Choosing the best foundation match, hair dye, or even red lipstick can be daunting. With so many options available it is even easier to get it wrong, especially when shopping online. If you have warm undertones and you wear a cool foundation, it will look too pink for you. In contrast, if you have cool undertones and wear a warm foundation, the color will appear to be too orange or yellow. All those lucky gals that have neutral undertones don't really have to deal with this, as they have more flexibility even if they chose a shade that is a little off.
One of the best thing we can do when finding our shade is understanding our undertones: warm, cool, or neutral.
- For warm undertones, your skin will lean yellow, or golden.
- For cool undertones, your skin will lean pink or red.
- For neutral undertones, your skin will be peachy or beige.
1. What Color are Your Veins?
The time-tested check the veins trick. When you look at the inside of your wrists, do your veins appear blue or green? If they look blue/purple, you're cool-toned. If green, you're warm-toned. If you have trouble telling, you probably lean neutral.
2. What Colors Do You Wear Best?
Do you go to the mall and see an adorable shirt but find it is one of your no-go colors? Some colors can "clash" or look off putting with our undertones. If you look best rocking jewel-tones such as blues, purples, and emerald-greens, you're cool-toned. If you favor earth-tones such as reds, oranges, yellows, and olive-greens, you're warm toned. And for you lucky gals who can get away with all the colors, you have neutral undertones.
3. Gold or Silver Jewelry?
Check out your jewelry box. Do you lean more towards silver and white gold, or rose gold and yellow gold? If gold, you're warm-toned. If silver, cool-toned. Look equally good? I'm sure you're seeing the trend with this one...
4. Do You Burn or Tan?
5. What are Your Eye and Hair Colors?
Generally lighter eyes and hair with platinum tones will mean you're most likely cool-toned. Your eyes will be blue, grey, or green and your hair will be blonde, brown, or black with platinum or ashy tones. Darker eyes and hair with red or gold tones means you're most likely warm-toned. If your eyes are brown, amber, or hazel and you rock strawberry blonde, auburn, or black hair that has gold tones, you are most likely warm-toned. If you color your hair and you can't remember your natural shade, what color do you rock? If the name of your color has the word ash or platinum, it's a cool-toned color. If the name has the word golden or mahogany, it's a warm-toned color.
I'm Right in the Middle?
If you find that you fit right in the middle for most of these questions then you probably have neutral skin tones. Neutral skin tones have an even mix of yellow and pink undertones and have the easiest time choosing colors to wear for clothing and makeup.
Still Not Sure?
If you still aren't sure what color you might be then we can help you shade match! Simply email us with a picture of yourself without makeup in natural diffused lighting. Natural lighting will give us the best idea of what your true skin looks like. We recommend facing a window and turning overhead lights off.
Samples!!
And if you're still not sure you can pick up a few samples of our foundations.
