What is my skin’s ‘undertone’?
When it comes to finding a new lipstick or blush, we’re usually drawn to color first. It’s not uncommon to love a color online only to discover that it doesn’t look as you’d hoped when you try it at home. Much of this has to do with your skin’s undertone. Undertones are the natural colors underneath the surface of your skin that can decide what colors or hue complement you the most. Matching makeup and clothing to your undertone can lend to a brighter, healthier appearance.
Of course, regardless of what you skin might suggest, your personal preference is of most importance when deciding what colors to wear. Your confidence comes first.
Knowing your skin’s undertone may help you choose makeup or color palettes that suit you best. Read on to find out what yours may be!
What are the different undertones?
There are 3 traditional undertones: warm, cool, and neutral.
Warm undertones range from peach to yellow and golden.
Cool undertones include pinkish and bluish hues.
A neutral undertone means that your undertones are similar to the color of your actual skin tone.
It’s important to understand that undertone isn’t the same thing as the color of your bare skin. Even the fairest skin can have warm undertones, and dark skin, cool ones.
This is why matching a product to your skin color can be challenging.
How can I tell what my undertone is?
Determining your skin’s undertone can be easy! Here’s just a few ways you can do it at home:
Look at your veins
If you can see your veins, you may be able to use the color of them to identify your undertone.
If your veins look greenish, then you likely have warm undertones. People with blue or purplish-looking veins usually have cooler undertones.
If you have neutral undertones, then your veins may appear colorless or match the color of your skin. Multiple vein colors can also suggest a neutral undertone.
Assess your jewelry
The color of your favorite jewelry- silver or gold - can be a testament to your natural undertones.
If you like the way traditional yellow gold looks on your skin, you’re more likely to have warm or olive undertones. Silver, platinum, and rose gold tend to flatter cooler undertones.
You may have neutral undertones if you tend to look good in both silver and gold and base your choice more on your outfit than your skin color.
Compare to something neutral
Neutral-colored clothing can help indicate your undertones.
True white tends to favor cooler undertones, while warm undertones may look better in off-white. Warm undertones also tend to complement brown hues, while cooler tones often look better in black.
Like jewelry, if you have neutral undertones, you can wear all colors without affecting your overall look.
Think about your eye and hair color
Although you might play with different dyed hair colors, your natural eye and hair color may provide some insights into your undertones.
When considering dyeing your hair, you might want to know that platinum and ash-colored dyes tend to complement cooler undertones, while mahogany and golden dyes usually look better if you have warmer undertones.
Olive skin tone
If your skin appears more ashen or gray, then you could have a natural olive tone. Olive tones aren’t as distinct or as common as warm, cool, or neutral undertones, but are instead a combination of undertones.
Olive skin is a combination of neutral and warm undertones along with a unique green hue.
Applications to makeup: foundation
Once you know your undertones, you can move on to choosing the right foundation for your skin. Given the number of foundation lines and types, this will probably still take some trial and error.
The same shade can vary across brands, so your ideal shade may be different across different make-up lines.
Cool undertone
A cool undertone foundation will appear slightly pink in the bottle. If you have a cool undertone, you should avoid yellowish foundations.
Warm undertone
Warm undertones tend to look better with a slightly yellow foundation.
Neutral undertone
People with neutral undertones tend to look better in foundations that are neither overly yellow nor pink. Instead, look for a combination of both.
Olive undertone
If you have an olive undertone, go for a slightly gold foundation rather than a yellow one.
What this means for your overall color palette
A foundation offers a great base for all the fun colors you’ll put against your skin next.
As a rule of thumb, your most stand-out colors should come in the form of clothing, lipstick, and eyeshadow. It’s recommended to keep blushes and bronzers more “neutral.”
There are other considerations based on your undertone.
Cool undertone
If you have a cool undertone, stick with pinks and greens, as well as purples and reds that have pink tones to them. For example, opt for raspberry red over fire-engine red.
Warm undertone
If you have a warm undertone, your color palette will be the exact opposite of those with cool undertones. Yellow, gold, and peach hues look great against your skin.
Neutral undertone
As one might expect, neutral undertones can pull off neutral colors well. They also look good in cool and warm color palettes.
Olive undertone
An olive undertone looks great in earthy colors, as well as gold and green. Be careful with warm color palettes, as these can end up making your skin look too yellow.
