Makeup Mondays: Tips to find your skin’s undertone for the perfect foundation shade

SHOPPING for the correct shade of foundation for your skin’s hue is not an easy task. There are a range of different foundations, whether you’re using liquid, cream or powder foundation, so finding the right shade for you is not as simple as determining how light or dark your skin tone is. Your foundation shade does not just depend on your skin’s colour, it relies heavily on your skin’s undertones, as well.

If you want to learn more about undertones and how to choose a foundation shade based on your undertone, keep reading.

First, you need to understand the difference between your skin’s colour or tone and your skin’s undertone. Your skin’s tone is the colour of your skin; it could be a variety of tones:

Very Fair: Fair skin tends to be neutral or cooler undertones. Cooler-toned shades, such as taupe, beige, and soft pinks complement this undertone.

Light: Skin that’s light but not as fair, looks best in cooler-toned shades that are more soft and neutral such as greys and deeper beiges.

Medium: This skin tone usually has the ability to go with both warmer and cooler colours.

Olive: Like medium, olive can also do both warmer and cooler shades, though Sesnek recommends adding more vivid colours, as olive skin tones can usually handle it.

Tan: This skin tone looks great with warmer shades like bronze as well as warmer tones such as orange.

Medium to Dark: Skin can be both cool and warmer in colour.

Deep: This skin tone can be both cool and warm in colour. Going more vivid with colour can really pop against this skin tone.

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Skin tones can change with seasons and sun exposure. Most people’s skin tans during summer and look comparatively fair during the colder winter months. But just matching the colour of your skin to the foundations in the store will not help you find your foundation shade.

Undertones are the colours that are underneath your skin. They impart an overall hue to the skin. You might have the exact same skin colour as another person, but you could have a completely different undertone. Unlike skin colours, undertones do not change with the seasons. Undertones are broadly broken down into three categories – warm, cool, and neutral.

• Warm – Your skin has hints of yellow or golden beneath the surface
• Cool  – The underlying colours in your skin are reds, blues or purples
• Neutral – You have a mix of both warm and cool hues

Now that you know the three types of undertones, here are a few simple ways in which you can determine your undertone. Knowing your undertones and your skin’s colour will help you find your perfect foundation shade.

1. Check Your Veins

One of the quickest and most common ways to determine your undertone is to check the insides of your wrist. If your veins appear blue or purple, you have a cool undertone. If they look green, you’re warm. If you’re having a hard time narrowing down between blue or green, you most likely have a neutral undertone.

2. Test some jewellery

If gold jewellery compliments your skin tone, you probably have a warm undertone. If silver jewellery is more flattering on your skin tone, you have a cool undertone.

3. Do you tan or burn?

Another easy way to know your undertone is to know how your skin reacts to the sun. If you usually get sunburnt and your skin turns red, you have a cool undertone. If you tan easily and your skin turns brown, you have a warm undertone.

4. White T-shirt test

Put on a white T-shirt and look at yourself in the mirror. If your skin appears yellow, your skin has a warm hue and undertone. If your face has a rosy blush, you’re cool-toned. If you can’t determine between the two, you’re in the middle with a neutral undertone.

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Now that you have all this information about undertones, look for a foundation shade that matches not just your skin colour but also its hue or undertone. If you’re someone with a warm undertone and you use a cool-toned foundation, your face will look ashy as it won’t blend naturally with your hue. Similarly, applying a warm foundation on cool-toned skin will make you look an unnatural shade of yellow or orange, and can even make you look like you are sick.

Hopefully, these tips will guide you in the right direction when choosing your makeup essentials, and with all this in mind, don’t forget to have fun and choose the foundation that makes you feel the most comfortable in your skin.

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