How to find your undertone
Undertone is not depth. It is the color under your skin, and it decides which reds, blondes and blushes work. Four tests, one caveat each.
Undertone is not skin tone
Skin tone is how light or deep you are. Undertone is the color sitting underneath: cool (pink, red, blue), warm (yellow, gold, peach), neutral (a balance), or olive (green-grey over a warm or neutral base).
You can be deep and cool, or fair and warm. This is why “medium” tells you nothing about which lipstick to buy.
Test 1 — the veins
Look at the veins on the inside of your wrist in daylight. Blue or purple suggests cool. Green suggests warm. A mix suggests neutral.
Why it lies: veins sit under skin, fat and blood. Rosacea, visible capillaries, fake tan and cold hands all change what you see. It is the weakest of the four tests and the one everyone starts with.
Test 2 — the white paper
Hold a plain white sheet next to your bare face in daylight. If your skin looks pink or rosy against it, you lean cool. If it looks yellow or golden, you lean warm. If it looks grey or greenish, you are probably olive.
Why it lies: white balances to whatever light you are in. Do it near a window, not under a bulb.
Test 3 — jewellery
Silver looks cleaner and brighter on cool skin. Gold makes warm skin glow. If both look fine, you are neutral.
Why it lies: personal preference and the metal you already own. Also, rose gold flatters almost everyone, so it tells you nothing.
Test 4 — the sun
If you burn first and tan later, you lean cool. If you tan easily and rarely burn, you lean warm. If you burn a little then tan, neutral.
Why it lies: this is about melanin behaviour, not undertone. It is the most reliable of the four for depth, the least reliable for temperature.
Questions
What does olive undertone actually look like?
A green or grey cast, most visible at the jaw and around the mouth. Olive skin often looks “sallow” in winter and golden in summer. It is common in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Latin American skin.
Can my undertone change?
Not really, but it can look different. Tan, rosacea, pregnancy, iron levels and lighting all shift what you see. Re-test in winter and summer.
What if I am neutral?
You have the widest range. Pick by contrast and by what you like, and avoid extremes — very cool or very warm shades are where neutral skin looks worst.
Some links are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no cost to you. Details.