Okay, ladies! We’ve all been there, you run into your favorite Sephora or Ulta to grab the latest foundation launch. You think you found your perfect match without any assistance from an associate and confidently send all your coins on ‘perfect skin in a bottle.’ The time comes to finally use your new foundation to get the ultimate “beat” look and…bam…the dream foundation you raved about is orange. So why is that? When finding your perfect match, the biggest mistake people make is understanding their undertone.

Your skin’s undertone is the natural color underneath the surface of your skin. To think of it in a different way, imagine taking the surface color of your skin off, the color left behind is considered your undertone. I know, gross right but I had to give an example for our more visual learners! Anyways finding out your undertone will change the way you purchase some of your most important products including foundation, eyeshadow, lipstick, and even clothing and jewelry.

Undertones are unique to EVERYONE! You and a friend may share the same natural tone but have completely different undertones in your skin. So how many undertones are there? There are three main categories of undertones: warm, cool, and neutral.

Cool: blue, pink, red
Warm: yellow, peachy, gold
Neutral: a mixture of the two (may also include some olive shades)

I know what you’re thinking, Amaya how do I figure all of this out? Do I need to go to a professional??

NOPE. You can test your undertone shade right from the comfort of your own home and here are the key ways that I figured out what undertone I am.
(Disclaimer: you do not have to use EVERY test in this list, but it is a fun way to figure out what looks best on you!)

Step 1: CHECK YOUR VEINS.
One of the easy and quickest ways to figure out your undertone is just by checking your veins. No, we are not checking pulse. Look down at your wrist, what do you see? If the veins you see are green, you are a member of the warm family. If the color, you see is blue – sometimes purplish – you are cool toned. Neutral undertones are identified if your veins are very hard to see or match the color of your skin.

Step 2: LOOK AT YA BLING.
You’ve probably been in tune with your undertone without even knowing it especially when you purchase jewelry. If you feel as though silver jewelry looks best on you and really brings out your skin, you are cool toned. Now if you like a more glam gold you are of the warm family.

STEP 3: TURN UP THE HEAT.
Now the third and final test that I use to determine undertone is whether you tan or burn. With the assistance of the sun, you can easily solve the question of undertones. If you find yourself burning or getting red a lot easier after spending time in the sun, you have a cool undertone. If you’re like me and tan for days, you have a warm undertone. For the few people who neither burn or tan quickly, you are of the neutral undertone fam!
***Disclaimer: Just because you are a part of the warm or neutral family does not mean, I repeat, DOES NOT MEAN you can go out in the sun without SPF. ALL UNDERTONES ARE AT RISK TO BURN OR SUFFER FROM SUN DAMAGE. ***

Okay, now you’ve found your undertone, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH IT? When it comes to makeup, I recommend members of the cooler tones to find products that have a little bit of pink or hints of red. Warmer tones are more likely to look best with products that have hints of gold and peach. Neutral tones…you are the lucky ones, you can (almost) do whatever you want!

Alright, you guys I hope you enjoyed this post and that you were able to listen to your newly found undertone! I will see you all in the next post!

XO
Amaya