HOW TO FIND YOUR SKIN UNDERTONE IN 5 STEPS

Have you ever browsed the makeup aisles, reading “warm, neutral, or cool” and wondered to yourself what that even means? Or maybe you’ve been trying on clothes and asked your friends, “Does this color look good on me?” The answers to these questions can be found by identifying your skin undertone.

Anne Hathaway in cool colors (for cool undertones)

Anne Hathaway in warm colors (for warm undertones)

Finding your skin undertone might seem daunting, but the good news is that you can figure out your undertone in the comfort of your own home following these steps:

Step 1: Pick up silver and gold lamé fabric. I suggest these from Amazon or heading to your local fabric store to pick up a sample. You don’t need much, just enough to drape on you. You could also use silver or gold photography light reflectors. The point of these fabrics is to reflect gold or silver light on your face to be able to observe how it affects your complexion. 

Step 2: Pull your hair back and out of your face. Make sure you have clean skin with no makeup at all.

Step 3: Find a spot in your home with bright, indirect, natural light. Avoid harsh, direct sunlight or overly bright direct light. Have you ever put makeup on in the bathroom only to go outside and look completely different in the sunlight? We want to avoid that so the goal is to mimic the lighting that shows your natural colors as true as possible – bright and indirect light. 

Correct lighting

Front natural indirect light, no make up, hair pulled back.

Step 4: Lay the fabric/reflector on a flat surface and adjust it so that light is bouncing off it and reflecting light onto you. Move the fabric under your chin so that the reflected light is on your face (observe the photos below).  Make sure you have a mirror in front of you to observe the changes. Start with one color, change it immediately to the next to be able to see how they affect your skin. If you’re having trouble understanding this step, here is a link to my skin undertone 101 video for you to see a demonstration. 

Step 5: Observe

The light that compliments you will:
- Give you a natural glow
- Disguise your blemishes/dark spots slightly
- Harmonize with your overall complexion
- Make your eyes pop
- Your under eye circles will be less noticeable
- Notice which fabric makes you look brighter, we’re looking for a natural glow. 
- Will give your features definition, this will be more obvious on your lips and eye colors, they will gain definition and color. 

The light that doesn’t flatter your undertone will:
- Darken your blemishes/dark spots
- Enhance your under eye circles
- Your features will lose definition, your lips might lose color and your eyes will not look focused
- Discolor your nasolabial folds
- Enhance texture on your skin
- Make you look sickly


If your undertone is cool, the silver light will make you glow. If your undertone is warm, the gold light will give you a sunkissed aura. 

Take your time to observe the effects on your skin, which one flatters you the most? Some skin undertones are more obvious than others, it’s okay if you don’t notice it right away, take your time, film the trials on your phone and take a look at them later.