You may have walked through a department store and overhead a conversation at a makeup consultation regarding “your undertones” and asked yourself, “What is the world is that?!” I’m here to let you in on all the details on what is and why you should definitely understand what yours is so you can always know what colors of makeup are good for you!
Try to think of the color that appears in the depth of the skin tone. It is what is considered the base of your skin color. Each person has a unique base temperature within their skin tone that falls into a spectrum of either warm, neutral and cool.
Knowing your personal undertone is vital to choosing and wearing the right foundation, concealer and powder. Briefing yourself on the basics of color theory and the color wheel helps break it down visually.
On the color wheel, if you split it in half one side has hot colors and the other has cold colors. Think of red being fiery and blue being icy and yellow being in between. In terms of foundation, you’ll first need to narrow down the scale of your color whether it is fair, medium or deep. Within the color range, you can take a deeper dive into whether you should choose a cool (icy) or warm (fiery) tone or lastly neutral; one that has a middle ground between the two.
Color swatching is routinely done when determining the undertone by professional makeup artists to narrow down exactly what happens to the color when a swipe is applied to the face. Generally when foundation has an unsightly appearance of being too ashy, orange, or red on the face it is the wrong undertone and is most likely opposite to what your skin undertone actually is.
Medium/Deep skin tones can be particularly more challenging to get right since the wrong selection is more obviously seen in more pigmentation. In deep skin tones, if the foundation appears ashy and pale it needs more warmth/red and if it is overtly reddish or orange it needs a more neutral-yellow based tone. In more fair complexions, if the foundation appears orangey or sallow you should lean into more pink based cool tones. In addition, you can consider using these same principles when correcting skin concerns that have aging or sun damage following a similar pattern to balance and liven it up. Clearly, in small amounts. Too far left will lead you into another problem that needs to be corrected!
You’re probably asking yourself, “How in the world can I find my undertone??”
Below I have some of my favorite methods that help determine:
- Asking yourself the burn test question. If you’re someone who burns very easily in the sun and doesn’t tan easily, a high percentage that you may have cool-pink under-tones. If you tan quickly and hold a tan you may fall into warm-golden undertones.
- Looking at your neck and inner arms for the true color.
- Looking at your inner face in comparison to their outer face color. The inner face has thinner skin that allows for a deeper look into whether their complexion pulls more cool-pink or warm-golden.
- Looking your inner wrist to see the color of the veins. Purple or Blue veins point to cool-pink undertones, green points to warm-golden and if no distinct vein color or bluish-green veins are visible, then you may have neutral or olive undertones.
When selecting the right base makeup a swatching the face and determining the direction of the color is the most reliable way to determine whether a person has warmth being the reddish tones, warm yellow tones, cool having more of a pink base or a green base which is neutral, a combination of both.
This is most reliable due to the outer skin appearance may give a false read by first glance. The surface tone may appear golden from tanning or genetics but have a pink base.
Now time to get to shopping!
If you are blindly buying foundation and concealer without getting matched by a professional, I recommend analyzing and understanding your undertone first. Then try a couple of samples made from at least two shades. If no samples are available, unfortunately you may need to purchase a couple of the two best options. This is usually the case in drug store shopping where prices are more affordable. If this seems daunting, you’re better off going to a cosmetics store or counter for assistance!
You need to understand what you want your foundation to do for you. Balancing a color between the neck and forehead is ideal. Choose the more suitable shade based on your preferences. I personally like to match the neck and décolletage to the face. There’s nothing worse than a head that appears disconnected. They are in close proximity!
Your concealer should be at least 2 shades lighter for a good highlighting effect. If you have under eye hollows or darkness, covering stubble or hyperpigmentation, you may find that choosing a slightly warmer concealer in your skin tone may be more effective in color correcting.
Recommended Brands:
- Bobby Brown or Laura Mercier makes the most beautiful tinted moisturizers for neutral undertones
- Mac and Fenty has a very wide selection of pink based and golden based foundations. They are particularly excellent for hard to pin warm shades for medium and deep complexions
- Estée Lauder is very great at neutral and ½ shades for those that find themselves in between two colors
Hopefully this served as a helpful guide in you looking your best in the right makeup for your skin’s undertone.
Faces by Fiona is a professional special event hair and makeup artistry company based in Dallas, TX. If you would like more information on booking professional beauty services, please get in touch at the link below: