Determining your skin’s undertone and vein color can help guide you in choosing flattering makeup and clothing shades. Keep reading to learn how to examine your veins and skin to uncover your complexion’s nuances.
What is Skin Undertone?
Your skin undertone refers to the color underneath the surface of your skin. While many people are familiar with broad color categories like “fair,” “medium,” or “dark,” undertone gives more detail about the actual hue of your skin.
There are three main undertone categories:
- Warm – a golden, peachy, or yellow hue
- Cool – a red, blue, or pink hue
- Neutral – a balance of warm and cool hues
Identifying your undertone will help you find shades of makeup, hair color, and clothing that harmonize with your skin rather than clashing with it. Read on to learn how to examine your veins to determine your skin’s undertone.
How to Find Your Undertone by Looking at Your Veins
One of the easiest ways to determine your undertone is by looking at the veins on the inside of your wrist under natural lighting. Here’s what to look for:
Greenish veins:
- Indicate a warm undertone
- Your skin has golden, peach, or yellow hints
- You look best in warm, golden shades like orange, coral, cream, and yellow
Blue or purple veins:
- Indicate a cool undertone
- Your skin has pink, red, or blue hints
- You look best in cool shades like magenta, blue, and emerald green
Veins are difficult to discern:
- You likely have a neutral undertone
- Your skin has a balance of warm and cool tones
- You look equally good in both warm and cool shades
This vein test works best under natural lighting. Veins can appear more blue or greenish under artificial lighting. Examine your wrist veins next to a window on a sunny day for the most accurate reading.
Other Clues About Your Undertone
Along with checking your wrist veins, here are some other factors that provide hints about your skin undertone:
Does your skin tan or burn easily?
- Warm undertones tend to tan more
- Cool undertones tend to burn more
What color are your veins on other areas of your body?
- Check veins in places like your chest, neck, and around your eyes
- Are they predominantly greenish or blueish?
What jewelry metal tones look best on you?
- Warm undertones look better in yellow gold
- Cool undertones look better in white gold or silver
What color clothing and makeup looks most harmonious on you?
- Warm complexions suit coral, peach, cream, gold
- Cool complexions suit magenta, emerald, sapphire blue
Neutral Undertones
If your veins appear neither overtly blueish nor greenish, you likely have a neutral skin undertone. This means your skin has a relatively even mix of warm and cool tones.
Here are some common traits of neutral undertones:
- You suit both silver and gold jewelry equally well
- You look good in earth tones like brown, beige, ivory, and tan
- Your skin neither burns nor tans easily
- You suit both warm and cool hair and makeup colors
With a neutral undertone, you have lots of flexibility in your color choices. However, sometimes extremely warm or cool shades can overwhelm your neutrality. Stick to muted tones rather than highly saturated hues.
Olive Undertones
Some people have a greenish hue to their skin, known as an olive complexion. Olive undertones are a variant of neutral undertones.
Here are some hallmarks of olive skin:
- Your veins appear greenish or bluish-green
- You suit jewel tones, particularly emerald green
- Your skin tans easily
- Silver jewelry is more flattering than gold
Olive skin can lean slightly warm or slightly cool. Examine whether your olive skin has hints of golden yellow (warm) or red/pink hues (cool) to help guide your color choices. Olive complexions look great in all shades of green.
How to Find Your Skin Tone
In addition to undertone, ascertaining your overall skin tone depth is also useful for selecting cosmetic shades. There are three main skin tone categories:
Light skin: Burns easily, minimal tanning
Medium skin: May burn then tans, neither extremely dark nor light
Dark skin: Rarely burns, tans deeply
While tone and undertone work together, remember they are distinct traits. You can have a light skin tone with cool undertones, or a dark skin tone with warm undertones, and so on.
Some tips for determining your skin tone depth:
- How does your unexposed skin compare to someone with light Caucasian skin vs. someone with dark African skin?
- Does your skin naturally tan to a dark or light-medium brown in the sun?
- How does your skin react to 30 minutes of strong sun exposure without protection?
Your skin tone impacts what level of saturation and depth of color cosmetic shades will be most flattering. Lighter tones suit softer, lighter shades. Darker tones can handle deeper, more pigmented shades without being overwhelmed.
Choosing Complimentary Colors
Now that you know your skin’s undertone and tone, you can use this knowledge to your advantage in choosing harmonious makeup, hair color, and clothing shades. Here’s a quick reference:
For Warm Undertones
| Skin Tone | Most Flattering Colors |
|---|---|
| Light | Peach, light yellow, ivory, gold |
| Medium | Coral, tan, mocha, terracotta |
| Dark | Orange, camel, caramel, espresso |
For Cool Undertones
| Skin Tone | Most Flattering Colors |
|---|---|
| Light | Rose, light pink, lavender, baby blue |
| Medium | Magenta, teal, berry, plum |
| Dark | Emerald, navy, eggplant, magenta |
For Olive Undertones
| Skin Tone | Most Flattering Colors |
|---|---|
| Light | Jade, moss green, teal, peach |
| Medium | Avocado, taupe, burnt sienna, terracotta |
| Dark | Hunter green, deep red, chocolate brown |
Keep in mind not every suggested color will look great on every person with those undertones. The colors listed above are simply a helpful starting point when choosing clothing, accessory, makeup, and hair shades. Trust your eye and instincts about what hues you think work for your unique complexion.
Tips for Makeup and Clothing Shopping
Now that you know more about your undertone and skin tone, use this information when shopping for makeup and clothing:
- Foundation/concealer – Choose shades that disappear into your skin rather than sitting on top.
- Lip colors – Cool undertones suit berry and red based pinks. Warm undertones suit peach and orange based corals.
- Blush – Opt for blue-based cool tones or yellow/peach based warm tones.
- Clothes – Drape warm and cool color swatches against your neck to see which is more harmonious.
- Jewelry – Silver suits cool tones, while gold suits warm.
The colors you gravitate to instinctively likely complement your tone. Pay attention to the shades you get most compliments in. Use your newly discovered undertone as a tool when trying new products and hues.
How to See Veins More Clearly
If you are having trouble distinguishing vein color, here are some tips:
- Look in bright, natural daylight rather than under artificial or dim lighting.
- Run your wrists under cool water to make veins more visible.
- Press gently on surrounding skin to make veins stand out more.
- Examine veins in multiple areas like wrists, hands, chest, and behind knees.
- Ask a friend what color they see your veins as for an outside perspective.
Veins can be subtle, so don’t stress if identifying your exact undertone proves tricky. Focus instead on how your skin reacts to sun and what clothing/makeup shades you consistently receive compliments on. Go with your gut instinct about colors that make you glow.
Should I Get Color Matched at a Makeup Counter?
Getting professionally color matched at a makeup counter or cosmetic store can provide helpful insights about which shades best suit your unique complexion. A trained makeup artist may spot undertones in your skin you did not catch on your own.
However, take any recommendations simply as a starting point for exploration. Keep in mind:
- Lighting in store is not always ideal for color matching.
- Sales associates may be incentivized to sell certain brands or shades.
- Your preferences should override any suggestions.
Ask for samples and test suggested products under natural lighting before committing. Get color matched for fun, but know your eye is ultimately the best judge of what flatters you.
How to Find Your Seasonal Color Palette
In addition to undertone, you may also have an overall temperature to your coloring that falls into a seasonal color palette:
| Season | Traits |
|---|---|
| Winter | High contrast, dark hair/eyes, fair or olive skin, suits jewel tones |
| Summer | Low contrast, light hair/eyes, fair cool skin, suits soft tones |
| Autumn | Low contrast, warm hair/eyes/skin, suits earthy tones |
| Spring | High contrast, light hair/eyes, warm fair skin, suits bright tones |
Determining your seasonal palette gives you inspiration for versatile color schemes in your wardrobe and makeup. Online quizzes and professional color consultants can help uncover your dominant characteristics.
Keep in mind that seasons are simply a guideline. Feel free to veer from your palettes, using your skin undertones as the final determining factor in what shades look best.
Conclusion
With all skin undertones, the most important judge of flattering colors is your own eye. If you love how you look in a certain shade, wear it proudly no matter what your veins suggest. Use your newly discovered undertone knowledge as a helpful starting point when trying new makeup, hair colors, and outfits. Confidence in your look beats adhering to color “rules” every time!