“Skin tone and undertone are not the same things. “Skin tone and undertone are not the same things” Skin tone can change over time for a variety of reasons, but undertones remain constant. Understanding your undertone is the difference between a flawless makeup application and looking too made-up.
There are three undertone colours: warm, cool and neutral.
Warm: If the base tone of your skin is yellow or gold, you have warm undertones.
Cool: If you see hints of blue, pink or red, then you have cool undertones.
Neutral: If there’s a mixture of both warm and cool hues, or your undertone is the same colour as your actual skin colour, then you fall into the neutral category.
How to Tell if You Have a Warm or Cool Skin Tone? Take These 4 Simple Tests
Test 1: Wrist Test
Cool: If your veins look purple or blue, then you have a cool undertone.
Warm: If your veins appear greenish or olive veins, you have a warm undertone.
Neutral: If you cannot determine which colour is dominant in your veins then you have a neutral undertone.
Test 2: Jewellery Test
Take a piece of each of silver and gold jewellery and place it next to your skin.
Cool: You have cool skin if silver jewellery tends to look flattering on your skin
Warm: You are more likely to have a warm tone if gold looks good on your skin.
Neutral: You may have neutral undertone if you look good in both gold and silver jewellery.
Test 3: The Sun Test
Cool: If your skin starts to burns or turns red in the sun, it indicates a cool undertone.
Warm: If your skin tans easily in the sun, you have a warm undertone.
Pro Tip: Even though cool skin tones are more prone to sunburn, it is extremely important to apply a good quality sunscreen irrespective of your skin undertone every time you go out.
Test 4: The Colour Test
This is a fun test since we are going to ask you to take out all your favourite clothes from your wardrobe and play with the colours to know your undertones. Take a mirror and stand in a well-lit room, preferably in daylight. Hold different garments next to your skin to see how the colours make you look.
Cool: If ‘cool’ colours like blue, black, white, purple, etc. compliment you then you have cool undertones.
Warm: If peach, yellow, brown, olive and other ‘warm’ colours suit you then you have warm undertones.
Neutral: If you think you look good in every and any shade you wear, well then, lucky you! You have a neutral undertone.
Once you know what your skin undertone is, you can start buying clothes in the shades that complement your skin tone. The rule of thumb for clothes is to pick warm colours for a warm undertone, and cool colours for cool-toned complexions. For instance, in the green colour family, the olive would make a warm Indian skin tone glow, while turquoise will suit women with a cool skin undertone.
Now that you have the right idea about undertones,
Pick the right makeup
The same rule applies to foundation shades, eyeshadow colours and lipstick shades. Choose warm shades in the colour tree you have warm undertones, and cool colours if you have cool undertones. This makes your makeup compliment your natural complexion. When it comes to foundations, use a skin tone chart to find the right type of foundation for yourself. A foundation for warm skin tone may look ashy on cool undertones. Stick to the shade that compliments your skin tone.
Pick the right hair colour
The rule of thumb is reversed when it comes to choosing the right hair colour from the hair colour chart. Warm skin tones should pick cool colours, while cool skin tones need to wear warm colours.
Extra notes on undertones
Olive skin has a mix of golden and yellow undertones, but with an ashen hue that ‘cools’ down the warmth. So, contrary to popular belief, olive is nos a neutral skin undertone. One would classify them as a cool skin tone.
Select foundation shades closest to your skin tone, and apply swatches to your cheek. Choose the foundation colour that is one shade colour lighter than your natural skin tone. You want a shade that not only evens out your face colour but also brightens it overall. All foundation colours come marked for warm skin tones as well as cool skin tones.
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