My Favorite Makeup Products for Medium/Tan Skin Tones

Now you may be thinking “but Marie, you don’t have medium or tan skin…” and you would be correct! So I called in an expert! My friend, Sharon, is a beauty guru and is especially talented when it comes to makeup. I asked her to help me and guest write a blog post for you all about her favorite products for women with darker skin!

Sharon is an occupational therapist and a close family friend. She is getting married in June in San Jose, California and I seriously could not be more excited. I am excited because not only are two of our family’s closest friends getting married, but I will be attending the wedding as a guest. What??? Time to see how the other 99% live 🙂

I cannot wait for yall to read what Sharon has to say because she is giving y’all allllll the tips and products for any budget. Without further ado, keep reading to learn all the things!

Every skin tone (light, medium, deep, etc.) has an undertone. Your undertone can have warm hues, neutral hues, or cool hues – warm hues are yellow or golden undertones, neutral hues are olive undertones, and cool hues are pink/red and blue undertones. For example, my medium skin tone has warm hues and most definitely a yellow undertone; similarly, many people with light skin tones have pink undertones. The way I determined that I have a yellow undertone is through a few methods. One method is looking at the appearance of your veins: I have very green veins which signifies a yellow (warm) undertone (blue veins tend to signify a pink or blue (cool) undertone). Another method is one that can be considered outdated but does hold true for me, and that is the color of jewelry you tend to gravitate towards. I always have and always will wear gold jewelry, which is warm-toned, versus cool-toned people tend to gravitate towards silver jewelry.  A third method, and another one that worked for me, was to just look at your clean face in the mirror and try to determine which colors stand out the most – do you see more yellow or red?

The reason for all this background on tones and undertones is because it is key to choosing the right makeup. You want to choose a foundation that is the right shade, meaning one that will compliment your natural undertone; contour/bronzing products that won’t apply reddish or muddy on your face; and eyeshadows that compliment your eye color and undertones. That being said, you can totally be someone who has yellow undertones and wears cool-toned eyeshadows because that’s the beauty of makeup artistry – you can play around with anything and everything and there are no rules, just guidelines!

Below is a list of my favorite makeup products for medium/tan skin tones (as noted, I have a yellow undertone); hope it’s helpful! These products have good shade ranges in my opinion, and are my tried and true for different occasions.

FOUNDATION

When I do wear foundation, I like glowy, light, and natural-looking ones, so my favorites include…

Light: Mac face and body foundation (I wear the shade: C4)

Natural-looking/glowy high-end: Armani Luminous Silk foundation (shade: 6.25)

My favorite foundation brand in general with many different coverage options (from light to matte): Clinique Even Better Foundation & Beyond Perfecting Foundation/Concealer) (shade: 7.5)

 

CONCEALER

I have genetic dark circles under my eyes so any concealer that is natural but brightening and long-wearing is a winner for me!

Color-corrector: Sephora color corrector in “Bright Future”

Dewy & natural, medium buildable coverage: RMS “Un”Cover Up (shade: 44) – my everyday favorite, I usually only wear this on my face and it looks super natural and beautiful!

High-coverage & long-wearing: Mac Studio Finish Concealer (pot) (shade: NC 42)

 

FACE POWDER

 I always set my concealer, & another option for if you like to set the rest of your face…

Setting under-eyes: Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder; Huda Beauty Powder in Banana Bread (great yellow-toned powder for brightening)

All-over face: MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Medium Tan

 

CONTOURING/BRONZER

I LOVE bronzing/contouring, it adds so much dimension and depth to the face – a chiseled out cheek-bone looks amazing on everyone regardless of your skin tone!

Cream bronzer: Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer in Blaze

Powder Bronzer (easy for travel): Benefit Cosmetics Hoola Bronzer – seems like a universally flattering product

Bronzer/Contour Palette: NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette – amazing palette with beautiful shades for contouring and bronzing.

 

BLUSH

I also couldn’t live without blush, it makes people look so fresh and so clean!

Cream blush: Glossier Cloud Paint in Storm – super beautiful and easy to use

Powder blush: NARS Dolce Vita blush – beautiful shade for medium/deep skin tones

 

HIGHLIGHTER

The ones that I found to look best on my skin tone have a golden or pearlescent hue.

Cream highlighter: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Champagne Pop

Powder highlighter: Stila Heaven’s Hue highlighter in Bronze – my ride or die highlight, I love how this looks on the cheekbone, browbone, bridge of the nose, & inner eye!

 

EYEBROWS

For when you want to fill in your brows or make them look naturally snatched.

Brow tint: Glossier Boy Brow in Black – perfect, feathery brows all day

 

EYESHADOW PALLETS

I’ve just recently become an eyeshadow person, and it is so much fun to play with color!

Created for medium/tan skin tones: Desi Couture Eyeshadow Palette (all shimmery shades, all look beautiful on our skin tone)

Everyday palette with specific color range: ColourPop Palette in Give it to Me Straight – great shades that suit medium and dark skin tones so beautifully

High-End Palette: Anastasia Beverly Hills Soft Glam Eyeshadow Palette – also beautiful every-day palette with warm toned colors

 

EYELINER

I’m definitely an eye-liner girl, I proudly wear my perfected winged-out liner almost every day that I can and I think black liner is so striking on medium/deep skin tones!

Pencil liner:NARS black eyeliner; any Maybelline black eyeliner

Cream colored liners: Sephora Jumbo Pencils are amazing! Beautiful shades that are creamy and long-lasting

Gel eyeliner: Loreal Infallible Gel Eyeliner in black

Liquid felt-tip liner: NYX Epic Ink liner

 

LIP LINER

I love a natural lip liner, especially to wear on its own.

Pencil liner:NARS Precision Lip Liner in Lerins – literally my lip color, long-lasting

 

LIPSTICKS

Not a big lipstick person tbh, but I do love an occasional lip look.

Creamy natural lipstick:Il Makiage in ISLA – my lip color but adds a beautiful tint; Make Up Forever Artist Rouge Crème (shade: C106)

Liquid Lip:Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paints – beautiful formula, long-lasting, & flattering shades

 

Hope you learned something and maybe even found some new gems! Makeup is not necessary, we are all beautiful with or without it, but when it’s used for self-care (and for me, is even therapeutic), I believe it can be life-giving.

 

 

Thank you Sharon! What did y’all think of this guest blog? What are your favorite products for your skin tone? Do you want more guest blogs in the future? Let me know in the comments!