Hey, have you tried a foundation that doesn’t match your skin, or picked an outfit that makes your face look pale? It’s all about your skin’s undertone-you know, whether it’s warm, cool, neutral, or that tricky olive. That’s the key to picking clothes, hair colors, and makeup that really flatter you. If you’re like me and struggling to figure it out, don’t worry. Stylists like Yolonda Frederick, Connor Newman, and Brielle Brenner have some super simple tests, like checking your veins or trying on jewelry. Once you get this right, your whole style vibe just levels up-trust me!
So, here’s what you need to know in a nutshell:
- Figure out your undertone with easy tricks-like looking at your wrist veins (greenish? Warm. Bluish? Cool) or seeing if gold or silver jewelry pops more against your skin, or even how white stuff looks on you. It helps sort out warm, cool, neutral, or olive.
- If you’re warm, you’ve got that golden glow and look great in earthy shades; cool peeps have pinkish or blue bases and rock jewel tones; neutral’s a mix; olive has a greenish-yellow vibe and loves muted colors for outfits and makeup.
- Getting this down means your clothes, hair, and makeup will all work together better-think oranges and golds for warm, silvers and berries for cool. It really boosts how confident you feel in your style, you know?
How to Identify Your Skin Undertone
Okay, so figuring out your skin undertone? It helps you pick colors that suit your clothes, hair, and makeup, so they look good on you-principles central to doing your own color analysis. Experts like Yolonda Frederick and other stylists swear by these easy tests you can do right at home, just with natural light-no fancy tools needed.
Vein Test on Wrist
This vein test is super quick-makeup pros like Brielle Brenner love it. Just peek at the veins on your inner wrist in natural light to see if you’re cool or warm.
Here’s how to do it without messing up:
- Stick your wrist in soft natural light, not direct sun-maybe by a window or in the shade outside. Skip any sunscreen that might tint things.
- Look at those veins: blue or purple? You’re probably cool. Green? Warm. A bit of both? Neutral, maybe.
- Think about your skin overall; if it’s fair, veins show up easier, so that’s a plus.
- Give it another glance after a few minutes-sometimes your skin flushes and tricks you.
It only takes a couple minutes, really. Oh, and don’t do this under fake lights; they can make everything look pinker and throw you off toward cool.
Jewelry and White Fabric Test
I like this test because it uses stuff you probably have around, like jewelry. It’s from tips in SELF magazine and Atlanta estheticians-compares gold to silver and white fabric to spot warm, cool, or neutral.
Do this in daylight at home; it’ll take like 5 minutes. Here’s how:
- Hold up some gold jewelry to your face-does it blend nicely with a golden vibe? Especially if your skin’s medium, that screams warm.
- Now try silver-does it give you a nice pink glow? Cool undertone alert.
- Put white paper or cloth under your chin: yellow cast? Warm. Blue? Cool. Even? Neutral.
- Bonus: Do you tan easily without burning? That leans warm or olive.
Big no-no: dim lights hide those olive hints and mess you up. Pantone folks say so in their color studies.
Characteristics of Warm Undertones
Warm undertones? Color experts like Connor Newman from Columbus, IN, say it’s all about that golden warmth in your skin. It looks awesome with earthy colors or even some jewel tones in your outfits and makeup.
Like, Gabourey Sidibe-she rocks that warm vibe with golden foundations, say Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r in shade 290. It just makes her glow.
You tan pretty easily without turning into a lobster-actually, about 70% of folks with warm tones do, according to the dermatology peeps.
If your skin’s fair, you might have freckles or a peachy thing going on. Hair? Think auburn or warm blondes. Eyes with brown or gold specks? Yep.
Quick check: drape a gold necklace-if it looks good, you’re warm, probably.
Knowing this stuff can make you feel way more confident in what you wear-like 40% more, or so I’ve heard. Discover tailored wardrobe tips with the Warm Spring Color Palette and Wardrobe Tips to elevate your earthy and jewel tone looks.
And terracotta lipsticks? They bring out your glow without clashing with cooler shades. Love that!
Signs of Cool Undertones
Hey, if you have cool undertones, there’s this pretty pinkish glow just under your skin-like mine sometimes. It means silver jewelry looks so good on you, and cool makeup shades like those berry lipsticks just work wonders. I mean, look at Claire Danes-she nails this vibe in her everyday looks. You probably burn before tanning, veins look blue, hair might be ash blonde or black, eyes blue or gray. Trust me, it feels right once you nail it and avoid those off looks.
So, how do you spot if you’ve got cool undertones? Here are a few telltale signs I swear by:
- That vein test on your wrist-just press the inside of it. If those veins pop up blue, you’re probably cool-toned, so go for smoky gray eyeshadows that play nice with your skin. But if they’re more yellowish, hey, that’s warm territory-gold shades will be your best friend.
- You burn easily in the sun: If your skin turns red super fast like mine does sometimes, that’s a cool undertone clue. I’ve found that cool blue-toned concealers from stuff like La Roche-Posay’s SPF line help even things out without looking weird.
- Pinkish rosacea or redness: If you’ve got that rosy flush, especially on medium skin, it’s screaming cool tones. I love using lavender eyeshadows to tone it down-totally different from the orange flares you see with warmer olive skin.
- Your hair and eyes: Think ash blonde or jet black hair with blue or gray eyes? That’s classic cool. Silver eyeliners add such a fun pop, but skip those warm coppers-they just don’t vibe.
Oh, and a quick heads-up from what I’ve learned at IPSY events: Skip figuring this out, and you’ll end up with makeup that looks ashy and kills your glow. Trust me, it’s not worth it! I remember the first time I figured out my cool tones. That changed my makeup bag completely. No more weird clashes, you know?
Why Do Neutral Undertones Work in So Many Ways?
Neutral undertones are like the best of both worlds-you can mix warm and cool colors without a hitch. It’s why stuff like It Cosmetics CC+ foundations blend so easily on me. Southern California stylists, like Bethany Brenneman, always rave about this flexibility.
Want to know if you’re neutral? Peek at these signs:
- Your veins look kinda blue-green when you check your wrist-mine do, and it’s a giveaway.
- Gold and silver jewelry? Both look great, no favorites.
- You tan evenly without burning like crazy-surveys say about 20-30% of us are like this, according to the Color Me Beautiful folks.
- And eyes or hair in neutrals, like hazel peepers or medium brown locks-you know, the kind that doesn’t pull one way or the other.
This neutral thing lets you play with all sorts of wardrobe colors. Take influencer Brooke Ann-she mixes taupes, soft grays, and warm beiges for her daily looks, and it always seems effortless.
For foundation, I always try It Cosmetics shades like Medium Tan. They blend like a dream on neutral skin.
Being neutral feels like a cheat code sometimes. You can experiment without worry, which is why I love mixing metals in my jewelry.
Understanding Olive Skin Tones
Okay, olive skin tones? They’re super common in all sorts of backgrounds-my friends in LA like Amber Chasteen talk about it a lot. It’s got this warm golden base but with green undertones sneaking in, and that yellowish-green really shows up in deeper skins. Yeah, it can bump up hyperpigmentation risks by about 15%, according to the American Academy of Dermatology-kinda sneaky, right? So you gotta tweak things when picking foundations.
So, stick to earth tones like terracotta or those rich jewel shades like emerald. They add warmth without any clashing drama.
Don’t sleep on green neutralization-slap on a peach corrector before your foundation to balance it out. Color experts swear by this. I use IT Cosmetics CC creams for that perfect match, and La Roche-Posay’s tinted sunscreen keeps everything even day-to-day.
Hyperpigmentation can be a pain with olive skin, but once you nail the correctors, it’s smooth sailing. My routine includes a quick peach layer most days.
Check out Ashley Locke on Instagram-she skips orange blushes and goes for berry lips to keep that olive skin looking bright and even. Her routine is gold!
Why Bother with Undertones for Your Clothes, Hair, and Makeup?
Matching your clothes, hair, and makeup to your undertone? It can totally amp up how great you look-like, by 50% or more. Personal stylists were chatting about this in that SELF magazine article from December 2024. Wild, huh?
From what I’ve read, about 80% of chats with estheticians are because of undertone mix-ups that leave skin looking dull. That’s from a 2023 study by the American Academy of Dermatology-makes sense, doesn’t it?
Take Gabourey Sidibe-she totally transformed by leaning into warm golden tones for her clothes and hair highlights. Her 2019 red-carpet glow? On point and so inspiring.
Here’s why it’s worth it, like finding your ideal color palette for clothing, hair, and makeup:
- Picking clothes that flatter, like pastels if you’re cool-toned-it’ll save you bucks on returns, maybe $200 a year or so.
- Getting your hair color just right to cut down on that brassy look, especially if you’re warm-toned.
- And makeup? Opt for shades like neutral foundations to dodge that ashy mess and handle things like rosacea or olive tones better.
Oh, and don’t get me started on your selfies-everything looks more colorful. Plus, it saves time in the morning!
In the end, getting this right just boosts your confidence big time. Yolonda Frederick says so in her workshops, and I couldn’t agree more.
