Wondering how to find your skin’s undertone? We believe knowing your tones is crucial for your beauty regime. Not only does it affect how your hair and clothes look, but it will ensure you are selecting makeup that enhances and complements your complexion.
So, here’s our handy guide to how to find yours.
The Difference Between Skin Tone and Undertone
Understanding the difference between skin tone and undertone is essential when it comes to choosing makeup shades and clothing colors that flatter your complexion. Let’s delve into the distinction between these two terms:
Skin tone refers to the surface color of the epidermis, which is determined by the amount of melanin in the skin. This can vary widely among individuals as it’s influenced by factors such as genetics, sun exposure and ethnicity. You’ll typically see these described as fair, light, medium, olive, tan, deep, or dark.
Undertone, on the other hand, is a more subtle hue that lies beneath the surface of your skin. It remains consistent regardless of changes in your skin’s surface color as this the shade within the color. These are generally referred to as cool, warm and neutral.
How to Find Out Your Undertone
Although your skin tone will help you to determine which shade will suit you best, such as light or dark, your undertone is crucial for selecting the specific hues that will enhance your complexion and bring out your natural radiance.
So, let’s get acquainted with the three primary undertones: cool, warm and neutral to find your ideal match.
What Does Cool Undertone Mean?
If you have a cool undertone, your skin tends to have hints of pink, red, or blue. Veins on your wrist may appear bluish, and silver jewelry flatters your complexion. Cool undertones pair well with cool, jewel-toned colors like purples, blues, and pinks.
What Does Warm Undertone Mean?
Warm undertones are characterized by hints of yellow, peach, or golden tones. Veins on your wrist may have a greenish hue, and gold jewelry tends to enhance your skin. Warm undertones harmonize with earthy, warm shades like oranges, yellows, and browns.
What Does Neutral Undertone Mean?
A neutral undertone means that your skin has a balanced mix of cool and warm tones. For this reason, you may find that both silver and gold jewelry look equally flattering on you, as neutral undertones often grant you the freedom to explore a wide range of shades.
These subtle differences will help you to make informed choices when selecting makeup shades for products like foundation, concealer, blush and lipstick and guide you away from shades that may make your skin appear sallow or dull.
How to Test for Skin Undertone
The easiest way to determine your undertone is by carrying out a couple of quick and easy tests.
Vein Test: Use the underside of your forearm and decide what color your veins are but be sure to use natural light to ensure you get accurate results. If they appear bluish, you likely have a cool undertone, whereas if they lean more towards green, you may have warm undertones.
Jewelry Test: Are you a gold or silver jewelry wearer? Pay attention to whether silver or gold jewelry enhances your skin tone. If silver looks better, you might have a cool undertone. If gold is more flattering, warm undertones are likely.
If you are left feeling confused, or you found these tests difficult, you may have neutral undertones. This means you possess a mix of both warm and cool in the skin. That’s okay though, this means you have the freedom to experiment with a wide variety of shades – bonus!
What Makeup Works Best for my Undertone?
Now it’s time to put everything into practice. What makeup will suit your undertone? We’ve got the answers.
Cool Undertone: For lipsticks, blushes and eyeshadows, opt for cool metallic silvers, mauves and soft pinks. Your foundation shade should present slight pink or rosy undertones.
Warm Undertone: These undertones should embrace makeup with earthy tones like warm browns and bronzes, oranges and golden hues. We also recommend foundation shades with a subtle yellow undertone to enhance your glow. For the lips, reach for peachy corals, oranges, and brick-red shades.
Neutral Undertone: You can rock a wide variety of colors, so experiment with both cool and warm shades. For the face, look for foundation shades that have a balanced mix of pink and yellow undertones, and for the lips and eyes, we love muted hues, like soft pinks, and rosy browns.
How to Find Your Undertone for Foundation
Listen up, foundation wearers! Testing out new shades can be a challenging process, as there are so many to choose from.
The best way to get an accurate representation of your true shade is to take a pea-sized amount and apply a swatch onto your jawline, preferably in natural daylight. This way, you will be able to directly match your neck color.
Identifying your undertone is crucial for selecting colors that complement your complexion and help you look your best. So, embrace your unique shade and let it guide you towards a world of colors that embrace your natural radiance.
Explore our range of foundations today to find the best one for you.