Have you ever tried a shade of lipstick or a foundation that makes your skin tone, eyes, and face come alive? How about another one that’s almost the same shade but makes you look tired, washed out, and just generally blah? This is so common – the shade that suits you in the store can look completely different when you come home. Why is that? The first color probably matched your skin’s surface tone and undertone perfectly, while the second may have a totally wrong skin undertone. So, how do you know if you have a cool or warm skin tone?
If you are not a makeup artist who learned to quickly detect someone’s undertone, you probably struggle to find a difference between your surface tone and undertone.
What is the difference between surface tone and undertone when it comes to skin color?
Skin Tone
Our skin tone is the genetically endowed amount of melanin in our epidermis. Melanin is a complex polymer that is produced by cells called melanocytes. It refers to a group of naturally occurring dark brown or black pigments present in our human skin. Exposure to the sun can damage melanocytes, so they go into overdrive as a defense mechanism leading them to produce a big amount of melanin instead, which absorbs the sun rays.
Why is this important? …..
Well, determining your skin tone can vary whether you spend more or less time in the sun, even though genetics are mainly responsible for our skin tone, sometimes the climate where you live can affect and change it.
There are three categories of cool or warm skin tones:
- Ivory or Light – People with a light skin tone usually originate from places with lower sun exposure, such as northern Europe. Their light skin is prone to sunburns, so it is crucial to wear creams with high UV protection.
- Medium – Medium skin tone is usually more neutral, often referred to as olive. People with a medium skin tone often come from Northern Asia and Southern Europe. It is usually slightly easier to find a foundation for this skin tone.
- Dark or Tan – Dark skin tone is the result of high sun exposure. Regions like India, Africa, as well as the Middle East, are the most exposed to a high level of UV rays. People with dark skin are prone to hyperpigmentation, so they need to be extra careful when choosing both makeup and skincare.
Skin Undertone
A definition of skin undertone would be – the color from underneath the surface. Your skin’s undertone is the color underneath the surface of your skin that can affect your overall look and make shades look different on you. You can have the same skin color as someone, but a different undertone which would be why the same shade looks perfect on you and not so good on your best friend with the same skin tone. So if a product doesn’t blend perfectly with the natural shades of your skin, then it’s not right for you.
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The three skin undertones are broken down into three classifications:
- Cool (pink, red, or bluish undertones)
- Warm (yellow, peachy, golden undertones)
- Neutral (a mix of warm and cool undertones)
Tests To Help You Find Out if You Have Cool or Warm Skin Tone
1. Check Your Wrist Veins
Push your sleeves up and look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. Are they blue, purple, or green? If they look more blue and purple, you likely have a cool undertone.
If the veins look greenish, you’re warm. It’s worth noting, warm girls, that your veins aren’t actually green—they look it because you’re seeing them through the yellow-toned skin (yellow + blue = green.)
Do you have trouble telling or you can’t really decide between any of these shades? then you probably have a neutral undertone.
2. The Old Jewelry Trick
Think about whether you look better in silver or gold jewelry. Not which you like more, but which actually makes you look more radiant, glowing, and awake.
Typically, girls with cool undertones look better in silver, rose gold, and platinum metals, and warm-toned women look better in gold. If you look good in both silver and gold, then it is a great possibility that your undertone is neutral.
3. The White Test
– Undertone can be determined by how colors look on your skin – warm undertones if white doesn’t wash you out, cool undertones if beige, tan, or black look better, and neutral undertones if somewhere in between.
– Eye and hair color can also help determine undertone – cool undertones typically have blue, gray, or green eyes and blond, brown, or black hair with cool undertones, while warm-toned individuals usually have brown, amber, or hazel eyes with red, brown, or black hair with warm undertones.
– Clothing colors can also indicate undertone – warm undertones suit yellow-orange, yellow-green, orange-red, brown, and ivory, while cool undertones look good in blue, purple, jewel tones, pink, red, and black. Neutral undertones can wear all colors.
– Sun’s effects can help determine undertone – warm tones tan easily while cool tones burn quickly in the sun.
– Olive skin is a combination of warm yellow and ashy green undertones.
– Celebrities with cool, warm, neutral, and olive undertones can help identify your own undertone.
– Makeup should be chosen based on undertone – warm undertones suit warm shades, cool undertones suit cool shades, and neutral undertones are versatile.
– Consulting with a professional can help determine the right makeup shades for your undertone. You can wear all shades and look great! Enhance your makeup with your hair or eyes to complement your look. Fatima recommends starting with a lip primer and lip pencil as a base before applying matte lipstick. “The trick to keeping matte lipstick from drying out your lips is all in the prep work – exfoliate, hydrate, and blot! Lip care is just as important as skincare for ensuring great-looking lips.”
Discovering your skin undertone is essential for unlocking the secrets to perfect makeup and flattering colors. By understanding whether you have warm, cool, neutral, or olive undertones, you can make the right choices when it comes to foundation, lipstick shades, clothing colors, and jewelry. Happy beautifying! The statement is missing. Please provide the statement that needs to be rewritten. following sentence: “The cat chased the mouse around the house.”
“The mouse was chased around the house by the cat.”