For those of us who wear makeup on the regular, finding the right shade of foundation or concealer can be harder than you’d think. Your skin changes with each season and different types of formulas can dramatically change the pigment that shows up on your face. Thankfully, we’ve got some tips to help get every skin colour looking exactly how you want it.
In the cosmetic industry you’re going to hear a lot about ‘cool’ and ‘warm’ skin tones. These tones are made up of the amounts of melanin (brown pigments) and carotene (yellow pigments) that are present in your skin. Cooler skin tones generally have more pink undertones and tend to be fair, while warmer tones appear more yellow, golden, or even olive. A neutral tone balances both warm and cool colours.
Skin tones can be fair, dark, and a million in-betweens, but undertones play a critical role in finding makeup that flatters your natural skin. This can get confusing at times, so if you don’t know whether you have warm, cool, or neutral undertones, there are a few different ways to establish your undertones.
What kind of jewellery do you wear? Silver tends to look better on cooler skin, while gold accentuates the best of warm undertones. Notice how the silver jewels look slightly better than the gold in this picture.
Does your skin love or fear the sun? If you were outside on a bright day without any sunscreen (a big no-no, but we all do it at some point!) do you tend to burn or tan? People who burn quickly have cool-toned skin, and their veins appear blue (especially after sun exposure). Most people who tan easily are warm and have green-tinged veins. If you fall somewhere in between any of these, you likely have neutral undertones.
Tips for Each Skin Type
Porcelain
At first glance porcelain skin is almost translucent, and it tends to prominently show blood vessels and dark circles. Pink-based foundations and soft pastel eyeshadows will help hide these unwanted colours. Bronzers can be tricky for porcelain skin, so opt for a matte brown-tone.
Try this: Besame Cosmetics Vanilla Brightening Powder
Fair
Fair skin is the common skin tone for Caucasian women. It is less fixed than porcelain skin, with subtle changes in dark and light colours across the face. Rosy cheeks and freckles are also quite common. Yellow or orange eyeshadows are particularly unflattering on fair skin, but almost any pink blush (subtle or dramatic) will work wonders!
Try this: Urban Decay Afterglow 8 Hour Blush in “Fetish”
Light Olive
The complement to porcelain skin, lighter olive skin tones are chiefly yellow which helps to conceal surface darkness or blemishes. Most eyeshadows, bronzers, and highlighters work well with this type, but avoid foiled colours and metallic lipsticks.
Try this: Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in “Venezia”
Dark Olive
Dark olive tones tan easier and for longer, and easily rock rich cosmetic colours. Most people with Mediterranean backgrounds have this skin type. Stick with warm eyeshadows and lipsticks, as cool-toned makeup can actually cause the wearer to appear sallow or tired-looking.
Try this: Make Up For Ever Artist Eyeshadow in M846 “Morello Cherry” and ME400 “Buttercup.”
Deep or Dark
Rich or darker skin can handle dramatic colours much better than other skin tones, and can have either olive or red undertones. Shades of burnt orange or emerald green will look absolutely stunning on the eyes, and a gold highlighter can be used on the cheekbones for an everyday look without appearing overdone. Sometimes dark skin can come with dark circles around the eyes, but these can be hidden with a red-based concealer.
Try this: BECCA Targeted Backlight Colour Corrector in “Papaya” or ANY berry-toned eyeshadow (you’ll be pleasantly surprised!)
This article is simply the bare basics and meant to be used as a guideline if you’re new to makeup or unfamiliar with different skin tones. Don’t forget makeup is an incredibly fun way to express yourself, so don’t ever feel confined to a certain set of colours!