Picking out clothes from such a large number of designs and styles is a tough job in itself. But when you have to worry about the dress going well with your skin tone, it adds on to the stress. A lot of people might have little or no idea about this, but the apparent colour of your skin also has an undertone. I know you’re going all “WHAT?” in your mind but read me out. I will clear the confusions and also tell you all about how to live with your type of skin undertone. This article from OMG Blog has everything you need to know about what colours to wear on different skin tones.
How to Determine Skin Undertone
There are three basic types of skin undertones: Warm, Cool, and Neutral. There are different methods through which you can determine the undertone of your skin and some of them are mentioned below.
1. White Paper Test
It is quite a simple technique which gives pretty accurate results. All your need to do is take a piece of white paper and hold it against your skin in bright natural light. If your skin seems pink and rosy against the paper, then you have a cool undertone. If it seems more like a yellow shade, then you have a warm undertone. However, if you can’t really figure out what it looks more like, then you probably have a neutral undertone.
Analyze the Colour of Your Veins
First check which area of your arm or legs has very visible veins. Then in a bright natural light, analyze the colour of the veins showing from under the skin. If it seems blue then your skin has a cool undertone and if the colour seems green then you have a warm undertone.
Check Skin with Sun Exposure
Skin with a cool undertone tend to get sun burn when exposed to sun while that with a warm undertone are more likely to become tan or dark. You don’t necessarily have to expose yourself to sun but you can relate to past experiences to determine whether your skin gets sunburn or tan when you spend a long time in the sun.
2. The Jewellery Test
The jewellery test is pretty easy like the white paper test. You take silver and golden jewellery items and place them against your skin. If silver looks better with your skin then you have a cool undertone and if you feel like gold coloured jewellery looks better then you have a warm skin undertone.
3. The Eyes Can Tell
If you look closely in someone’s eyes you will find that everyone has small flecks in their eyes. If your eyes have golden flecks then you have a warmer skin undertone while grey or blue flecks mean a cooler undertone.
Now that you have determined your skin undertone, let’s talk about what colours to wear on what type of undertone.
Colours to Wear on Warm Skin Tone
If you have a warm skin undertone, you can wear confidently different shades or red, orange and yellow. Some particular colours that go well with warm undertones are honey, olive, cream, and coral shades.
Colours to Wear on Cool Skin Tone
If you’re a cool undertone, then shades of blue, green, and purple will be perfect for you, especially the lavender shade of purple. You can go for rose or grey colour shades as well.
Colours to Wear on Neutral Skin Tone
There are some shades that suit both warm and cool undertones alike. These shades include bright red, light blush or pale pink, dark or eggplant purple, and teal. Another colour that has been underrated is pure white. A lot of people might think that white doesn’t suit all skin tones but that isn’t the case. If you choose a pure white fabric and not the one with hints of undertones like blue, ash or pink, it will definitely suit any skin tone and undertone.
Colours to Wear for Different Skin Tones
Although you can’t really name all the different and beautiful skin tones out there, a generic scale has five basic skin tones in it: Very Fair, Fair, Medium, Dark, and Deep. These might not cover all of them but wherever you’re from in the world, you will find that your skin tone will lie in any one of these categories, be it an exact match or a close one. Lets talk about what are the best and most suitable colours for these five different skin tones.
Very Fair Skin Tone
The best colours to wear if you have a very fair skin tone complexion are neutral shades, jewel tones and pastel colours.
Fair Skin Tone
If you’re a fair skin tone person, colours like lavender, blush pink, pale yellow, sea and mint green, ivory, coral, and peach are more likely to look good on you.
Medium Skin Tone
A medium skin tone complexion will look its best in colours like mustard, purple, olive, cranberry, royal blue, pink and forest green. Also, a medium skinned person can carry darker colours better than other skin tones.
Dark Skin Tone
People with dark skin tone should wear jewel tones more often. Other than that the colours plum, pink, orange, yellow, white and black will also look great.
Deep Skin Tone
The colours that suit deep skin tone are quite similar to the ones that suit a dark complexion. Jewel tones tops this list followed by white, yellow, royal blue, fuchsia, and blush pink.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are skin tone types?
There are two types of skin tones. One is the “surface tone” which is the visible colour of your skin. The other is the “undertone” which is the colour underneath the surface. These two types are further divided into different colour shades.
What is my skin tone and undertone?
You can use a shade card to determine which category does your surface skin tone lie in. To determine your skin undertone, place a white paper against your skin. If you skin appears yellowish beside the white paper then you have a warm undertone and if it appears rosy or blueish then you have a cool undertone.
Which skin tone is best?
Every skin tone colour is beautiful and not a single one should be labelled at the “best” because it promotes an unhealthy body image.
What is golden skin tone?
Golden skin tone one is another name for a warm undertone. It is a yellowish shade of skin beneath the surface skin.
What is the most attractive skin tone colour?
According to a study done by Missouri School of Journalism, it was found that a light brown skin tone is more physically attracted that other skin tones.
I hope this article helped you decide on the colours you want and don’t want in your wardrobe. In the end its all about how you carry your outfit and how confident you are while wearing it. You will absolutely rock any dress that you feel confident and beautiful in despite what anyone says. Keep your head high and love your skin because you are beautiful!
