What exactly are undertones and why are they important? They’re important for a couple of reasons, they really allow you to understand and recognize what colors will enhance your look and what colors will take away from your appearance. Undertones are classified as cool, warm and neutral. They are much different from your actual skin tone since they are the underlying color that your skin tone casts.
If your base skin tone is yellow or gold then you have warm undertones. If you see hints of blue, pink or red then you have cool undertones. If you have both warm and cool hues then you have neutral undertones.
How to recognize undertones
There are a couple of ways to recognize whether or not you have cool, warm or neutral skin tones. Trying on jewelry is an effective way of seeing which undertone you have. One piece of jewelry can look completely different on two different people. Pull out silver or gold jewelry, it could be a necklace, bracelet or earrings. If the silver looks better and enhances your skin rather than taking away from your natural color, then you have cool undertones. Likewise, if the gold jewelry enhances your skin and has a better appearance than the silver jewelry then you have warm undertones. Finally, if you see no difference in appearance when wearing either gold or silver your undertones are neutral.
It also helps to look at the color of your veins. If your veins are purple or blue, you have a cool undertone. If the veins are more green, you have warm undertones. If you can’t tell the difference or it looks like there is a mix, odds are you’re neutral.
Another trick is to hold a piece of paper to your skin and if your face looks pink you’re cool-toned, and if you appear more yellow than you have warm undertones. Again, no change means neutral.
Cool Undertones
If you have a cool undertone you should wear blues, greens, pinks, purples, blue-greens, magentas, and true “blue-based” reds as these will complement your skin tone the best.
Warm Undertones
If you have a warm undertone it means your skin tone has hints of yellow, gold, and peach. If you are more warm-toned you should lean toward yellows, oranges, browns, yellow-greens, ivories, and warm reds.
Neutral Undertones
A neutral undertone is right in the middle, it’s neither warm nor cool. What this means is that you can wear either cool or warm colors and it will complement your skin tone.
