6 simple ways to tell if your skin has ‘cool’, 'neutral' or ‘warm’ undertones (2024)

Finding your undertone is essential for finding your perfect foundation; the choices aren't simply a straight scale from pale and fair, to dark and deep. To get that flawless natural-looking match you have to get the undertone right.

We spoke to Bobbi Brown pro makeup artist, Aimee Morrison, to break down what that actually means, and how to tell what yours is.

Starting with the basics she explained undertone is; "the permanent, underlying colour that your skin tone casts: cool, warm or neutral," while skin tone is; "the colour you see on the surface of your skin: fair, light, medium, olive, dark or deep."

Getting both right in your foundation choice is essential for a seamless blend, and getting it wrong risks leaving you looking ashy, grey, too yellow or orange.

Aimee summarised the three main undertones to look for, telling us; "Cool undertones include pink and bluish hues. Warm undertones range from peach to yellow and golden. Neutral undertones have a mixture of both warm and cool tones."

One big foundation mistake is to assume that pale skin means a cool undertone and vice versa, warned Aimee; "It’s a total myth that fair skin tones have cool undertones and darker skin tones have warm undertones. Different undertones can be seen across all skin tones."

Before we get started with the tests to find your own, she's helped explain how different undertones may appear in different skin:

• Cool undertones appear pink/ blue in a fair skin and moving into medium and deep skin tones can appear purple/red.
• Warm undertones appear yellow in a fair/light-medium skin and can appear more peachy/golden in medium-dark/deep skin tones.
• Neutral undertones have a mix of both cool and warm tones and olive tones are usually seen.
  

Finding your undertone: The colour of your veins

Take a look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. Do they appear more blue or green? If your veins appear more blue, you’re cool-toned but if you see more green, you’re warm-toned. If you see a fair amount of both both green and blue, you have a neutral undertone.

This is easier to see on paler skin tones and isn't the best test for those with deeper skin.

Finding your undertone: The right type of jewellery

Do you look best in gold, silver or rose gold jewellery? Aimee says if you love to wear silver it’s common for you to have a cool undertone, whereas if you look better with gold jewellery, it's likely you have a warm undertone.

If rose gold suits you best, or you look good with both silver and gold jewellery, she says chances are you have a neutral undertone. Though remember, personal taste, fashion and budget will all play a big part in which you choose to wear.

Finding your undertone: The White T-shirt test

"Another great undertone test is to wear a white T-shirt or dress," suggests Aimee; "If your skin looks a touch rosy think cool-toned, if your face looks more yellow think warm-toned if you don’t really see a change, most definitely think neutral-tones."

Finding your undertone: How your skin reacts in the sun

When you’ve spent a lengthy amount of time in the sun, how does your skin react? Aimee says this can help you gauge your undertone; "If you turn pink or burn easily in the sun you likely have a cool undertone, if you tan easily and go golden quick you will have a warm undertone, and if you burn a little but tan too you most likely have a neutral undertone."

Finding your undertone: Try a swatch test

Shopping in person, find two different makeup brands that categorise their foundations by undertone as well as shade (try Charlotte Tilbury, Fenty, Elf, or look out for letters or words like cool/warm alongside the shade name/number). At the first counter, pick out a few foundations that are close to your skin tone but differ by undertone (for example, one medium light foundation with neutral undertones, another with warm undertones, and one more with cool undertones). ‘Swatch’ these shades by applying three small patches in a row along the inside of your forearm (cool, then neutral, then warm) then do the same with the second brand, in the same order.

Look at your swatches in artificial light and again in the daylight. Try not to think about which shades look ‘too dark’ or ‘too light’, but which two columns look too pink, orange or yellow against your skin, and which column is harder to identify as ‘too’ anything. That third column will tell you which undertone you have.

If you still aren't sure, you can add another brand as a third row. There's nuance to undertones and just because it's your undertone group doesn't mean they will be the perfect shade for you, but they can help you figure out where your undertone sits.

Finding your undertone: The colour of your clothes

Have you ever thought that certain colour look better on you? If you find yourself opting for earth tones, such as yellows, oranges, red and olive-green, you’re probably warm-toned. If you prefer jewel-tones such as blues, emerald-greens and purples, for flattering your complexion, you’re most likely cool toned. Personal preference of course also affects our colour choices.