How to Determine Your Undertone: The Warm, Cool and Neutral Test

Skin undertone is the color tendency perceived underneath, independent of how light or dark your skin is: a yellow-golden direction is warm, a pink-rose direction is cool, and a balance of the two is considered neutral. To understand it, do the vein, jewelry and fabric tests together in daylight, then confirm the result with a foundation applied to your jawline. These tests are practical tips, not measuring tools, so don't rely on just one of them.

What is skin undertone, and how is it different from skin color?

When talking about makeup, three different things are often confused. Skin depth describes how light or dark your skin is. Undertone describes the yellow or pink tendency within that shade. Skin type, on the other hand, is related not to color but to the balance of oil and moisture. A person with very fair skin and a person with dark skin can both have warm, cool or neutral undertones.

If you're unsure of your skin type, you can start with the article how to determine skin type or use the skin analysis page. The result of that determines your texture choice, and the result in this article determines your color choice.

Here is the biology in brief: Skin color is mostly determined by melanin. Hemoglobin adds red and purple-blue tones, and carotenoids from food add a slight yellow-orange touch. "Warm" and "cool" are not a scientific unit of measure but a makeup language that makes choosing shades easier. There is also no strong research proving the accuracy of the tests below. These are common practices, so treat the result as a starting point.

Before starting the test

A test done in the wrong light will also ruin a test done correctly. This preparation takes just a few minutes:

1. Use daylight. Stand in front of a window during the day and avoid direct sunlight. A yellow bulb can give skin a yellowish look, while cool white light can make it look bluish.
2. Cleanse your skin. Make sure no foundation, tinted moisturizer or bronzer remains. If you've just washed your face, wait for the redness to subside.
3. Don't do it right after a hot shower or exercise. Heated skin becomes red, which can be read as a cool undertone.
4. Look at the right areas. The inside of the wrist, the neck and the jawline are calmer areas. The cheeks and the area around the nose usually look redder on most people.
5. Turn off the filter. Phone cameras may automatically correct color. When making your decision, trust the mirror and natural light.

Three basic tests

Vein test

Hold the inner side of your wrist up to daylight and look at the thin veins. Greenish veins indicate a warm undertone, while bluish or purplish veins are a sign of a cool undertone. If you can't tell the color apart, you may be neutral.

You need to know the limits of this test. The color you see in your veins doesn't come from the color of the blood inside them. Light absorption and scattering in the skin, the diameter and depth of the vein, oxygen in the blood, and even how your eyes perceive color together shape this appearance. So vein tests don't directly show undertone; at most they give an indirect hint. On dark skin, veins are hard to see, so rely more on the other two tests.

Jewelry test

Hold a gold piece of jewelry and then a silver one, one after the other, near your neck or wrist. If your skin looks more vibrant next to the gold, mark a warm direction; if it looks more vibrant next to the silver, mark a cool direction. If both suit you equally well, you may be neutral. The test relies on personal perception and is influenced by habit: someone who has worn gold for a long time may find gold more flattering. If someone is with you, ask them too.

Fabric or paper test

Tie your hair back and leave your face uncovered. First hold a pure white fabric under your chin, then a cream or ivory one. If pure white makes you look balanced while cream makes you look washed out, lean toward cool; if cream makes you look balanced while pure white hardens your skin tone, lean toward warm. If you don't have fabric, hold a white sheet of paper next to your cheek and note whether your skin looks yellow-gold or pink-rose against it.

How do you read the results?

After doing the tests, compare your results with this chart:

A simple way to decide: if two of the three tests point in the same direction, accept that as your starting point. If all three give different results, consider that you may be neutral or olive. This is an example method, not a rule. The final word comes from the foundation test, because what you really want to see is how the product looks on your face.

Olive skin: the group that confuses the tests

Olive skin is a description used for skin that has a yellowish green-gray tendency. Tests often give mixed results: your veins look green, so you consider yourself warm, but a yellow-toned foundation looks too orange on your face while a pink-toned one looks artificial. If this sounds familiar, try shades labeled neutral or olive.

You may not always find such an option on labels. In that case, mixing two different shades can also work, for example blending a slightly more yellow shade with a slightly more neutral one on the back of your hand and testing it on the jawline. Don't store the mixture; prepare only what you'll use at that moment.

Factors that can mislead the test

• Tanning. In summer, the surface tone darkens and the yellow-brown look increases. Do the test in a spot that gets little sun, such as the inner arm.
• Redness. Acne, rosacea, irritation or a recent peel can make your cheeks look pink. This look does not mean "I have a cool undertone."
• Spots and melasma. Brown areas can read like a warm tendency. If there are spots on your jawline, look toward the neck area.
• Diet. A diet rich in carotenoids can give skin a yellow-orange tint.
• Newly developing yellowing. If you notice new yellowing on your skin or the whites of your eyes, it is not a matter of undertone. In this case, don't deal with makeup shades; see a doctor without delay.

Two common mistakes

"If you burn in the sun, you're cool; if you tan, you're warm." How your skin reacts to the sun is mostly related to the amount and type of melanin in your skin. It is not a verified way to understand your undertone. Don't go out in the sun just to test it. If you will be outside, use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30, and reapply every 2 hours and after sweating or swimming.

"Your undertone never changes." This is a much-repeated sentence, but there is no reliable data measuring it. What is known: your surface tone changes with the season and sun, and spots and redness also shift your appearance. It's normal to need different foundation shades for summer and winter. If you get different results from the same test a few months later, don't be surprised.

How do you use the result when choosing products?

The first thing to check on foundation is the letter code. You'll see the letters W (warm), C (cool) and N (neutral) on many packages, but these codes are not standard across brands. One brand's N may be close to another brand's W. Don't buy based on the letter alone; test the shade on your jawline until it disappears between your face and neck.

For blush and lipstick, the rule is looser. The table below is a starting point:

These shades are not a forbidden list. If you love a color that is said to "not suit" your undertone, keep wearing it. Choosing colors is ultimately a personal preference; your undertone only makes things easier when you're undecided.

When testing shades, finish your morning routine first. Steps such as sunscreen can change how the products you apply look. For the right order, you can read our skincare routine order article.

Common mistakes

• Trusting store lighting. A shade that looks matching under a bright counter lamp may look different outdoors. Apply it to your jawline, walk to the door or a window, and look again.
• Testing foundation on the back of the hand or the wrist. These areas have a different color because of sun exposure and may have been exposed to more sun.
• Confusing depth with undertone. "My skin is dark, so I must be warm" is not a correct conclusion.
• Mistaking redness for a pink undertone. If your cheeks are red, read the result from your neck rather than your cheeks.
• Deciding with a single test. Just because you chose gold in the jewelry test, don't switch your entire shopping to warm tones.
• Touching a shared test product with your fingers. Products handled by many people are prone to contamination. Get a single-use applicator, like a clean cotton swab.

Quick answers

If my face and neck are different shades, what should I look at?

Your face often gets more sun than your neck. Check your jawline: if the shade you choose leaves no line at the transition between face and neck, you're on the right track. If the difference is noticeable, you can blend the foundation toward your neck to soften it.

If I change my hair color, does my undertone change too?

Hair dye does not change your skin's undertone, but your skin may look different because the color around your face changes. That's why it's normal to review your blush or lipstick shade when you have a new hair color.

I'm torn between two undertones, what should I do?

Start with a shade labeled neutral. If it looks yellow on your face, move one step toward pink; if it looks gray or pink, move one step toward yellow. If you can find sample or travel sizes to try both directions, you'll take less risk.

This article provides general information about choosing shades in makeup; any new color changes in the skin or the whites of the eyes should be evaluated by a doctor.