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Shade Scout

No tester needed

No tester? Find your shade anyway.

Snap a selfie by a window, tap your skin and get your complexion profile with the closest shades from Maybelline, L'Oréal, NYX and e.l.f. Then buy with confidence, even when the shelf has nothing to swatch.

Find my shadeCheck a bottle in store
  • 262 real shades
  • 7 drugstore formulas
  • Photos never uploaded
Foundation swatches in a range of skin tones, from fair to deep

Sample result

Light medium

Warm undertone

  • Fit Me Matte + Poreless228
  • True Match Super-BlendableW4
  • Soft Glam Satin21

How it works

About a minute from selfie to shade.

  1. Snap a selfie

    Face a window with bare skin. Hold a sheet of plain white paper next to your face if you have one, so we can correct the room's lighting.

  2. Tap three spots

    Tap your jawline, cheek and forehead. We average each spot and leave out shine and shadows, then five quick questions pin down your undertone.

  3. Shop your shades

    Get your depth, your undertone and the closest shade in every formula we cover. Save it to your shade card and pull it up in the aisle.

Three ways to skip the guessing

For every moment before you buy.

At home

Shade finder

Read your depth and undertone from a selfie, then get the closest shade in every formula we cover.

Find my shade

Switching brands

Shade converter

Already wear a shade you love? See its closest twin in every other formula, side by side.

Convert a shade
A bottle of liquid foundation with two swatches beside it

In the aisle

Bottle check

No tester on the shelf? Hold up to three bottles to your jaw, snap one photo and see which one matches.

Check a bottle

What we match

262 real shades from the brands on the shelf.

Every match comes from the swatch colors on each brand's own US website, with their undertone labels wherever they give them. No made-up colors, no guesswork.

  • Maybelline

    Fit Me Matte + Poreless

    40 shades

  • Maybelline

    Super Stay Lumi-Matte

    24 shades

  • L'Oréal Paris

    True Match Super-Blendable

    47 shades

  • L'Oréal Paris

    Infallible 32H Fresh Wear

    40 shades

  • NYX Professional Makeup

    Make 'Em Wonder Soft Matte

    45 shades

  • e.l.f. Cosmetics

    Soft Glam Satin

    36 shades

  • e.l.f. Cosmetics

    Camo CC Cream

    30 shades

A woman taking a selfie in a bright room lit by daylight

Get the truest read

Good light does most of the work.

Phone cameras and room lights shift skin color more than you'd think. These four habits keep your read honest.

  • Face a window in daylight

    Soft daylight on your face shows your true color. Skip lamps, overhead bulbs and flash.

  • Go bare where you tap

    No foundation, tinted sunscreen or bronzer on your jaw, cheek or forehead.

  • Turn off filters

    Switch off beauty mode, portrait lighting and anything that smooths or brightens skin.

  • Hold up white paper

    Optional, but plain printer paper next to your face lets us correct the room's lighting.

Why white paper helps

Warm bulbs make everyone look golden and shade makes everyone look cool. Plain white paper shows us exactly how the light is tinting your photo, so we can take that tint back out before we match your skin.

Questions

Good to know.

Is my photo uploaded anywhere?

No. Your photo is read inside your browser on your own phone or computer. It's never sent to a server or saved, and it's gone as soon as you leave the page.

How accurate is it?

Think of it as a strong starting point rather than a lab reading. Light matters most, so face a window, turn off filters and hold up white paper for the best read. If a match looks off, the lighter and deeper buttons on your results fine-tune every shade at once.

What's an undertone?

It's the subtle hue under the surface of your skin: cool (pink or rosy), warm (golden or peachy), neutral (a mix of both) or olive (golden with a soft green cast). It decides whether a shade disappears into your skin or looks pink, yellow or ashy.

Does it work for deep skin tones?

Yes. Every formula we match runs from its fairest shade to its deepest, including rich espresso and ebony shades. Even, bright light makes the biggest difference for every skin tone.

Which brands and stores does it cover?

Maybelline, L'Oréal Paris, NYX Professional Makeup and e.l.f. Cosmetics, the drugstore staples you'll usually find at big-box stores and pharmacies. Exact shades in stock vary from store to store.

Where do the shade colors come from?

Each shade's color and undertone label comes from the swatches on the brand's own US website, collected in September 2026. Brands add and retire shades now and then, so double check the shade name on the bottle.

Do I need an account?

No account and no sign up. Save your results to your shade card and it stays on your device, ready to pull up in the store.

Walk into the aisle already knowing your shade.

It takes about a minute, it's free and your photo never leaves your phone.

Find my shadeConvert a shade I already wear