Do your clothes make you look dull or is your foundation too yellow? The issue may be that these do not match the undertone of your skin.
While it is easier to figure out skin tone, skin undertone can be a little trickier to identify.
Table of Contents
What is skin tone?
Skin tone refers to the surface color of the skin. It is based on the amount of melanin pigment in the skin. Melanin is secreted by special cells called melanocytes which are present in the epidermis or the top layer of skin.
In other words, skin tone refers to how light or dark your skin color is.
Skin tone can change, for example, if you spend a lot of time in the sun, the melanocytes may be triggered to produce more melanin pigment. This can make your skin tone darker.
Broadly speaking, skin tone can be classified into three or four categories. However, remember this is a spectrum, you can fall anywhere in between.
In fact, often these can be further divided into subcategories to define them.
- Fair: This is the lightest shade and people with this skin tone burn easily in the sun. They usually have light-colored or red hair.
- Light: Sometimes, fair and light skin tones are classified separately and sometimes both are lumped together under light skin tone. People with light skin may tan in summer.
- Medium: This is more of the middle color and people with this tone tan easily in the sun.
- Dark: This is extreme with a deeper shade and has more melanin content.
How to identify your skin tone?
Skin tone, though broadly divided into three categories, can have a full range of skin tones. Very fair, fair, light, medium light, medium dark, and so on.
However, by using three main categories, one can broadly classify skin tone.
1. Examine your jawline
Remove all your makeup by washing your face. Wait for 30 minutes or so, since washing your face can trigger some facial redness.
Look at your jawline in natural light (stand by a window, not in direct sunlight).
Why jawline? Our cheeks and nose are often affected by redness, dark spots, and discoloration. It may make it harder to determine the skin tone of the skin.
2. Ask a family member or friend
If you are not able to decide which group you fall in, ask a friend or loved one. Two sets of eyes are always better than one.
3. Visit a beauty store
Still on the fence, visit your local beauty store and ask a representative if they can help you.
What is skin undertone?
Skin undertone on the other hand refers to the color or hue present under the surface of the skin. They are also considered the skin temperature colors.
In contrast to skin tone, the skin undertone doesn’t change and stays the same.
The four skin undertones are:
- Warm: yellow or golden hue.
- Cool: pink, red, or blue hue.
- Neutral has a balance of both the above skin undertones.
- Olive: This has a greenish hue. It can be further divided into:
- Warm (yellow and greenish hue).
- Cool (pink and greenish hue).
- Neutral olive undertones.
- This category is sometimes not included in the list and is often mistaken for other undertones. (Some may not agree with this).
Every skin tone can have any of the above-mentioned undertones.
A light skin tone can have a warm undertone. Similarly, dark skin tones can have all these undertones including cool.
How to identify your skin undertone?
There are several ways to determine the undertone. Below are 7 ways to find your skin tone.
1. Silver and gold jewelry test
You can see in the picture above, how silver and gold can complement different skin undertones.
What you think:
- Does silver jewelry look the best on your skin? Probably you have a cool undertone.
- Does gold jewelry look the best on your skin? Probably you have a warm undertone.
- Do both silver and gold jewelry look great on you? Probably you have a neutral undertone.
- Do you prefer muted gold or silver jewelry (muted means the bright color is toned down)? You may have an olive undertone.
- Olive warm undertone may go with muted gold.
- Olive cool undertone may go with muted silver.
- Olive neutral may go with both.
2. Check your veins
Another way is to examine the veins under your wrists. Alternatively, you can check the veins on your neck or temple. This test can be hard to interpret.
- If the veins are blue or purplish in color, you probably have a cool undertone.
- If the veins are green, you probably have a warm undertone.
- If you cannot tell which color is more prominent (blue or green), you probably have a neutral undertone.
- If the veins have a strong green color, you may have an olive undertone.
3. White color test
Take a piece of white paper and put it next to your face and neck (no makeup) or wear a white T-shirt. Examine the skin on your jaw or neck.
- Does your skin look yellowish? You may have a warm undertone.
- If your skin appears pink or rosy? Probably you have a cool undertone.
- If you see no difference in color? You may have a neutral undertone.
- If you see a greenish hue or gray or ashy color? You may have an olive undertone.
- Yellow with a greenish hue means probably you have an olive warm undertone.
- Pink with a greenish hue probably means you have an olive cool undertone.
- A balanced look with a green hue means you have an olive-neutral undertone.
4. Compare your photos
I personally think this is the best and easiest way to determine the skin undertone especially when it comes to olive skin undertone.
Grab your phone and go through your photos (in which you are with your friends or others). Focus on the photos taken in natural light. Make sure to assess your skin in several photos next to different people to get an idea.
How does your skin look?
- Is it more yellow as compared to others? Probably you have a warm undertone.
- Is it more pinkish than others? Probably you have a cool undertone.
- Do you look the same in every picture? Probably, you have a neutral undertone.
- Do you see a greenish hue or gray color? Probably you have an olive undertone. If along with a greenish hue, you look more yellow – you may have an olive warm undertone and if you look pinker – you may have an olive cool undertone.
The tests below are less reliable for determining the skin undertone.
5. Check your hair color
You have to assess your natural hair color.
- Those with cool undertones usually have naturally blonde brown or black hair with platinum or ash undertones.
- Those with warm undertones usually have strawberry blonde, brown, or black hair with a golden, red, or orange hue.
- Neutral and olive tones may not have a dominant hair undertone.
6. Check your eye color
- If you have black, gray, or light blue eyes, you may have a cool undertone.
- If you have brown, hazel, amber, or green eyes, you may have a warm undertone.
- Neutral and olive undertones may have any eye color.
7. Sun tan and burn test
I don’t find this test very reliable as our skin tone or color which is basically the melanin content of our skin affects whether we will tan or burn. It’s hard to use this as a deciding factor for skin undertones.
Why does your skin undertone matter?
Your skin undertone may help you find the best shade of foundation, makeup products, and colors for your clothing.
Choosing the right foundation
Every brand will have a different range of shades with different undertones. First, you can see which may be the right shade for your skin tone, then you try the different undertones in that shade.
Every foundation will have a different depth of color, some may be too pink, some too yellow. You can find the best match by trying.
- Warm undertone: This undertone will look great with a yellowish foundation.
- Cool undertone: This undertone looks great with a pinkish foundation.
- Neutral undertone: This undertone likes a balanced look so go for a peachy foundation.
- Olive undertone: It can be hard to find the perfect match for this undertone. Your ideal foundation will vary whether you have an olive warm undertone, cool or neutral undertone.
In general, a foundation with a neutral undertone may work well for this skin tone. A golden yellow foundation may also work for some. These days many brands have foundations specifically catered to olive undertone.
Foundation Tips
Don’t take the undertones as categories, because a lot of us don’t fall in any category. We may be somewhere in between. The undertones are a spectrum just like the skin tones.
Sometimes, it may be hard to find the perfect match for your skin.
The following tricks may help you in working with your foundation.
The basic principle in all the tips below is the same. You look at the color wheel and balance a color (if you look at the color wheel, opposite every color, there is a different color. You can use these opposite colors to balance each other).
This is the same thing we follow when it comes to choosing color correctors for dark circles.
- If your foundation is too yellow but you have an olive undertone: Balance the color by adding some purple color corrector to it. Then add some green color corrector to give it an olive undertone. Or simply add some green color corrector to your foundation and see if it works for you.
- Your foundation is too pink, but you have a warm undertone: Balance the pink color by adding some green color to it. You can add some bronzer if needed.
- Your foundation is too yellow, but you have a cool undertone: Balance the yellow by adding a purple color corrector. You can add some pink cream blush if needed.
- Your foundation is too orange, but you have a cool undertone: Balance the orange by adding a blue color corrector. You can add some pink cream blush if needed.
You may have to try and see if these things can make your foundation work for you.
Many beauty stores have dedicated representatives to help in picking the right color. You can always benefit from their expertise.
Choosing the right color palettes
Finding the right undertones can also help in sorting out the best colors for your clothes. It can help in deciding the right hair color and colors of makeup.
These are basic guidelines and not strict rules. There may be colors other than those in your color palette which may look great on you, or you may personally prefer.
Warm undertones
These look the best in warm colors – yellow, gold, orange, peach or yellow-green.
Cool undertones
These look best in blues, lavender, purple, pink, or green.
Neutral undertones
They can actually carry any color.
Olive undertones
These look the best in earthy colors.
Key points
Skin tone is the surface color and depends on how dark the color is. It is broadly divided into three categories: Light, medium and dark.
Skin undertone is the hue present under the skin. It can be divided into four types: Warm, cool, neutral, and olive undertones.
There are several tests to identify the undertone. Once you know your undertone, it can be much easier to pick the right colors for your clothes and makeup products.
However, remember these are not strict rules, you can wear whichever color makes you feel good and beautiful.
Reference
- Holme SA, Beattie PE, Fleming CJ. Cosmetic camouflage advice improves quality of life. Br J Dermatol. 2002 Nov;147(5):946-9. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2133.2002.04900.x. PMID: 12410705.