Because we all want to know our best foundation colour!
1. What Does Skin Undertone Mean?
Have you ever wondered why wearing specific colours makes your skin glow while other colours make you look wan? Or is it why your recent foundation doesn't blend nicely with your skin even though it's a brand you frequent? Your skin undertone is the reason.
Your undertone is the colour under your skin, giving your overall complexion its tint. Whether you're on the paler side or are tanned, undertones set us within three categories. The warm undertone, the cool undertone, and the neutral undertone. And after working with various undertones as a personal stylist, another simple and relatable way to explain it is that a cool undertone often means your skin is on the paler side. In contrast, warm undertones mean your skin is on the tanned side.
How does one know a warm undertone from a cool undertone? A warm undertone refers to skin that reflects a green tint and peach or golden hues. On the other hand, an excellent skin undertone has blue hues and sometimes purple. For the neutral undertone, you either have a combination of these two colours – or none!
2. How Do You Determine Your Skin Undertone?
With Your Veins
As a personal stylist coach, one sure way I determine a client's skin undertone is by looking at the shade of their veins. To select yours, hold up your wrist or palm to the light. What colour are your veins? If they look blue or bluish, then you have a cool undertone. If they look green, you have a warm undertone–like me! Lastly, if your vein colour isn't distinctive and seems like a merge of blue and green, you have a neutral undertone. Another effective way to confirm your verdict is to compare the colour of your veins to someone else's. This way, you can be sure of what category you fall into.
With Your Eye Colour
Another simple way to know your skin undertone is by determining which undertones your eye colour falls into.
Hazel, amber, light brown, and deep green eyes (especially with flecks of gold) often means you have a warm skin undertone.
While green, blue, dark brown, and grey eyes and eyes with silvery flecks usually come with a cooler skin undertone. The shade of the veins around your eyes, especially after freshly washing your face, is also a way to determine your undertone.
Gold or Silver Jewelry
Yes, jewelry can be a great indicator of your skin's undertone! Which looks the best on you: gold or silver? Do wearing gold earrings make your skin look radiant and robust? Then your undertone is warm, and you should make gold jewelry your staple.
Does wearing silver make you look sophisticated and elegant? You have a cool undertone. If both types of jewelry equally do these for you, then you are on the neutral side!
2. Reasons You Should Know Your Skin Undertone
A guide to choosing the right outfit
A good personal stylist will advise you to know your skin undertone if you want to look glamorous in your outfit selections. Why? Because your undertone affects your overall visage, and if you choose outfits that don't match your undertone, the natural result is that it will clash with it. Suppose you have a cool undertone and regularly opt for orange clothes or reds. In that case, you won't feel as fabulous as you would when dressed in emerald tones, lavender, soft blues, and darker purples. In the same vein (no pun intended!), if you know that you have a warm undertone, you'll also learn to lean toward earthy tones such as yellows, reds, pinks, browns, deep greens, peach, and, of course, gold.
If you have a warm undertone and want to weave cool tints with your outfit, you'll know that cool colours with warm tinges, such as orchids and moss, will fit you perfectly. And if, as an excellent undertone lady, you'd like to add warmth to your ensemble, pale yellow will be a perfect starting point.
Knowledge of your skin's reaction to the seasons
Another important–and poetic–reason to know your skin undertone is that it also keeps you aware of which seasons your skin will flourish in. For cooler undertones, your skin looks fabulous in the winter season as well as in the spring. Winter is when you glow and shimmer because the bluish aura of the season highlights your skin. And you can bask in the seasons with outfits that match your undertone to look divine. Learning that you have a cool undertone also means you burn easily under the sun so that you can prepare accordingly for summertime!
If you find that you have a warm undertone, then you can optimize the summer and autumnal months as they are your time to shine – literally! Also, under sunlight, your skin tans rather than burn.
Guide for the right accessories
The third reason you should know your undertone is that it steers you toward choosing the perfect accessories for work, social events, and other day-to-day activities. In my experience as a corporate coach, those cool undertones are complemented by metals such as silver and platinum rather than statement jewelry with reds and oranges. These will contrast unflatteringly with your skin.
When you realize your undertone is warm, you can safely opt for gold accessories and statement jewelry with earthy tinges. If your skin looks greyish or wan after you wear your jewelry, chances are they are icy-toned.
To serve their purpose of enhancing your ensemble rather than reducing its appeal, your jewelry should suit your undertone!
Who is StyleSandra?
As a talented businesswoman and mother of two, Sandra Smith has worked in the style industry for over 20 years. She has assisted clients across Canada, the USA and Europe as a personal stylist, helping with life-changing transformations.
Gaining experience as an international business coach Sandra has an uncanny ability to quickly look at someone and know how to bring out their best features. Combine this with her extensive corporate training and coaching, which has enabled her to provide an unparalleled style of service.
Today, Sandra can be available for her teenage children, occasionally on the radio co-hosting on 105.1 Mikefm, playing a great tennis game or enjoying times with her favourite people.
ENQUIRE HERE.
3. Conclusion
And there you have it, finding your perfect foundation colour is directly tied into these tips on finding your skin undertone from your favourite personal stylist! Put these tips to practice today and watch your style evolve.
Love you, Sandra