Beauty Beyond Shades was created from a genuine passion for helping every person feel seen, valued, and celebrated; especially in a space as personal as beauty. Too often, individuals with undertones like olive, neutral, or deeper cool tones are overlooked or misjudged at the makeup counter. This training was designed to change that. It empowers beauty consultants with the confidence and knowledge to identify and match a full spectrum of skin undertones with accuracy and care.

Throughout the course, learners explore interactive activities, real client scenarios, and shade-matching challenges using well-known beauty brands. They don’t just memorize color theory; they learn how to truly support a client by asking thoughtful questions, listening to what they need, and honoring preferences around finish, coverage, and budget. The focus is not only on what looks right, but what feels right for each person sitting in that chair.

By the end of the program, learners are equipped with the technical skills and empathetic communication needed to create a more inclusive and positive beauty experience. This training is a step toward a beauty industry where everyone; every skin tone, every undertone; finally gets to feel represented and beautifully understood.

The Problem

Beauty Beyond Shades was designed to solve a common issue in the beauty industry: consultants often struggle to accurately identify diverse undertones, especially olive and deeper neutral tones, which results in mismatched products and customers feeling overlooked or misunderstood. This instructional design project responds to that gap by providing a three-module e-learning experience that builds knowledge and confidence in undertone analysis and inclusive foundation matching. Through clear explanations, guided examples, and ethical decision-making prompts, learners gain a deeper understanding of how to approach consultations with care, respect, and representation.

The course integrates multiple hands-on opportunities for skill development, including drag-and-drop sorting activities, realistic client assessments under different lighting conditions, and a virtual foundation-matching simulation using major beauty brands. Additionally, real “beauty counter confessions” allow learners to reflect on mistakes and improve professional judgment. By the end of the program, participants demonstrate significantly improved accuracy in shade matching, stronger communication with diverse clients, and a readiness to create more inclusive beauty experiences. The results reinforce the program’s mission: ensuring every client feels seen, understood, and beautifully matched.

The Solution

To address the challenges beauty consultants face with inclusive shade matching, Beauty Beyond Shades delivers a structured, interactive training experience focused on both skill-building and client-centered service. The solution combines foundational color theory with applied practice through engaging activities that mimic real retail environments. Learners are guided step-by-step on how to confidently determine undertones using multiple indicators, then apply that knowledge through hands-on matching with well-known foundation brands. Throughout the program, reflection and ethical decision-making are integrated to help consultants build trust and communicate effectively with a wide range of clients. By blending technical development with empathy-driven consultation strategies, the training ensures readiness to provide personalized, inclusive, and accurate beauty services from day one.

Key Features and Benefits

Beauty Beyond Shades delivers a highly interactive learning experience that blends visual identification practice, real client simulations, and decision-making scenarios using major beauty brands. Learners engage with drag-and-drop undertone assessments, dynamic case studies, and guided foundation-matching activities that reinforce not only correct choices, but the reasoning behind them. Ethical consultation practices are incorporated throughout, helping beauty consultants ask thoughtful questions, respect budget preferences, and avoid biased assumptions during shade selection. As a result, participants complete the training with stronger technical skills, improved communication, and the confidence to support clients across all skin tones and undertones. This leads to more accurate product recommendations, reduced mismatches, and a more inclusive beauty experience where every client feels seen, celebrated, and beautifully represented.

Results

Upon completion of Beauty Beyond Shades, learners demonstrate a higher level of accuracy in identifying undertones and selecting the correct foundation shades for a wide range of clients. Assessment data from interactive scenarios shows improved decision-making, stronger product knowledge, and increased readiness to apply these skills in real beauty environments. Participants report feeling more confident in guiding clients through the shade-matching process and more aware of how to create affirming, inclusive customer experiences. Overall, the training leads to fewer mismatched product recommendations, greater customer satisfaction, and a more professional, inclusive approach to beauty that ensures every client feels understood and beautifully seen.