How To Determine Your Skin Tone and Undertone

Decoding Your Complexion: How to Master Your Skin Tone and Undertone

For decades, buying makeup and even choosing hair dye was a frustrating guessing game, often resulting in foundations that looked orange or ashy, and lipsticks that just felt “off.” The reason for these mismatched misadventures? A fundamental misunderstanding of our own complexion.

It’s not enough to simply say you have “fair” or “deep” skin. To truly master your beauty routine, you need to understand the critical difference between Skin Tone and Skin Undertone. These two concepts work together to define your unique coloring, and only by recognizing both can you find products that truly enhance your natural radiance instead of clashing with it.

This article is your definitive, human-written guide to becoming your own color expert. We’ll break down the concepts, show you three foolproof tests, and help you unlock the perfect shade for everything from concealer to contour.

Part 1: The Simple Part – Skin Tone

Skin tone (or surface tone) is the easiest part of the puzzle. It refers to the color you see on the surface of your skin—the result of the amount of melanin present. This tone is what changes seasonally; it gets darker in the summer and lighter in the winter.

The Four Main Categories of Skin Tone:

• Fair/Light: Skin burns easily and rarely tans. Typically the lightest shades of foundation.
• Medium: Skin usually tans well but may occasionally burn. The most common skin tone category.
• Tan/Olive: Skin rarely burns and tans easily and deeply. Often has a natural greenish or grayish cast.
• Deep/Rich: Skin always tans and is highly resistant to burning. Ranges from dark brown to ebony.

Why Skin Tone Matters: This is the base color that determines your foundation shade level. If you are a “Light” in a line, you’ll generally always be a Light, regardless of your undertone.

Part 2: The Critical Part – Skin Undertone

Undertone is the subtle hue that comes from beneath the surface of your skin. It’s the color that affects how surface tone shows up. Crucially, your undertone never changes, regardless of whether you are pale in winter or deeply tanned in summer.

Understanding your undertone is the secret weapon for avoiding foundations that make you look sickly, and for choosing clothing and jewelry colors that truly make your skin glow.

The Three Main Categories of Undertone:

1. Cool (Pink, Red, or Bluish Hues)
   • Cool-toned skin tends to look better in jewel tones (sapphire, emerald) and silvery jewelry.
2. Warm (Yellow, Peach, or Golden Hues)
   • Warm-toned skin looks fantastic in earthy colors (olive green, terracotta) and golden jewelry.
3. Neutral (A Mix of Cool and Warm)
   • Neutral skin tones can wear almost any color and look good in both gold and silver jewelry.

The Three Foolproof Undertone Tests

Ready to find out where you land? You need a spot with good, natural light for these tests (artificial yellow light will skew your results).

Test 1: The Vein Test (The Easiest)

Look at the veins on the inside of your wrist—the thin, barely covered skin should give you a clear reading.

• If your veins appear Blue or Purple: You likely have a Cool Undertone.
• If your veins appear Green or Olive: You likely have a Warm Undertone. (Why green? Because the yellow hue of your warm undertone mixes with the blue hue of the veins, creating green.)
• If you can’t tell, or they look vaguely Teal (Blue-Green): You likely have a Neutral Undertone.

Test 2: The Jewelry Test (The Most Stylish)

Grab both a piece of silver jewelry and a piece of gold jewelry and hold them up against your skin (ideally on the décolletage or wrist). Don’t consider your personal preference—just look at which metal makes your skin look healthier, clearer, and more vibrant.

• If Silver jewelry looks best (makes your skin “pop”): You have a Cool Undertone.
• If Gold jewelry looks best (makes your skin look healthy and glowing): You have a Warm Undertone.
• If both silver and gold look equally flattering: You have a Neutral Undertone.

Test 3: The Sun Test (The Environmental Factor)

Think back to how your skin reacts when exposed to the sun without protection.

• If your skin tends to burn easily and never truly tans (it may peel): You likely have a Cool Undertone.
• If your skin tans easily and deeply (rarely burns): You likely have a Warm Undertone.
• If your skin burns first, but then fades into a gradual tan: You likely have a Neutral Undertone.

Applying the Knowledge: Your Beauty Shopping Guide

Once you know your tone and undertone, selecting makeup becomes a science, not a gamble.

The “Olive” Exception

If you have a Tan/Medium tone and your veins look a little greenish, you might have an Olive Undertone. Olive is technically a Neutral-Warm combination because it has a primary yellow/green hue and often an underlying cool ashiness.

• Shopping Tip: Regular “Warm” foundations can look too yellow or orange. You need tones labeled “Olive” or foundations that lean slightly more muted or greenish-yellow to prevent an ashy appearance.

By taking the time to truly understand these two layers of your complexion, you move past frustrating makeup mismatches and step into a world where every color choice you make enhances your unique, beautiful coloring.