When you’re choosing a foundation, and even makeup colors, it is critical that you know what type of undertone your skin has. While most women can correctly pick makeup based on their skin tone, many do not know what undertone they are or how it affects their makeup decisions.
There are two basic undertones, cool and warm. For a long time, I thought that cool undertones matched lighter skin, and warm undertones went with darker skin, but that’s not so. Here’s what you need to know about each to help you look amazing!
Cool
Cool undertones are a combo of reds and blues and generally go with skin tones that are rosy-pink, rosy-beige, dark olive, dark brown, or ebony. Women with cool undertones usually have blue, green, or black eyes.
Hair colors that work well on women with cool undertones include platinum blonde, dark browns, or blacks. Another interesting fact about cool undertones is that they tend to tan very easily.
Warm
Warm undertones are more yellow and red and go with skin tones of ivory, peach, golden brown, beige, coppery, or deep golden brown. Usually women with warm undertones have hazel, brown, or amber colored eyes.
Great hair color ideas for warm undertones include golden browns, chestnuts, mahoganies, or copper. Warm undertones, unlike cool, don’t tan easily but tend to burn, making sunscreen very important.
Which Am I?
It’s not always easy to tell what undertone you have, but here are a couple of ideas.
• If your makeup doesn’t look right on your skin when it warms up, you have probably chosen makeup for the wrong undertone.
• Hold a piece of white paper under your hand. Look carefully at your skin. If you see a yellowish cast, you have warm undertones, and if you see a bluish you have cool tones.
• If the paper test doesn’t work, try putting on a white shirt and getting a piece of peach colored paper and blue colored paper. Hold them alternatively next to your face in front of a mirror and see which looks better. Again, peach is warm, and blue is cool. Do this with no makeup on.
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August 29th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
[…] 1. Know your price range. You can spend anywhere from $3 to $100 when you buy a new foundation, so have an idea in mind before you start looking of what price range you are in. It will narrow your field of options considerably, making it much easier to make a decision. 2. Know your skin’s undertone. Different brands and shades of foundation work better for different skin tones, so know whether you are warm or cool. I’ve found it helpful to check a company’s website before I go to the store to purchase the foundation, because you can find more detailed information about what shade is right for you online than you can on the package. 3. Know your skin type. If you have oily skin, chances are you will need a different foundation than someone who has dry skin. So know which you are and choose foundation accordingly. For example, I have to stick with oil-free foundations since I have combination skin, or else my skin is shiny by 11am. 4. If you’ve found something you like, don’t be too hasty to want to try tons of other products. I know it may sound dull, but I always regret it when I decide to try something new once I have already found something I like. I hardly ever like the new product, and just end up going back and purchasing what I originally had, and wasting money on a product I never use. If you haven’t yet found something you really love, than by all means, keep shopping around until you do. […]
November 3rd, 2006 at 1:36 pm
[…] 1. Always read the entire instructions, from start to finish, before you begin the coloring process. Even if you’ve already highlighted or colored your hair before, still read the instructions! Better safe than sorry. 2. When doing highlights, make sure your hair is perfectly dry before you begin. Also, it’s best if you haven’t washed your hair that day. The natural oils in your hair will help protect it from the damaging effects of the highlights. 3. Do your highlights in the kitchen or bathroom and wear something you don’t mind if it gets ruined. Also, have plenty of old towels on hand to protect the counters! 4. Decide what kind of highlights you want. Something bold or something subtle that will blend into your hair. For cool tones, stick with platinum or ash toned blondes or violet based reds. For warm tones, try golden or buttery blondes and orange based reds such as auburns or flame reds. 5. Have a friend help you if at all possible. It can be tricky to try to do alone! 6. Don’t shampoo your hair immediately after highlighting your hair. Your hair’s outer layer will still be somewhat opened and premature washing can fade your color. […]
October 16th, 2008 at 11:40 am
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December 5th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
wow you’re so off on everything
December 6th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
you got it wrong. The people with cool undertones are the ones who don’t tan easily but tend to burn and the people with warm undertones are the one who tan easily but do not burn due to a higher content of melanin in their skin. Also olives belong to warm not cool. Look it up!
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
people with fair skin and blue/green eyes don’t get sunburn? people with brown eyes and dark skin can’t tan?? this doesn’t make sense
March 21st, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I read a couple of typos on this page. Those with COOL undertones burn very easily. People with WARM undertones tan easily.
May 13th, 2009 at 6:13 am
Olive tones have warm skin tone, not the other way around. Cool tones are the ones the gets sunburned while warm tones tan easily.
June 24th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
This is my first comment here, just wanted to say thank you for maintaining a great blog. I know a lot of work goes into these things !
July 29th, 2009 at 7:15 am
I have blue veins, i look good in blue but weird in yellow or peach, I am light skin, I have green eyes, I TAN VERY EASILY!!! …so I guess she;s right…
August 14th, 2009 at 7:28 am
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August 30th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
I agree, this website does not contain accurate information! After reading this I will not trust anything else on this site. Who wrote this? Get your facts straight and site your sources hun because you obviously don’t know what you are talking about.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:49 am
She’s not necessarily wrong. Although according to most sites, she is. However, I have warm undertones (blues make me look dead and corals brighten me up) and burn really easy and never tan. so contrary to what everyone on here is saying, not all warms tan easily.
September 11th, 2009 at 10:51 am
I am a cool-toned brunette, and the way I finally figured out the cool vs. warm thing was to compare the color of my *tan* with others’ tans. Aside from the fact that I do burn easily and have to really work at getting a tan, cool-toned tans are a beige-brown color, rather than the golden or coppery color of warm folks’ tans.
September 24th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
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October 16th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Ladies, if you want to know your natural palette, warm or cool, there is a great website called www.colorallure.com
April 19th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Some of you guy’s comments are totally wrong. People with darker complexions i.e. African-Americans can most definitely tan. We tan easily compared to others i.e. people who don’t have an olive complexion.
May 19th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
mineral powder makeup…
Post your - Warm or Cool Undertones? - BeautySecrets101: Beauty Secrets … informatively written, but do not agree with some points…