A high-end brand’s foundation ended up making your skin look grey? That could be because the shade was not meant for your skin tone. Understanding the true colour of your skin is chiefly about finding your undertone, which is the key to purchasing the correct foundation shade and creating a flawless makeup look. The wrong shade of foundation, concealer or blush can turn you into an orange clown or a porcelain doll if you aren’t careful. Your makeup should be blended seamlessly with your natural skin tone at the jaw line to avoid looking unnatural or ‘caked’ and determining your skin tone is supreme for accomplishing this task.

Know the Difference Between Skin Tone and Undertone.

Skin tone is the surface skin colour, the amount of melanin present on the surface of the skin, whereas the undertone is the subtle hue underneath the surface. The three main skin tones are classified as: light, medium and deep; and the skin undertones are classified as: warm, cool and neutral.

Now let’s breakdown the different undertones

COOL: red, pink with bluish hints.

WARM: yellow, peachy with golden hues.

NEUTRAL: olive or a balanced mix of warm and cool.

DETERMINE YOUR SKIN UNDERTONE

There are a couple of tests that help you determine your skin undertone.

TEST I: The Jewellery Test

Stand in front of the mirror wearing a white robe and wrap your hair in a white towel.

1-If silver jewellery compliments your skin, you have a cool undertone.

2-If gold jewellery flatters your skin, you have a warm undertone.

3-If both compliment your skin, you have a neutral undertone.

TEST II: The Sun Test

When you’re out in the sun, does you skin tan easily without any burns? If yes, you have a warm or a neutral undertone. If not, you have a cool undertone.

TEST III: The Vein Test

Analyse the colour of your veins on the underside of your wrists;

1-If your veins look blue or purple in colour, you have a cool undertone.

2-If the veins look greenish in colour, you have warm undertone.

3-If all the above, you have a neutral undertone.

Why knowing THE SKIN UNDERTONE MATTERS?

Knowing the skin undertone will not only help you pick the right foundation, eyeshadow colours or lipstick that’ll compliment your natural complexion, but will also help with picking out the right coloured-clothes and the hair colour.

Remember that skin tones can change with the season, but the undertones remain the same. Now that you know how to pick the perfect foundation, happy shopping!!