been to create an online alternative! I launched my shade-changers a year ago which was also the twenty year anniversary since I first started creating my own products. There is something about aquiring the absolute perfect shade of foundation and with my shade-changers I can re-live that with each custom blend client. Me being able to give each of my clients the tools and the freedom and creativity to custom blend a coverage shade and re-tweak that shade month to month makes sense because it is what I do with my own shade!

if you are new to my shade-changers concept

So if you are going lighter or darker and you own some of the powder shade-changer collection (or plan to), another option is to use the powdershade-changers to alter a serum and powder coverage shade – this is actually why they were created. Because they are undiluted superfruit pigments, a little goes a long way. It is best to add the shade changers in micro-tiny increments with the tools I offer (on the shade-changer page), if you did not download the custom blending guide in your order when purchasing the powder shade-changers, it should still be available for download in your order history. If not, feel free to make a request through email and it will be sent directly to your email! It is important to understand colour theory and any type of art background will be the confidence you need to embark on this more advanced customization technique.