Undertones for Asians: How to tell if your skintone is Cool, Warm, Neutral, or Olive

Monday, January 18, 2010

493 comments
So I decided to write a post on Asian skintones, or more specifically Asian undertones, because I think that as an Asian, sometimes it's harder to tell if you're warm, cool, neutral or olive than if you were Caucasian. But why write a post specifically dedicated to Asian undertones, as opposed to undertones for everyone in general? There are two reasons for this:

  1. Most literature out there right now on discerning undertones still assumes a Caucasian reader (e.g. checking to see if your veins are blue or green, checking to see if your skin is pink or yellow, or classifying yourself as a Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter), which are not as helpful to an Asian girl. Most Asian girls I know (including me) have trouble using traditional classifying techniques, as sometimes they do not fall into any of the groups, or they fall into more than one group. In fact, for some Asian girls, these techniques tend to bring about more confusion than anything else.
  2. A large proportion of Asians have surface yellowness in their skin. Chinese people, like me, are the most obvious examples, although I've noticed some Indians have surface yellowness too. As a result, people tend to assume that you're warm just because your skin is yellow. However, this is not always the case. The reason why people often assume so stems from a conception of cool-toned skin as being 'pink', as in Caucasian-skin-pink, and this conception in turn is due to traditional literature on colour theory classifying people as either pink, or yellow. That classification is all fine and well - it's not inaccurate, but it's definitely not complete, because this literature makes the implicit assumption that the audience is Caucasian, because Asians in general don't have Caucasian-pink skintones, even if we are cool-toned. To say that all Asians are warm-toned because we have yellow skin is to confuse skintone (which is the surface colour of your skin: beige, tan, etc) with undertone (which is whether you are cool, or warm, or neutral), and not to mention a very horrible generalization.


Since Asians don't have Caucasian-pink skin, it's harder to tell what undertones we have just by looking at how pink or yellow we are - since we're mostly yellow! That has led tons of people (including people actually in the makeup business) to assume that Asians = warm undertones, when in reality, the surface yellowness of your skin does not necessarily make you warm, just like how having rosacae does not necessarily make you cool-toned just because you have a pink face. Like I said before, to do so is to confuse skintone with undertone, and there's a big difference between the two! Furthermore, I've noticed so many Asian girls wrongly categorize themselves as warm, and it really annoys me. Seriously! I can't tell you how many times I've seen a beautiful cool-toned Asian girl wearing peachy orange blush and bronzey orangey eyeshadow because some silly makeup girl at a makeup counter just took one cursory look at her skin and told her she was warm just because she was Asian (and yes, both Asian and Caucasian makeup assistants have been known to wrongly classify Asian undertones). And lastly, I'm writing this post because, after 3 years of experimenting and wrongly thinking I was warm-toned, I've come to realize that I'm really not warm, but olive, with cool-to-neutral undertones, and I want to save you guys all the time and money I wasted trying to figure things out.

That said, Asian skintones and undertones are confusing for lots of people, even makeup artists, because they were probably taught the "traditional" way of looking at skintones and undertones, which assumes Asian=yellow=warm. Unfortunately, the "traditional" method of determining skintones and undertones was developed way back in the 1970's or 1980's, and unfortunately, as a reflection of historical times then, was centered almost entirely around Caucasian skintones. If Asian skin was at all considered, it was all lumped together under one category - "Exotic" or "Ethnic", and people barely made any effort to separate coloured women from Asian women, or even the different types of Asian women from each other, when in reality, we all know a woman from India will have different colour cosmetic needs compared to say, a woman from China! Even more recent literature on this topic still tends to make the fatal errors I've described. So, this is my take on the traditional method. The principle I'm using - cool, neutral, warm, olive, is still mostly the same, but I'm tweaking it, and showing how it can be understood in the context of Asian skin.

So here we go. It's going to be a hefty post. I'm sure a lot of people are going to disagree with me, and insist that yellow = warm. And if this is confusing - well, I didn't say it wasn't going to be. After all, it took me three years to figure out all that I'm going to write!

First of all, if you're Asian - STOP ASSUMING YOU'RE WARM. Yes, that's you. Yup, don't look away! I said you! Please don't make the mistake of assuming you're warm just because some snooty girl wearing a brush belt at a MAC Counter told you so. You know yourself best, and you've probably experimented with various makeup colours on your skin before, and you know how they looked on your skin, so you'd be in a better position than some snooty makeup girl to know what undertone you are.

Instead of thinking of yourself as Warm-or-Cool, I encourage you to think of warmth and coolness as a spectrum. You know. Warm, Warm to Neutral, Neutral, Cool to Neutral, and Cool. And of course there's Olive, but I will talk about that later.

With this spectrum in mind, think about your previous makeup experiments. How did you feel with bronze eyeshadow on? Grey eyeshadow? How did you feel about a plummy lip? What about a coral lip? If necessary, do one half of your face with warm colours, and the other half of your face with cool colours. Go to a source of natural light (like a window) and look at one half, and compare it with the other half. Which half looks better? Do they both look equally good? If you looked better with grey eyeshadow, a plummy lip, and if the side of the face with cooler colours looks better, you're probably somewhere in the cool spectrum. If the side with warmer face looks better, you're somewhere in the warm spectrum. If they both look the same, you're probably neutral-ish. If you remember liking warm colours when you were more tan, and cool colours when you're more pale, then you just might be olive! You can even try this with clothes - think of your favourite pieces of clothing that looks best on you. Are they cooler or warmer colours on the whole? Is that favourite dress you look so good in a corally colour, or a deep navy blue?

Now that you've done that, you'll have a rough idea of where you fall under. Warm? Cool? Neutral? Or still not sure? Now, we'll go on to refine and clarify further by looking at your photos! :)

Huh, PHOTOS? Yup, take a look at your photos of yourself with your friends and family, both Asian and Caucasian, and photos in natural light are better. The reason why I suggest doing this is because Asians have a huge variance in undertones, and sometimes it's easier to figure out where you are by comparing yourself with others. On a fundamental level, its harder to tell cool-toned Asians from warm-toned Asians when we're all yellow - after all, a cooler yellow is harder to discern from a warmer yellow, than a pink is from a yellow, if you're looking at Caucasian skin. So, sometimes the best way to judge whether you're a cool yellow is to look at photos of yourself, especially photos with other Asian friends, so you can find your place within a whole spectrum of yellow. Look at your photos, and notice how your skin looks when you're next to them. Do you look cool sometimes, warm other times? Do you consistently look pink? Do you sometimes look greenish? Do you consistently look yellow? By looking at your own photos, you can get a sense of where you are on the undertone spectrum. And also, by comparing how cool/warm you are relative to other Asians, you'll avoid making the "Asian yellow skin = warm undertones" mistake, since you'll get to compare colours relative to each other, and give yourself a more nuanced appraisal of your skintone, and avoid mistaking surface yellowness for undertone yellowness.

I know most people have it drilled into their heads the all yellows are warm, so most people have trouble visualizing how a yellow can be cool. Think of a pale, lemony yellow vs a rich golden yellow. The pale lemon yellow is cool, while the rich golden yellow is warm. Here's an example of a warm yellow vs a cool yellow (thanks to pandamic on MUA):

Warm vs Cool Yellow

The yellow on the left is what most people think of as "yellow" - its a golden yellow, and would pair best with warm colours - grass green, orange, rust red etc. However, the yellow on the right is a cool lemon yellow, and that actually looks better with cooler tones, like emerald green and deep blue-teal. So don't make the mistake of thinking that just because the surface of your skin is yellow, it automatically makes you warm. It doesn't, because yellow in itself can be warm or cool.

UPDATED TO ADD: Whaddaya know, other people have also put up diagrams and illustrations of cool yellow too! These aren't makeup artists, they're actual artists, so I guess they should know their stuff! Here's two of the best illustrations I found (Source links at the bottom of each picture.):

This first picture (love the hand-drawn effect) shows you not just cool vs warm yellow, but also cool vs warm blue, and cool vs warm red. Yes, red and blue can be cool or warm too. I'm also, by the way, sick of people telling me they can't wear red lipstick or blue eyeshadow because they are this undertone or another. It's all about finding the right shade, I say!

Source


This picture below shows you why this is the case. The reason is that on the colour wheel, every colour blends into other colours. The implication is that every colour, e.g. blue, red, or yellow (of course), all run along a gradient of warm to cool. The implication this has for Asian undertone analysis, of course, is that yellow also runs along a spectrum of cool to warm.

Source


So even if you're absolutely clueless, based on how you appear in your photographs with your friends, you can get a good idea of how cool or how warm you are. If in general you tend to look pink, you're cool. If in general you tend to look yellow, you're warm. If you tend to be neither, you're neutral. And if you tend to look pink, but notice you have a green tinge to your skin sometimes (especially when compared to others) then you're olive with cool undertones, and if you tend to look yellow, but have a little bit of green, then you're olive with warm undertones. And if you look green sometimes, but equally pink and yellow, you can be olive, with neutral undertones. The more photos you look at, the wider your sample size, and the more accurate your judgement.

I know that sounds confusing, and it's useless without show-and-tell, so here are a few examples, using my own photos. These are all my facebook account photos. And they're also mostly from my college graduation because it was outdoors so we had good lighting in abundance. I'm going to walk you through each of the photos, and show you how I deduce my own skintone from my own photos. Hopefully after this you'll get an idea of how to go about looking at your own photos, and what to pay attention to when you take out your photo album!

Let's start with an easy one. Take a look at this picture.

undertones1


Notice the guy on the left is definitely warmer than me, the girl on the right. In fact, next to me he looks burnt orange, and I look horribly pink. So he's warm, and I'm somewhere in the cool spectrum. See how this is so much more helpful than just looking at pictures of yourself in isolation? If I had just given one of me alone, you might have made the mistake of just thinking I was warm because of my yellow Asian skin. But here you can see there's a spectrum. Eventually, with enough practice, you'll be able to look at photos of yourself or your friends in isolation and discern their undertones, but before you get to that stage, it's really helpful to have a spectrum to compare to.

Next photo:



This one is also an easy one. Here you can tell we both have the same undertone - unlike the previous photo, there are no weird skintone clashes, and we look pretty harmonious colour-wise. So based on this photo, you can hypothesize that we are both cool-toned.

Let's try a third:

undertones3


Here, it's obvious that my friend on the right is warmer than me. So she'll be in the warm spectrum, and I'll be in the cool spectrum. This photo is a really good comparison of Asian cool undertones vs Asian warm undertones. As you can see, it's possible to be cool-toned without being Caucasian-pink, because some yellows are cooler-toned than others. Notice also that both me and my friend have a weird green tinge to both our skins? The green tinge is a dead giveaway of olive skin. So we're both olives, too - only thing is that I'm olive with cool undertones, and she's olive with warm undertones.

If you didn't get what I meant, compare her with the guy in this photo.

undertones4


That guy is one of the smartest guys I've know in my entire life. He's also a lot warmer than me. However, unlike the previous friend I posed with, he doesn't have a greenish cast to his skin, so although he's warmer than me, he's not olive as well. In fact, you may notice that he isn't as warm as some of the other people I've shown you. He's probably more neutral. I'd place him as neutral, or neutral-warm. And as you can see in this photo, my olive undertones are really showing through. I look really green.

Here's another:

undertones16


That's my mum and I at graduation. Yes, she looks young, doesn't she? I hope I age as well as her. Anyway, as you can tell, she's warmer and more olive than me - next to her I look really pink. But you can still sort of see a little bit of olive peeking through though.

Let's try another one:

undertones5


Don't you just love Orlando?! Florida is SO AMAZING. Anyway, here you can see I'm cooler than my friend, although my friend isn't warm either. We're both cool, but she's less cool than I am, and next to her, I look really, really pink! I'm going to place her as neutral, to neutral-cool, while I'm definitely in the cool range here. If you notice carefully, you'll also notice that my skin looks a little green, as opposed to my friend, who looks more yellow - check out the shoulders and neck - and this is my olive-ness showing through again.

Now let's look at another one:

undertones14


Wow, that's an embarrassing photo. Remind me not to let my friends take photos of me clubbing again. But anyway, I included this because it's a really good differentiation of olive versus cool undertones. Notice that my friend is really pink, and I look kind of green? That's the difference just being cool, and being olive with cool undertones.

Here's another example of the same thing:

undertones17


Once again, as you can see, my sister (on the left) is a lot pinker, and less green than me - obviously she's cooler and has none of my olive. Meanwhile, I look really green.

Now that you've got the basics, let's do a few people at a time:

For starters, let's try this photo.

undertones6


Can you tell who is what undertone? The guy on the right is obvious - he's really warm compared to everyone else, and he's most probably warm. The other two people are cool-toned, but if you look closely, you'll see the guy on the left is more pink, while I'm slightly more green.

undertones7


Wow, a row of Asians! LOL. But seriously, photos like these are extremely useful for telling you where you are in the colour spectrum. Can you guess these people?
Left - Right: Warm, Warm (and if you noticed, he's more warm than the previous guy), Cool (and Olive - here you can see I look greener than everyone else), Neutral, and Warm.

Next photo:

undertones8


I know, I know. Aren't Asian girls hot? :P And as for FOB hand gesture - we know it's considered FOB, but we do it anyway because we like it. Hah. So there. And I might add, the peace hand gesture is only considered FOB in America anyway, so in a wider, world context, it ain't so FOB, y'all. Anyway, if you've learned well, the first thing you'll notice is how the girl that is second from the left is so much warmer than everyone else. Let's start: neutral, warm, neutral, and neutral, with just a hint of pink. If you have a photo like this, that makes you look like a totally different undertone, I encourage you to think in terms of a spectrum once again. From this photo, I know that although I'm cool, I'm not on the extreme end of the cool spectrum, and so maybe neutral-cool is a better description of me.

Here's another photo with Asian (and non-Asian) girls:

undertones9


Look at the three Asian girls at the right of the photo. Can you tell that the two in the back row are cooler than the one in the front row?

So after looking at all my photos, I'm able to conclude that I'm olive, with neutral-to-cool undertones.

Now that's done it. You should be able to look at your own photos and see where you stand relative to your friends.

And because I love you guys, I'm going to talk a little more about olive skintones, because those are tricky, particularly for Asians.

A Very Short Note on Olive Skintones


(Edited 4/3/2010: I added that heading above because I realised that people were referring to this post not just for Asian skintones, but also for clarification on Olive skintones, Asian or not. I hope this heading helps such readers find the "Olive section" more easily without having to wade through the entire post. If you are one of those readers, I do encourage you to take a look at the photos before this section and my comments on them, as I do talk abit about Olive skintones in the previous section too.)

First of all, olives are tricky to begin with, regardless of whether you're Asian or not. People tend to have a misconception of olives being the exclusive domain of tanned people like Eva Longoria, but that's NOT true. You CAN be fair, AND be olive. Olive is NOT a measurement of how dark or light your skin is, but it is referring to the fact that you have both warm undertones and cool undertones in your skin. So yes, you can be NC10 and still be olive. Heck, I'm NC20 and I'm olive.

Another thing that I've noticed is that people tend to have a miscoception that all olives have warm undertones, just like how they tend to have a misconception that all Asians have warm undertones. That's not true. Olives can be either warm or cool. So olive itself isn't a undertone per se, but it IS a property of your skintone, and something that can impact whether you are cool or warm. A lot of people are going to disagree with me on this, but the way I see it is as such: if you have olive skin, you have a mix of both cool and warm undertones, which complicates matters when you try to discern your undertone. Depending on how much cool, how much warm, and how fair/dark your skin is, you can either have cool or warm undertones. So you can be fair or dark olive, with warm or cool undertones. Which means you can be any of these if you're olive:

  1. Dark Olive with Warm undertones (this is most common, and I'll explain why later)
  2. Dark Olive with Neutral undertones
  3. Dark Olive with Cool undertones (this is rare, and I'll explain later)
  4. Fair Olive with Cool undertones (most common, once again I'll explain)
  5. Fair Olive with Neutral undertones
  6. Fair Olive with Warm undertones (this is rare, and I'll explain)
  7. Medium Olive with Warm undertones
  8. Medium Olive with Neutral undertones
  9. Medium Olive with Cool Undertones


The reason why dark olives with cool undertones are rare, and fair olives with warm undertones are rare, is that olive skin tends to change undertone with depth of skintone. This shouldn't come as a surprise - after all, one of the things that makes someone olive is that he/she has both warm and cool undertones. So, because of that, when you get darker through tanning, the yellow in your skin tends to show through more, so the darker you get, the more yellow you get, and you become olive, but warm. However if you are fair, and olive (like me), the olive in your skin tends to show through more, and this is actually a shade where cool colours are more flattering. So you become olive, but cool. This also explains why a lot of cool olives (especially Asians) kind of look "greenish" in some lights. It's a result of their olive undertones and fair skintone mixing together. So most olives tend to be warm if they're dark, while they tend to be cool if they are fair. Most people only conceive of olives as being dark, which is why sometimes they assume that olives are necessarily warm, which is not the case all the time, because if you're olive and fair, you can be cool, and you're more likely to be cool than warm. And if you're medium olive, you can be either warm or cool, but you can also be neutral. Cool right? So remember folks, olive is NEITHER cool nor warm, but it can be EITHER, because it just means that you have both undertones in your skin. Thus, if you are olive, depending on the depth of your skintone, you can be cool, warm, or neutral!

If that hasn't convinced you, or if you aren't sure if you're really olive or not, take a look at pictures of yourself in natural light. One of the things about being olive is that sometimes you'll look more yellow in photos, but other times you'll look more pink, and sometimes you'll even look green (especially if you are a fair Olive), depending on the lighting.

Observe:

undertones10


In this photo, I look really warm. And for anyone wondering why that guy on the left is always in so many of my photos, it's NOT because he's my boyfriend, or my cousin, or related-to-me-in-some-special-way. It's because he's the resident facebook photo whore, so most of these photos were taken with his camera and uploaded there. And also because he's obviously warm, so having him in photos makes for a good tutorial on discerning Asian undertones.

Anyway, as you can see, I look warm in the above photo, but in this photo below, I look cool. (See what I said about knowing that it's FOB and still doing it? And on another note, I have no nail polish on! Gosh.)

undertones11


And here, I just look green (and yes, I'm such a makeup nerd that the highlight of my day is seeing an awesome looking Max Factor store).:



I'd like to clarify that this slight green tinge isn't always present in ALL olives, and even if it is, is present in varying degrees. In particular, pale olives who are cool-toned tend to have the most green in their skin, while darker olives who are warmtoned tend to have little to no green in their skin. But if you do see it, it's a clue that someone might be olive.

The interesting thing about this is that all these photos were taken in natural light, but as you can see, sometimes it can be tricky to deduce what undertone you are just by looking at yourself in isolation. Hence, this is why I recommend looking at yourself relative to other people in a spectrum of undertones, because the spectrum of undertones for Asians is much more nuanced than for Caucasians (in my opinion anyway), and sometimes, you need to make comparisons and see colours in a spectrum to break out of the "Asian=warm" fallacy. Eventually of course, with practice you'll get so good at it that you'll be able to just look at photos of one person only and figure out what undertone they are, but at first its always useful to compare to other people. After all, it's precisely because Asians have yellow skin that makes it so hard to discern their undertones with accuracy - distinguishing between cool yellow and warm yellow is not easy for most people, which is why so many people tend to pin any yellow person as warm, which is wholly inaccurate.

EDITED TO ADD: I'd also like to point out that this "yellow/olive = warm" fallacy doesn't just apply to Asians, although of course Asians are more prone to being wrongly classed as warm than Caucasians are. In general, a lot of pale olive Caucasians are also often wrongly classed as warm when in fact they are cool.

I've put up a photo here to illustrate the difference. This photo is from fellow makeup addict and friend Musings on Beauty. She's a pale olive with neutral-cool undertones who keeps getting classed as warm because of the yellow in her skin due to her olive undertones. However, her dad is clearly warm, and her mother is clearly cooltoned. So I though a photo of her lovely family together (all with her permission, of course) would be the perfect thing to illustrate the difference in Caucasians, and show that this "all-olives-are-warm" thing is fallacious for both Asians and Caucasians alike:



From left to right we have: Marie's dad, who is warm, Marie, who is pale olive, and her mum, who is cool.

You can clearly see the gradiation in skintone here. The dad is a lot yellower than either of them, and Marie is a lot cooler-toned than him. But she's also warmer-toned than her pink-toned mother. And in between both of them, Marie's skin has a bit of a green tinge too - a dead giveaway that she's not totally warm like her dad, but that she's olive. So you can see that there's a difference between being warm, olive, and cool.

So, that's it for today! I wish you good luck and all the best in your skintone evaluation!

493 comments:

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  1. @Sarah T: Let me go back and check again...I believe I replied to all, but I may have missed yours out.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Sarah T: Let me go back and check my email again. I'll let you know. I believe I replied to all my emails, but I may have left yours out. Thanks for waiting!

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  3. I'm.... I'm a slightly tanned olive with warm undertones????
    I think I need to take more photos in natural light.

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  4. Hi! I read in one of your comments waay above that NC is better for warmer undertones and NW for cool undertones, but NC stands for neutral cool and NW for neutral warm.. so how does that work??

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    1. @Jessica B: MAC's foundation systems do confuse people, because of the way they name their foundations. Their yellow-based foundations are all the NC and C shades, while their pink-based foundations are NW and W shades. I don't really know why this is the case - it could be that NC and C and NW and W stands for something else (not Neutral Cool/Neutral Warm as most people think...I've heard that it could stand for Needs Cool/Needs Warm...noone really seems to know, and it's confusing either way).

      Regardless of what the name is called, we need to evaluate a foundation shade by what colour it is, rather than what a company wants to name it. Warmer skintones generally require more yellow-based foundation shades, which in the MAC system, would be the NC and C shades, regardless of what MAC names it.

      Hope this helps!

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  5. Thanks for writing this, i have had trouble looking out for articles relating to asian skin, and yours is very detailed, indeed many do not understand that asian skin cant be categorized as the same! However, i wonder if you can help me to confirm my suspicions that i am an "olive with warm undertones", or am i just plain neutral! :p i think i look good in both silver and gold, my veins are just green, no yellow or blue, and i look good in all shades of white or all the colours you've mentioned (or maybe i just THINK i look good in them). i desperately need help and i hope you can get back to me, i would email you my pictures too if you would give me an address :)
    With love,
    a confused person who loves make-up! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Hi there, in the "About Me" tab on the right hand side of the website, you'll find my email. If you click on the "Contact" tab on the top of the page, you'll also be able to emai me. I'd be happy to take a look at your photos, but it may take me awhile to get back to you due to time reasons, so please have patience. Thanks!

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  6. Thanks for the post, this was super helpful and informative :)
    Also, side note - I recognized UChicago immediately, just graduated from there last June..small world!

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    1. @Anonymous: Yay, a fellow UChicago graduate! Woohoo! :)

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  7. My undertone has been confirmed as NEUTRAL by the SKII skin analysis camera machine! And you were able to tell by just looking at my photo. You are truly the Asian undertone expert!

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  8. Im having trouble finding out witch one of the chanel VITALUMIÈRE Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup is for me. Can you please help me?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jennifer, I'm not familiar with the Chanel foundation, so I can't recommend a shade. However you look warm to me. Hope this helps.

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  9. Hi I'm trying to find out witch one of the chanel VITALUMIÈRE Satin Smoothing Fluid Makeup is for me. Can you please help me out?

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    Replies
    1. @Jennifer: Hi Jennifer, please see my reply above.

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  10. I SENT A PICTURE OF ME TO YOUR EMAIL.I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP. THANK YOU.

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  11. Very nice! I like this.... I've always known I', olive... but with clothing, still not sure whether I'm cool or warm... likely to be neutral as I like some deep blues, and some dark yellows, I like brownies too but I feel they emphasise my brown-green undertone rather than complement it...

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  12. Hi thank you for a very informative post! I also get confuse with my skintone. Can I email my pic to you?

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  13. Thanks for writing this. I get so tired of people thinking that olive skin is just a certain range of shades, not knowing it's about green undertones. But...you forgot the word "sickly"! I am on the slightly warm side of neutral, with of course the green. All my life, people have asked me if I'm feeling well. Is there a right shade of blush? Peachy blush turns orange (explained to me that the green cancels out any pink in the peach). Pink blush turns coral then orange. Really, really pink blush makes the rest of my face look even greener, LOL. I so wish there were a special line of makeup for olive skin.

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  14. OMG. This is the best blog ever. I'm mixed Japanese-Ukrainian so it's pretty hard to figure out what shade would look good so I go for blend-able makeup. I love your comparison photos, they really helped. I'm excited to get some new foundation!

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  15. hi! thank you very much for your post, it really helps a make-up newbie like me. I'm Asian too, but I still have difficulties to figure out if I'm warm or neutral, so a confirmation from the expert is still needed. :) so I sent you an email of my pics, I hope you can find the time to check them out. thanks in advance! :) -skyblue hippie

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  16. This is an excellent post and I think a lot of people, like myself, who are hard to "place" in terms of ethnicity find this very useful.
    Skin tones are important in selecting makeup, clothing, and even for hair coloring!

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  17. WOW!!!! I am a pale, olive Caucasian with cool undertones. You helped me so much to figure that out finally! THANKS a lot!!!
    Even though cool shades are more flattering on me, I tend to use warm colors on my cheeks (blusher) and also on my lips. Do you think that is ok? How about you? You are also olive with cool undertones. Do you sometimes wear warm colors? (esp. makeup, also clothing)
    Thanks in advance :-)

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    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Yes, sometimes I do use warm shades too, as long as they're not too warm/orangey, I find they're pretty okay. :)

      Delete
  18. Hi! I have been googling myself into insanity trying to learn about skintone and undertone, and this post has been to most informative and explanatory out of everything I've read! I guess the fact that people are still commenting after more than a year shows that :) Thank you for writing this! I am Swedish and not asian but I do not look like the light-skinned, blonde swedish stereotype, quite the opposite actually, and I can not for the life of me find a suitable foundation. After reading this I think I might be a bit olive? You are probably busy with responding to everyone, but if you have the time i would be really grateful if you could just take a quick look at my photos: http://tinyurl.com/8xt2mot (in the winter, no make up)
    http://tinyurl.com/754473k (in the summer, I get kinda... green?) Thank you in advance, will add this blog to my favourites :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @B och J: You look neutral-warm to me. There may be some olive there, but I can't quite tell from just one photo. :)

      Delete
  19. Hi! I have been googling myself into insanity trying to learn about skintone and undertone, and this post has been to most informative and explanatory out of everything I've read! I guess the fact that people are still commenting after more than a year shows that :) Thank you for writing this! I am Swedish and not asian but I do not look like the blonde Swedish stereotype, quite the opposite actually, and I can not for the life of me find a suitable foundation. I have been analyzed as an autumn but I don't think it's right. After reading this I think I might be a bit olive? You are probably busy with responding to everyone, but if you have the time i would be really grateful if you could just take a quick look at my photos: http://tinyurl.com/8xt2mot (in the winter)
    http://tinyurl.com/754473k (in the summer. I get kinda... gray-green-ashy-brown.) Thank you in advance, will add this blog to my favourites :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Jessi: Hi Jessi, you actually look neutral-warm to me. There may be a bit of olive. I do think you are pretty neutral though, so I'm sure you can probably pull off some cool colours too. I hope this helps! :)

      Delete
    2. Thank you so much! :) (oops, I see I did a double post) Neutral, I haven´t thought about that but you are probably right, and I do like both warm and cool colors so yay :)

      Delete
  20. Actually, I think this applies to caucasians as well. I get annoyed because people can't give me the right foundation or other products. I have very, very pale olive skin (olive as in green-brown). I'm actually so pale with sunscreen use that I get told a lot that I am "extremely fair," even though I've always tanned easily and burned mildly, if at all. I'm fairly neutral but definitely look best in cool tones. But makeup artists always either tell me I'm yellow or pink--and neither really applies.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I just read that whole thing and thought it was so informative but I'm still confused!! Can I send you a picture of myself with my Asian friends and you tell me if I'm cool or warm?? What is your email address? Thanks, Angie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous/Angie: Yes you can! My email is in the "About Me" sidebar :)

      Delete
  22. Hi thanks for your post it really clears up the confusion about how to discern asian skin! I think I'm neutral to warm... I'm not sure though, I'm one of those that gets tan very easily and I have tan lines everywhere, even my face might get a tan line (from the shade of hats, my hair, sunglasses etc). If my skin is anything like my siblings', it will gradually get fairer once I stay out of the sun (my siblings did sports before they went to cloudy old england and transformed into pale-skinned geeks). I've stopped playing sports recently and I think my skin color is changing. Perhaps you could give me some advice or help me identify my skin tone?
    -Leafy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Leafy: It's hard to tell based on your description. Perhaps a couple of photos or more description may help a little!

      Delete
  23. Wow this is super helpful! I spent the past year trying to find a perfect foundation without much luck. I went to MAC and got matched to NW20 but when I used it, it was way too dark and slightly pink. The MUA gave me a NC20 sample but that was just too yellow on me. I'm starting to think I'm actually neutral. Maybe olive? I went through my pictures but I just can't tell. I sent me picture to your email so please help me out! I know you must get a lot of requests like this so just reply whenever you have time. Thanks in advance!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Amazing post, thank you so much! Im mixed European and I've been soooo confused about my skintone but apparently it's because I'm olive :) Do you have any ideas to what colors are good for olives though? Like any no-no's for cool-olives vs regular cool undertones?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Olives can usually pull off some warm and cool tones, since olive has a mix of both warm and cool. For Olives that lean warm, they tend to look good in more warm colours than cool, and vice versa for cool Olives. Generally, I'd say as compared to a person who is wholly cool, a cool-olive can usually wear a greater range of warm-toned colours, but may have some slight trouble with extremely cool-toned colours. So it's more about gradiation of undertone than any particular colour. I hope this helps!

      Delete
  25. Wow. I'm glad I refound this post to remind me I'm olive! 've been looking through my photos and I've noticed the green tinge compared to all my other classmates & friends.
    The trouble I have is figuring out if I'm light or medium , neutral cool or warm tho! I wonder if you'd still reply seeing as its 2012 :)

    I look ashy at times & look better in silver imo but I can wear gold if its not clunky I think. I look bright whiteish in sunlight and in the shade .. ashy. @@

    Natural light in my room I took a picture and i was pinky on my lower face and kinda yellow green on the top. In my washroom theres a skylight and I looked pinkish but i have roseac on my cheeks so that is a bother in seeing if I'm more warm cool pink or yellow @@

    since i'm not super fair like you, but I'm not so medium in natural lighting.. does that mean I'm a lightmedium neutral-warmish olive? @@ is there such a thing? What a mouthful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Shoppaholic Banana: Yes there is such a thing as a light/medium neutral-warm olive, basically a fair-skinned olive with warm undertones. Based on your description though, it's hard for me to tell what you are. If you do look better in silver than gold, it's possible you may not be wholly warm. Hope this helps!

      Delete
  26. Thank you a million times over! I'm middle eastern with olive skin and pinkish cheeks. I look better in white and silver instead of gold and ivory. The MAs take one look at my skin and automatically give me an orange foundation. I've given up on finding the right color but after reading this I may have to start looking again. Based on what I told you, and the fact that my veins are green, do you think I'm an olive cool? I've also been classified as light as nc30 and as dark as nc40 by different Mac ma's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @RM: It may be hard for me to tell based on your description (people may describe the same colour differently, so unless I see the colours for myself it's quite hard for me to say). However, if you do feel that you consistently look better in white and silver rather than gold and ivory, it's likely you could be cool-toned. Another sign that you could be cooltoned is if you keep finding a lot of yellow-toned foundations being too orange for you. I hope this helps!

      Delete
  27. http://www.asianblush.org/skin-undertone has more pictures there and I was thinking maybe I'm neutral then , or warm as I noticed I'm not pink in pictures with my friends . But yes the think with jewelry & nail polishes I look better in silvers than golds. I would look at my closet but the clothes there vary . . I know I can't rock mustard or mint (prob cuz of my oliveness) even though I love them. & I don't have any yellows to compare. :S

    Actually I just remembered you have an email so I'll send you some photos? : ) Thanks for replying !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Shoppaholic Banana: Yes you can send me some photos, I think you already did :)

      Delete
  28. http://claresauntie.typepad.com/beauty_school/skintone-cool-or-warm.html this doesn't seem to cater only towards white skinned gals but doesn't have any examples of asians - but its still pretty informative in its own way (like the wearing black dress example) :) I encourage you guys to check it out ! Plus the color chart KIND of helped after reading the post - I seem to go for both sides of color but on the lower / bottom colors. so both warm and cool but the darker shades @@ I don't have any pastels in my closet lol. : (

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi, I too found your post amazing and informative. I am caucasian but I have had the hardest time finding a foundation that matches - I cannot decide if I am warm or cool or what my undertones are. Any slightly pinkish foundation looks wrong. Can you please take a quick look at these photos when you have a moment?
    http://d3f6rz2gtez2u1.cloudfront.net/meddnhar54ewa.png

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: You actually look warm in some photos (the two on the left) and cool in others (the small one in the middle). But overall, you look quite neutral to me. And you look great in a wide variety of colours, which is typical of neutrals, but it's hard to tell even with a few photos. Still, if pinkish foundation in general looks wrong on you, maybe try a neutral beige foundation, or one that is a little more yellow (not too yellow). Hope this helps!

      Delete
  30. So if I have greenish blue veins with yellow over tone and pinkish cheeks but olive brown knuckles and knees, what would I be closer to? I looks good in jewel tones but I also look good in brown,orange and burgundy red or cherry coke red. I am light skinned but I almost have a creamy skin appearance. Warm or cool. Here is my skin on a regular day.https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=e328a85ce4&view=att&th=136e0ecd88ecdbb2&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_h1dzmgrj0&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8q0v55wRbnLIVR9m19V1Iu&sadet=1335213535049&sads=MvApBLSslUY-ZzB_rcp8fvhGaA0

    https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=e328a85ce4&view=att&th=136e0ecd88ecdbb2&attid=0.2&disp=inline&realattid=f_h1dzmgrq1&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8q0v55wRbnLIVR9m19V1Iu&sadet=1335213567279&sads=bevk9aZ_iaUzqi4MvWTTOWYyC1o

    https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=e328a85ce4&view=att&th=136e0ecd88ecdbb2&attid=0.3&disp=inline&realattid=f_h1dzmgrt2&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8q0v55wRbnLIVR9m19V1Iu&sadet=1335213596654&sads=DfyNnLI1vPgJ9nVNBwjJEqWfKFk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Emily_Christine_Hill: The photos don't work for me, unfortunately, I can't see them. Maybe you could try another link?

      Delete
    2. @Emily_Christine_Hill: I've tried using the links provided, but they don't work (I think they only work when you are signed in to Gmail with your account, so they wouldn't work for me). Let me know if you get other photos up :)

      Delete
  31. Aha!! This is one of the best posts or articles I have ever read on this subject. AMAZING!
    I have always been super convinced that I am a Warm (I am indian with a very dominant yellow cast).... but i love myself in pink eyeshadow and plum lips... go figure!
    I off to look for pigures of myself in natural light...

    ReplyDelete
  32. How do you take into account the color temperature of the light sources present, as well as the color accuracy and white balance of the camera?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @R.A. Sasayama: You're right, different lighting settings and different environments produce different colours in photos. That's why it's important to get as colour-accurate a photo as possible. I generally suggest shaded natural light (so like beside your window on a well-lit day but without direct sunlight shining down) to get the most accurate impression of colour. It also helps to have a few photos, rather than just one, so that we can make better educated deductions. Hope this helps!

      Delete
  33. Hi! I Sent you an email about helping me because your article was amazingg but I still am so confused....I am a weird mix so maybe thats why I cant figure it out? Anyway, I have sent pictures to ur email... I am hawaiian, portuguese, filipino, and chinese mix. Please help! (my email is from the walonika looking one)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi! I Sent you an email about helping me because your article was amazingg but I still am so confused....I am a weird mix so maybe thats why I cant figure it out? Anyway, I have sent pictures to ur email... I am hawaiian, portuguese, filipino, and chinese mix. Please help!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow...you sure have a gift for color! It took me until the age of 45 to figure all this out, and you're only about 19 or so. Your explanations and photos were quite helpful. I now know that I'm a fair olive with cool undertones.

    People often want to put me in warm, rich colors, but they actually wash me out. However, when I wear a cooler yellow, certain shades of blue, or a warm pink, I get compliments out the yin-yang!

    Thanks o'plenty for the info.!

    ReplyDelete
  36. i'm asian and this has helped SO MUCH!! THANK YOU!!! =D

    ReplyDelete
  37. this is fantastic - I am going to share on my FB!
    I'd suspected I was cool (olive too as I turn green under certain lights) for a long time but Caucasian makeup artists always give me warm foundation making me look 'dirty' ruddy! I stick with Japanese foundations now x

    ReplyDelete
  38. Thank you. I really am confused and find your post helpful :) you should make ur own Makeup Line for Asians! Especially for me in Malaysia with Indian dark skin..it's really hard to find a good colour pigment..unless it's a good expensive brand.

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  39. I didn't read all of your comments, so forgive me if this was already said....but your article was an EYE-OPENER for mixed race/bi-racial women like me. I don't ever fit neatly in to any color family, and spend SO much $$ on makeup because NOTHING at the local drugstore ever matches my skintone and undertone at the same time. I'm not Asian, but find myself always talking with Asian friends about makeup because we have more in common in skin tone. So I recently went to the local Estee Lauder counter and tried a sample of a new product in a COOL shade, and thought OMG it works! I never wear MAC because they told me that I couldn't be matched with one product and MakeUP4Ever always left me feeling "caked on" (even the lightweight HD) product. Anyway...this article is amazing and very validating as I am definitely cool to neutral with olive, and my skin tone is medium. Thanks for posting this.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Wow very informative post! After looking my own photos, I figured out that i have dark olive skin that is close to neutral. I look yellow if i'm wearing warm colours and pink if i'm wearing cool colours. I wonder how to figure out if i'm more cool or more warm? And cool or warm coloured clothes fit me better? I've send u some of my photos to yr email. Could u help me with it? Thank u so much!

    ReplyDelete
  41. Trying new foundation shades in the past few weeks I've come to the realisation that I've had a lot of misconceptions concerning my skin tone. I've found your article to be helpful and comforting. It's not in my head! And this is a problem shared by others!

    I was always told that since I'm Asian, I have yellow skin and I've never really thought about it much more than that. It also doesn't help that for the past few years I've gone to makeup counters to have professionals pick my foundation shade for me. As along as I came home with the right colour, I didn't really need to think about my skin. The last few weeks, I'm trying a brand that doesn't have store representatives. Instead, I have to order samples and figure out my shade for myself. I've noticed that my skin is a bit difficult to match. So called neutral shades are too peach; cool shades way too pink; warmer shades are also too orange! Instead, I had to go with something completely different: olive.

    My skin is so olive it's greenish in certain lights (especially in winter) -- I feel like a Vulcan. I'm currently wearing a coral pink nail polish and it looks great on me. But I also look good in MAC's Ruby Woo lipstick, which is blue based, and just awful in orange and most yellows. It's pretty confusing. There doesn't seem to be a traditional rule my skin tone follows. I have to figure it out for myself if something will look good on my skin or not. I really wish this was easier!

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hi musicalhouses! Thanks for such a wonderfully informative post ! However, I'm still having a really hard time determining what undertone I am so I hope it's okay that I sent some photos to your email. If you could give me your advice on it, it'd be much much appreciated! thanks ! :D
    -michelle

    ReplyDelete
  43. I'm still unsure of whether I should classify myself as someone with olive undertones but I'll be sure to pay more attention to my skin in the coming days!

    I am, however, sort of leaning towards "yes" because I saw you reply to someone named X (i think?) in one of the comments above saying that people with olive undertones may see that even if they're, for example, cool toned, they may sometimes find that some warm tones suit them and I TOTALLY agree! I think I'm a warm tone with olive undertones and while I think I suit the colors of the warm spectrum, I think some colors from the cool spectrum suit me too!

    Like for example my favorite dress is a deep teal and I find that it makes me look great and even fair for someone with naturally brown skin.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Thank u for such a lovely post .. found ure blog by accident while searching for swatches of illamasqua blushes ..amazing i love this . im indian and have olive skin with cool/ nuetral undertones and im a NC35 -NC 37 when i get tanner.. most ppl dont get it when u talk abt undertones ...most makeup promoters push colours for warmer skins on me when actually coolers colours work better for me .

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  45. Hello, just sent you an email. Great post =D really clear and comprehensive.. but I still cant determine my skin tone.. so I need your professional help hahaha Thanks =D

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  46. Hi. I really loved this post and I'm very glad that I came across it. Excellent, in-depth explanation. So good that I've recommended this post on my own makeup blog. Just thought I'd let you know. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Stephanie: Thank you for sharing! I'm glad you found my post useful!

      Delete
  47. This is great info! I'm not asain (though my great great grandmother was... anyways...lol) I was hoping whenever you have spare time if you could accept my facebook request and check out my pics and help me figure it out :/. After reading your post I think maybe I am a cool...not sure though.

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    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Sure, just send me the FB request and I will check it out when I have time!

      Delete
  48. Hi -
    I want to thank you for your very informative blog. This is the best explanation of the warm/cool question for olive skin that I have ever read. I am Caucasian with light olive skin that turns more yellow in the summer, but I'm now certain that it's cool olive. Thank you!

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  49. Hello, I found your blog amazing! So informative, I have emailed you some of my pictures to your email: musicalhouses at hotmail dot com. I hope you can help me identify what skin tone I am when you get a chance. I have gotten a lot of mixed reviews in the past.

    Thanks!
    Alma

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  50. I'm a mixed race Asian and thanks to this post. I've finally determined that I'm a fair olive with neutral-cool undertones (Although I'm not entirely certain).

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  51. Thank you for such a detailed post. Like you I had always assumed I was warm because the makeup industry seems to categorize people who tan easily as warm. Yesterday I was using the L'oreal True Match plastic tester card at the drugstore and was shocked to find that it recommend the classic (cool toned) beige as my color. Mind = blown. This. Changes. Everything :P

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  52. THIS IS AMAZING! I recently stumbled on the concept of seasonal colours (trying to downsize my wardrobe). I was looking all over the internet for something with Asian skin tones, as conventional colour analysis always suggests that Asians with pale-ish skin and dark hair = Deep Winter or maybe Deep Autumn. I couldn't tell if I was cool or warm because of the yellow undertones, but now I know I'm definitely green, haha. I think I'm Olive with cool like you, because I've always known that I look green-ish, but I look pinker than some of my friends. Coral looks great on me, but peach looks disgusting! I love this post, I'm going to read it again. Awesome work you've done here! xo

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  53. Oh.. btw, I used to think I had some health issues because of the general "greenness" but you've laid my fears to rest lol

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  54. Thank you so much for explaining this all to us in so much detail! I'm not asian but I have an olive complexion. It all completely makes sense now!

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  55. Ah that's Fabian! And Sam(?)! And Sabrina! And Ketty! The first thing I thought when I saw that first photo you posted is "That looks like U of C!" And then I scrolled down and saw your diploma...and realized that I knew the person in your photo. So instead of reading your blog post like a normal person, I then proceeded to see who else I knew :P I am purposely not specifying who is in which pic, but I understand if you delete this comment anyway to protect their privacy. Just wanted to say hi from a fellow maroon (I graduated two years before you guys...) and thanks for the photos that (for the most part) clearly exemplify the undertones.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Hi Musicalhouses :) I'm a bit late to jump on the bandwagon to ask for your help haha but I thought I'd still ask anyway. I've sent you an email and attached some photos in the hopes that you could help me?

    I know you will be busy :) so i wont get cranky (hehe) if you dont reply until after a couple of weeks :)

    Thanks in advance, Amelia

    PS your article was so in-depth!! Where did you learn all this information from? I feel like my brain will explode with all the info :) haha

    ReplyDelete
  57. Thank you for your very informative blog. However, being that I am an extreme make-up noob, I still can't figure out my skintone; I know that I'm warm, but I don't know where the neutral and cool tones come in to play. If I sent you a couple of my pictures, would you be able to help me out?
    Just a reply would be great, it's completely understandable if you cannot. Thanks again for your tips!

    ReplyDelete
  58. Hello! This is an eye-opening post. I think I'm warm-toned, but I also look good in cool colors. I think I'm warm-neutral. I've emailed you some of my pics and it would be very helpful if you could tell me what may undertone really is. Thanks!

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  59. I loved your post!! it's one of the most informative posts i read :D I think i am warm olive but i am still not sure so can i send you some pics so u can help me? thanks in advance :D - Rewa

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  60. WOW... I can't believe how well-written and well-researched your post is.... with so many pictures and examples. This is very fine piece of work. You are amazing... Thanks.

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  61. Please do one on indian skin

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Indian skin would also follow the general guidelines outlined in this post (cool, warm, neutral, and with olive). So you can apply the principles in this post to Indian skin too (or any other type of yellow-based skin).

      Delete
  62. hello, very informative post! haha, clearly its still much appreciated 2 years after you wrote it. i've sent you some photos - would it be okay if i sent you some photos? can't figure out what i am, although i think i'm most likely olive neutral! haha thanks in advance! no hurry though :)

    ReplyDelete
  63. Hi, my name is Irene. I just checked on my photos and I'm still unsure of what skin tone I am because sometimes I looked dark and sometimes I looked fair in my photos. I've sent you few photos to your hotmail, could you please take a look at them? Thank you very much!! =)

    ReplyDelete
  64. I'm still confused, could someone please help me?? D: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sydluvchop/ I will love you forever!!! <3

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  65. This was the most helpful post I've come across to figure out undertones. I'm Indian and I've found that I can't really use the standard tests to determine that. I think I can differentiate between cool, neutral and warm, but I'm confused about olive. Could you do a post on Indian skin tones?

    ReplyDelete
  66. Hi I think your entry is the best one I've read so far! Thank you so much, it was so informative!
    However, I'm still confused about what skin tone I have. I'm of mixed heritage so it's really hard for me to figure it out. I'm half Chinese, half Eurasian and I have some Indian heritage somewhere which explains why my skin is tanned. It'd be great if you could help me, since I have a prom coming up and I don't know what to do.

    I'm sending an email to you and i'd appreciate any advice you have.
    thanks! :D
    - crystle

    ReplyDelete
  67. Hi there! Your post here is very good! I'm also having trouble with my skin colour, thank God I found your blog. The other skin colour tests didn't really work for me. Now I know that I'm medium olive with cool undertone. :) It's just that I'm still trying to figure out the best colours for clothing and eye make-up.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Oh dear! thanks for bringing more clarity about olive skintone and undertone (i digged the web to get here), even if I think i need to fight more with photos to be 100% sure... having this yellow/olive/green/cool skin with grey to green eyes and mousy ash hair that goes from really light ash blonde near forehead to cool dark brown near the neck. but i was born red-blonde (lemon-tea colour says mom). DNA lottery on me is not that fun: I'm often told "are you from Brazil/Argentina?" as well from East Europe, and the only connection to this is that my mother looks like a brazilian (medium olive warm skin with brown hair and green eyes) and my father looks like an east european (pink cool skin with light hair and green eyes).
    So i'm still struggling to find which hair tone would suit me best.:(

    ReplyDelete
  69. Hi! Though this post is almost three years old, I thought you might want to know that this blog seems to have copied you. Not word-for-word; more like it's your information, rewritten but not reorganized (such that there's a Yellow Colors chart and an Olive Tone section in the same spot as your own article): http://www.asianblush.org/skin-undertone

    I want you to get the credit you deserve, since I absolutely love this! My reax: "So THAT'S why a 'yellow-based' person like me looks great in colors I'm not 'supposed to!" In fact, years ago at an Elizabeth Arden salon they mixed up some custom foundation for me (they have a camera that takes an up-close shot of your skin and sends the info to a computer, which then calculates the shade and mixes the pigments right there), and I couldn't understand why it had a little bit of pink yet blended so perfectly into my supposed NC30 complexion!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Thanks for alerting me to the blogpost! Sadly it's not the only article I know of that has done something similar. I've come across maybe 3-4 that do (in similar format to what I've done, with comparison photos etc). Some of them credit me but most don't. I'm cool with it though, anyone who reads both posts will know mine came first :) Most of the other posts also don't go into as much detail, or miss out on some of the nuances.

      And yes, I'm happy that this post has helped you!

      Delete
  70. I've read this post about 5 times but STILL can't figure out my skin undertone! I am an Asian girl that looks good in cool grays, plums, and navy blue, but I look horrible in lemon yellow, and my hair is a very red toned Asian black/extra dark brown hair...in lots of sunlight, it looks like a coppery reddish brown...almost tawny! I don't mind sending pics...how do I get them to you?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Ji Park: You can email me, I think the "Contact" tab has more details :)

      Delete
  71. Thank you for taking the time to post this! I'm so glad I found this post. I've always felt a bit lost on undertone classification because I prefer silver jewellery, but my veins are sometimes blue and sometimes green.. sometimes even blue-green! Does this mean I'm neutral cool? Would it be possible for you to take a look on my blog and help me clarify? It would mean so much to me! Thank you :) Xx

    ReplyDelete
  72. I HAVE to comment, becuase you've hit the nail right on the head!!!! I'm a caucasian pale olive. I look best in cool toned clothing, like deep greens/blues/purples and the jewel tone stigma has plagued me in finding the right foundations because it is generally assumed that my dark hair makes me a "winter" which MUST be cool toned. The closest I've gotten to a makeup match is Loreal's Neutral colors, but they still aren't exactly right. Everyday Minerals has a great selection of pale neutral colors, but I really want a good liquid foundation match. Right now I mix two colors of Revlon Colorstay to get something remotely similar.

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  73. While I found this to be a very enlightening post that gave me some clues what to look for, I found myself wondering if this method would be as effective for mixed race individuals like myself (Asian father, Caucasian mother). (And I'm still trying to find good photos of my dad and myself that are in natural light but have not had the light skewed by photographers who know what they're doing. As a bit of a photo nerd, I have more skills in making that determination, which makes finding skin tone comparison photos are royal pain.)

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  74. Hi! I dont understand what u meant by GREEN.

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  75. I'm a normal good tanned colour Indian girl.. Skin is light brownish colour.. How can I identify my undertone

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  76. That post is amazing! I think I'm olive with cool undertones like you, can I ask which foundation shades you are using?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @CrystalCandy: My closest match is MAC's NC20. But right now I just use concealer and loose finishing powder to set. I don't really use foundation :X

      Delete
  77. Thanks for the article! I frankly have no idea about my skin tone or how to "properly" wear makeup. (I'm the kind of person who thinks any blue is cool and any red warm...) Do you mind taking a look at my pictures? I'll send them via email.
    Thanks
    J

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  78. Great post! I know I have read it before, but I don't think I commented, so I'll do it now. :)

    I'm an European and I'm quite pale olive. I have same problems - being wrongly advised by make-up sales assistants (they either give me pink or very warm stuff), having problems with finding a right foundation... luckily I never believed salespeople and I even found a fairly good foundation. ;D

    I think lack of understanding of olive tones give problems not only Asians, I think a lot of Slavic people also have olive, often neutral complexion.

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  79. Hi!i am really trying to find my skin tone and you're post was very informative i am not asian but i think i look yellow. Could i saw you some pictures of me in the light and tell me? i want to change my hair colour and make up pallete :)

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  80. hi.. I read a lot about skin tones and I got confused till I found your blog I finally have a hope.
    I am pale, look greenish in certain lighting, have dark brown to black hair and dark brown eyes. my veins some are blue some are green. I find myself better looking in silver jewellery but mom says gold is better.
    here are some pics of me.. please I'm waiting for your reply.

    http://www.4shared.com/photo/uB0P5zPW/11_online.html
    http://www.4shared.com/photo/LT9r0At_/1_online.html
    http://www.4shared.com/photo/5OWwuHuN/3_online.html

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    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Whew, long wait! Sorry for that, I was travelling. To be honest, I found your skintone harder to tell - in some photos you look cooler, and in others warmer. But I can definitely see what you mean when you say silver jewellery looks better on you - some cooler colours definitely look good on you! I think you'd be able to pull off quite a range of colours, both warm and cool, so I'd encourage you to go and experiment :)

      Delete
  81. this was AMAZING! really helped me out. thank you so much!

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  82. this was AMAZING! really helped me out. thank you so much!

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  83. I am also a Chinese Singaporean. This article is awesome! I have never come across an article this good. I am so happy to have found your blog!

    I find that darker skins tend to look more yellow and brown, like Malays/Filipinos. And it is difficult to read those skins. Do you have photos of Asian Chinese with dark cool skin to show?

    Also, based on your article, what kind of clothes should olive people buy because their undertone is cool when they are fair and then become warm when they become tan.

    Blessings, Laura.

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  84. Hi, I found your post very interesting and it has a lot of details too. Since, this is my first attempt at trying to identify my undertone, it's all very confusing. I've emailed my pictures to you. Could you please reply back?

    Thanks!
    Jayta

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  85. thanks so much, long waiting but I got the answer which I appreciate so much though I'm still confused :(( so I'll stick to the colors that makes me comfortable and confident.. thanks(Xie xie). got that from a chinese series I watched :p

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  86. I am so glad that came upon this blog. I was having trouble with my MAC foundations and this article really helped. I am black with a quarter chinese ancestry. As I get older :), I have realized that I need to take into consideration my asian heritage because now I understand why, although Im pretty orange and yellow, Im always matched with an NC!?!?! lol!

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  87. Found this post through a google search and I'm glad I did! I was always considered olive skinned, when I was younger, but when I got older, I was described sometimes as fair, to some, others olive. When I learned about finding your undertones, I then considered myself as "fair but olive," and it makes perfect sense now. All the pictures you took of yourself looked the same as me. Sometimes I look more pink, sometimes green, sometimes pink/green. And it makes perfect sense now! I'm Caucasian by the way.

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  88. Thank you sooo much for this enlightening post. Most MUA's that I've come across say that I have a really warm tone, but I'm not so sure because I think I am way more olive (green) and I feel like that's actually a cool tone. I'm so confused. Can you advise me as to what undertone I might have?

    https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/321089_10152376420540517_1400660501_n.jpg

    I would really, really appreciate a second opinion.

    Thanks so much!!!

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  89. https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/321089_10152376420540517_1400660501_n.jpg

    Please help me determine what undertone I have, for once and for all :)
    https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/403923_10151865816180517_1989372664_n.jpg
    The one on the right :]

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Nicole K: You look warm to me, and you are very pretty too :) I hope this helps!

      Delete
  90. I would be lost forever if it wasn't for this article. I am a fair olive and have been very confused with cool and warm for a long time. I am 35 and was first classified as a "winter" when I was about 16, when neither white or black look great on me. This is the most informative article I have read about undertones. Thank you you so much!

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  91. Wow. I was looking for a way to tell what undertone or skintone I was. After reading this I'm still unsure about it. Perhaps I am warm underetone? But I made a blogpost about my dilemma. If it's possible, Can you possibly look at my photos and tell me what undertone and/or skintone I am? I'm very lost. Thanks!!
    Here's my post!
    http://ahmsuz.blogspot.ca/2013/02/warm-cool-neutral-olive.html

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  92. My god.

    im korean, and thanks to this post, i can FINALLY confirm my skin to be fair olive with cool tones.

    I always thought my greenish colour was unnatural, and i had to rub on ALL the warm colours to cover it up.

    Thank you for making my life so much easier :D

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  93. This is a fantastic post! I'm pretty sure I'm neutral to cool toned, but your post really helped me be sure. I love the example photos and it was like quizzing myself to see if we agreed on the peoples' undertones. Very informative and well written post! <3

    toni

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  94. Wowww. Thank you for this post!!! I've always thought of myself as warm. Yes, i'm one of those who automatically thinks she's warm because she's asian. I will definitely try your methods. Wish i had found your blog sooner. :)

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  95. I'm not of Asian descent, my mother is a creamy complexioned Brit and my father a bronzed Spaniard, but this is the most informative and correct article I've ever read about olive tones in light skin and proves why I find it so difficult to get makeup/clothing colours right!!!
    I've given up with the makeup counters, I always come out either looking like a clown (cool pinks and blues clashing with that good ol' green undertone) or as though I have the flu (anything with a slight warmth makes me look really sick).
    I just did the comparison trick with photos of myself and friends, I'm definitely not pink but neither am I warm.....so neutral it is :)
    If only I were tanned all year round, then it would be easy! But like you, I get that green tinge when I'm pale and I'd rather keep skin cancer at bay...

    Thank you so much for writing this!

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  96. I just wanted to say that this article was so helpful, just really amazing for me. I'm half Caucasian, half Japanese, and before I read this I was completely confused and so frustrated with myself just wondering what in the world was wrong with me that my skin made no sense. When I was a very young girl, and still being crazy getting tan every summer, I was quite a dark, cool brown. However, for a very long time now I try to get as little exposure as possible, and so I'm incredibly fair. I look totally pink, or pink and alabaster in some pics, green and ivory in others, and even a bit golden/yellow on very rare occasions(usually this only happens in direct sun). It's crazy. XD I'm certain now that I'm fair olive, with cool to neutral(perhaps) undertones, but I never would have been able to figure that out without your help. It's still not easy finding foundation, lol, but this saves me from making obvious mistakes. :] Thank you soooo much! :D

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  97. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  98. OMG! Thank you so much for your post, for years I've wondered why I hate warm colours when I'm 'supposed' to be warm, and I'm so much more comfortable with cooler colours. And of course all the "tests" of skin undertones don't work on Asians. I went back and looked at pictures of me and it was suddenly so blindingly obvious, I just never had the courage to believe what I always knew was right for me!

    So thanks again for your great explanation, research and conviction!

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  99. Hey! This post was just amazing! I'm for years going to a huge make up store nearby. One make up artist puts on red tones on my face, another onw yellowish...but none seemed to look right, you can clearly see the veins on my arms looking green and my neck is really greenish. Now that I know that I'm a cool olve untertone I'd like to know which brands do have olive make up? Because I have been doing a make up test at mac over and over again and no make up color suits. This is weird and I'm having acne as well what means I HAVE to cover up. Even MAC does not have a fitting shade its always either too red or oo yellowish. Can you recommend a brand that actually really has make up for olive undertones. I'm having issues with this for years and I'm not even asian. Maybe I have asian ancients but i don't really know more than the fact that my whole family is actually german... I'm so confused... HELP!!! :(

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  100. Thank you for the information on the olive skintones. It took me forever to realize that my mom (who is Caucasian with dark olive skin) and I (very fair olive skin) had the same undertones. At one point, I had my foundation matched by Prescriptives, and came up neutral, so at least I had that going for me, but I couldn't figure out why I looked best in warm-colored clothes and neutral to cool-colored makeup. Also why the decade and a half of dying my hair red was awkward-ish.

    Anyway, well written, and very informative. Thank you again!

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  101. OH this is fascinating! I was so confused by the whole undertone thing entirely. Finally got matched with a MAC makeup artist, and it was a perfect match, and it was C30. I've seen some MAC charts that say yellow is a cool.

    Well, no matter what, I understand more why I am "cool" even with a fair yellow skintone. Thank you for this post!

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  102. This is really informative! Now I know that I am olive with warm undertones...my skin has a strong green tinge to it, but still has some yellows in it too...i still have a hard time finding the right shade of foundation, even warm toned foundations look ashy and a bit pinkish on my skin. I also noticed pink blushers or lipsticks seem to clash on my skin, and i look better in reds :)

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  103. This blew my mind. Genius! Great post.

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  104. I'm so glad I found this post! I'm not Asian, I'm mixed race Hispanic and Caucasian, but I have a very similar skintone. I have light, cool toned olive skin (though, like you, it appears more yellow because I'm lighter).

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  105. Hi i'm Diana. Can u pls help me to define my skin tone. is it correct if i define myself as cool-neutral. Your help is much appreciated. Thank you.
    You may view my pictures on this link. http://d-blossom.blogspot.com/

    Hope for your reply^_^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @The Charm: Hi Diana, I think you are cool-neutral too! I hope this helps! :)

      Delete
    2. Hi, thank you very much for your help. May i know what colour of foundation suit my skin tone. When i apply beige 3, it seem darker. if ivory 5 a bit light (Mary Kay product)...how to actually choose the right tone? Really confuse with so many colour tone.
      Your information is much appreciated. TQ ^_^

      Delete
    3. @The Charms: Hello, I'm not too familiar with Mary Kay shades, so I can't advise on specific shades, but basically, a neutral beige that will not veer either too pink or too orange on you will be good :) I'd look for a neutral undertoned beige for a start, perhaps?

      Delete
  106. Hi could u pls help me define my skin tone.
    Pls view my picture on this link http://d-blossom.blogspot.com/

    Is it correct if i define my skin
    tone as cool neutral. Actually my face is quite yellowish.

    Your information is much appreciated. TQ

    ReplyDelete
  107. I'm bookmarking this! Nothing annoys me more than when some Makeup SA starts trying to sell me a foundation that oxidizes on me bc it "warms" my skin up. I asked you to MATCH me, not to CORRECT my skintone.

    I'm definitely keeping an eye on your blog--my skintone is definitely of similar depth to yours and looks like it'll be helpful when searching for new products to try. Thank you!

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  108. This is a very great article. I'm sick of people classifying me as warm. I have very very yellow skin. I used to follow the yellow = warm. But warm-colored clothes and makeup make my skin look dull and sad. Cool-toned makeup makes my skin look brighter and more awake.

    I tend to follow what looks good on me based on my assessment and on the compliments I get. This article somehow validates my assessment that I'm yellow but I'm not warm.

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  109. A really informative article :)
    - http://thescribblingtrain.wordpress.com/

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  110. Hi! OMG! this is awesome! I've just come across your blog yesterday and I found it very informative..especially this post ;) I really have a hard time choosing a right foundation for my skin tone and yeah I bought the unsuitable one. I would love to know my skin tone. I hope you can help me (i'll send you some photos to your email)your help would be much appreciated..thank you ;), have a great day!
    btw, Im Asian..

    -Wawa

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  111. Thank you for this, I am a neutral to cool olive and it's impossible to explain this to most people. They assume olive = dark skin, rather than an undertone hue. In addition, it's very hard to find foundation and other makeup that matches or complements my skin (our skin?), because most is designed for pink or yellow undertones. Do you have posts with recommendations?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right now no, because there are so many shades of foundation out there and so many different skintones, but it's something that's been asked before, and something I've been thinking about!

      Delete
  112. Can you help me determine my skin color? I have send my pic through ur email! Hope u reply soon and thank you! My email is peppercute_14@hotmai.com :) - sana

    ReplyDelete
  113. ugh I knew it! Thanks for the post! I'm a pale asian and I've been told that I look really good in tones that are generally for cooler tones (blue, purple etc) and I was confused because I thought all this time that I was warm simply because I'm asian! I'm so glad I found this article on google. Cheers!

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  114. What do you recommend for the medium skin neutral-cool olive toned me? :P

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  115. Hi :)

    About the way you look green in some photos, I still don't get it. I understand how to judge the pink and yellow ones but not the green one :/ Should I go back to see "the vein color" way? ;)


    Thanks in advance :)

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  116. Hi,

    About the green color in some of your photos, I still don't get it :/
    I understand about how to judge the pink/yellow colors but not with the green one :(
    Should I go back to "see the vein color" way?

    Oh and one more thing, I look better in blue-ish, bold red and several dark colors wardrobe BUT I look better in peachy/orange make up shades. Am I Olive or Neutral?

    Thanks in advance! :D


    P.S.: it's a loooooooong post but I finished and love it anyway ;)

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  117. Madam could please classify the asian skin colours and undertones like Von Luschan's chromatic scale

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Masquerade: I'm not sure what would be the use in that? Noone uses Von Luschan's chromatic scale anymore (or at least as far as I can tell) because it's not very accurate.

      Delete
  118. I realize this post is old, but hey, it has helped me so much and I am not even Asian! Thank you sooo much for your effort. It turns out that I am a cool-neutral olive. I am Native American btw. Human skin color and tone varieties are fascinating.

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  119. Oh thank you! I have found out that i have the same skin tone as you haha ~

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  120. I wish every Caucasian makeup assistant would know more about skin undertones as they all assume we're all dark and warm based. I'm about the same skin tone/colour as you. Can you recommend any foundations that you wear for olive cool/neutral tones? thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: I currently just wear loose powder, but some foundation brands that I've found that have a good range of shades are MUFE and Lancome (if you are in Asia they have some great shades). I hope this helps!

      Delete
  121. Hi! Thanks for this great post! I can't figure out what my skintone is, sometimes I THINK I look green, sometimes pink. All I'm sure of is that my face is darker than my neck and most foundations look either too pink/brown/muddy or white on me. Sent pics to your email. :D Thanks a lot! -Cav

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  122. I was so confused about my skin tone and it really helped. Thank you so much!!

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  123. I am a Chinese as well and I had a very hard time finding my skin tone. This post is very useful. Thank you so much!

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  124. I stilllllll can't figure out if I'm cool or warm or neutral or olive! I can't see it D: (picture-wise at least). I'll try with the make up soon. Thanks for the very very detailed guide.

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  125. As an Asian woman, what brands of foundation what you recommend (whether it is an Asian, American, or European brand)?
    Also, have you tried Loreal True Match Foundation? I don't know if they have them in Singapore, but in America, some of the shades I found in the Warm section looked like they have a cool-yellowish tone.

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  126. What an amazing write up. Thank you so much! Would you please be so kind as to recommend some colors for clothing that would go well with a warm-olive complexion? Thank you !

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  127. hi, could you please give tips for yellow cold foundations eyshadow colors lipstick color!! please help- nothing suits me....

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  128. Hi I found this post really informative xxx can you look at my picture please and help. I have always had a problem of picking the wrong colours.

    This post has helped me understand the whole tones thing alot better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @illy: Sure, you can send me your photos (or put up links to your photos), for me to take a look. I'm glad you find the post useful!

      Delete
  129. Thank you so much for this!! I've been trying to figure out what my undertone is, but unfortunately most undertone guides are very brief and skim through the details.. but this post is really great! Very very helpful (Y)

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  130. I've been struggling to determine my color palette which seemed to be a mix. I determined I was a 'deep' being Asian dark black brown hair and dark brown eyes. But, trying to nail down whether I was an 'autumn' or a 'winter' proved to be impossible. I put on a light olive colored turtle neck, took a photo, and my face literally took on a green hue. So, I put on a persimmon orange colored v-neck, and I looked great in it. Both these were in the autumn color palette. Then I took a yellow chiffon, and it made me look terrible, but it is supposed to make a woman with cool tones look great. Eh, not so much for me. When I read this post, it just validated that I'm an olive just as my mineral make up match is called 'sandy olive' from Everyday Minerals. I tried the vein test approach and absolutely could not determine anything. I put on a bright lime green sweater and it didn't make me look sallow. The color is difficult to photograph, the camera reads it like an emerald, so my friends stated it looked great on me. Looking at myself in a light grey two tone sweater which read like a silver did not make me look terrible either. Lapis blue enhanced my dark eyes and hair. Pastel blue, pastel peach, pastel purple, look horrid on me, as do muted colors. Icy pink looks better on me than pastel peach, as does optic white versus a yellow cream or ivory. So those are my only clues that with my current shade, I am leaning more toward cooler colors. But, as a child, I remember when I was tan, being able to sport a neon orange and black swim suit and looking great. I tan very dark in the summer. So your explanation you've written is perfectly on point probably for a great many women (and men). Thank you for taking the time to write this and post it online.

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  131. Hi! I've sent you an enail just now along with a photo. I hope that you can help me determine my undertones as well as those who are with me in the photo. Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  132. This was so informative! I really liked the detail and explanations you went into it and I'm really fascinated because I just thought I was automatically warm. However I'm finding it a really hard time to find out what my undertone is.. May I send you some pictures as well? -Carol

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    Replies
    1. @Carol (Anonymous): Glad you liked the post and found it useful!Sure, you can always email me!

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  133. Loved this article! I think I'm olive because depending on the time of year I can look yellow or pink and also sometimes green...I think I'm neutral most of the time but in mid summer warm olive and in the dead of winter cool olive...do you mind if I send some pictures? I know this is an old article but I found it extremely useful and read the entire thing and all comments...lol...email me if its okay to have you look at my pics, thanks! abnerkat03 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Amber D.: Sure, feel free to drop your photos to me :)

      Delete
  134. Such a lengthy post, but quite fascinating and helpful!!! <3 I'm Filipino, and I have trouble deciphering which shade or undertone I have. Thanks for this!! :*

    xx Dianne
    http://diannealejo.blogspot.com

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  135. Hi! I found your post really helpful as i have been struggling with undertones..
    But can you help me decide completely by looking at my photos? thank you so much
    -Sarah Kim

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  136. Hi! I found your post really helpful as i have been struggling with undertones..
    But can you help me decide completely by looking at my photos? thank you so much
    -Kim

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. @Kim: Yes, I got your email, I will reply soon :)

      Delete
  137. oh my goodness me! This is the most informative and detailed post about asian skin undertone I have ever read!! Very well done! Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I totally agree with you that people tends to jump to conclusion that asian skin=yellowish=warm=coral base red..blah blah.. I never find myself look good in coral type of color because it shows more yellow out of me! I prefer silver/grey color which makes me looks nicer and fairer. When I compare my skin to one of friend who has fair and pinkish skin, i see the greeness of my skin. So I guess I have somewhat olive undertone too. I am just wondering if you have any example of lip stick brand & color number you would suggest for me? I noticed that it's been quite a long time since the last comment. I am not sure if you are still around with this post. but i will definitely check back. Again, thanks for the great sharing!

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  138. This is such a fantastic post! Asian girl here, when I bought my first foundation (in US), the sales girl immediately grabbed a very warm toned foundation, slapped it on and told me that's a perfect match. It's obviously too yellow/orange, and from now on, whenever I buy foundation I always stress that I want a neutral foundation.

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  139. I know this is a really late comment but I just found your blog and want to thank you so much for this post. I have always struggled with identifying my undertone and have actually never had a decent foundation match because of this even with the help of MUAs!
    Thanks for finally addressing this issue for Asian skin tones specifically. Your blog is amazing.

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  140. Thank you so much for investing the time and energy into such a detailed, well thought out and enormously helpful post. I just had a question: lets say someone is definitely warm on the cool-warm spectrum and based on the half-face experiment in conjuction with the color wheel, shld this person then wear cooler colors in terms of blush, lipstick etc., as it would compliment the warmth in their skin. For example i have med olive skin with warm undertones and although warm toned blushes are more flattering on me, I feel the same way abt a deep navy and/or deep plum eyeliner, a jet black on my dark brown eyes. But when I wear a cool toned raspberry lipstick, I felt as if it brought out the green tones around my mouth. Sorry for the really long question and any advice you could share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!!

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  141. Hello. I'm not sure if you still answering questions on this post, but if you do, I hope you will answer my question. So, I'm still confused of what my undertones is. I'm going to explain to you several things about my skin:

    1. First of all, I'm Indonesian, so my skin is obviously not that pale, but I'm not that dark either.

    2. I've take a look at my photos taken outside and in SOME photos I do look obviously pink. But I'm afraid that I look pink because of my face flushed very easily. Even when I'm indoor and not being exposed to the sun, when I feel slightly hot then my face (especially cheeks) will start to redden and it becomes really pink. Is that an indication of anything?

    3. I tried the gold/silver test, and I think I look better in silver. But I always assume that is because I'm not pale enough to wear gold as oppose to my mom who is very pale and looks very good wearing gold jewellery.

    4. I read it somewhere that people with cool undertones can easily wear black near to face (I assume something like shirt or hijab). So I wear hijab in real life and I do wear black and darker colored hijab most of the time, and most of my outfit is black and darker colors. I avoid wearing brighter color especially for my hijab because I think it makes my face looks very dull. Is this relevant or not?

    Thank you very much. :)

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    Replies
    1. @Indra Herdiati: Thanks for your question! In response to your comments, let me say that if you think you look a lot better in silver than gold jewellery, and if you look good in black, then chances are that you're cool toned. It doesn't mean you can't wear bright colours near your face though! You can wear cool toned bright shades, like emerald green, hot pink, a blue toned rose, royal purple, or just bright primary blue. So you have lots of options! Don't think having one undertone or the other limits your colour choices, because either undertone gives you lots of room to play with colour. If you are indeed cool toned, you'll find that warm shades near your face can make your skin look dull (eg orange, some shades of yellow, grass green etc). If that is the case, then it's probably better to stick with colours that make you look good - colours that math your undertone should brighten your face subtly rather than make it look dull. Hope this helps!

      Delete
  142. This is the best post I have ever read!!! Soo informative!!

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  143. Great post! Can you please help me with the evaluation of skin tones- I sent a few photos to your email address. I keep thinking I have it figured out and then I'm totally off- help!! It is a bit urgent though, so if it is at all possible to email/respond to me within the next day or 2 that would be extremely helpful I'm desperate! Thanks so much :)

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  144. oh, sorry- and my name is Erin (previous comment/request). Thanks!

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  145. As a lighter skinned, yellow-undertoned african american who's definitely not warm, I'd like to give you a standing ovation for this information. Your information regarding yellow undertones doesn't just apply to those of Asian descent, it can apply to pretty much anyone of a mid-to-lighter yellow-based skin complexion. I can definitely agree with you on the frustrations of trying to find information regarding suitable makeup and hair color ideas when link after link is putting yellow undertones in the warm category. I hope you don't mind if I pass your link on to a forum dedicated to african americans, in which we are discussing undertones and the frustrations with trying to find hair colors suitable for warm/cool undertones, when the entire script regarding skin-tones seems to have been written with fair skin European complexions in mind, with little-to-nothing about the huge spectrum of coloring of those with a little more pigment.

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  146. Hi thank you for your wonderful post, it has helped greatly! I've sent some pictures to your email and would love to hear back. R.Y

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  147. Hi, i'm going to start a mineral makeup business and wanted advise. which color shade foundations to use. If you can give me your email I can privately e mail you.

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    Replies
    1. @Anonymous: Just click on the "Contact" link above in the top navigation bar and you'll be able to send me a private email :)

      Delete
  148. I feel like I'm searching for and imagining colors that may not be there in the photos (especially green, I can't see the green). And what really confuses me is it looks like you're saying that people with darker tans are warm while those who are paler are cool. And I've yet to see a photo on this post that shows contrary to that.

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  149. I just emailed you via my Live account & sent you links to my pics in my Photobucket album. My skin guesstimate is Neutral/Olive, NW30 (?) Could totally use your opinion. Thanks for all your hard work!!

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  150. Thank you so much!! I'm Caucasian, but my mom is often mistaken for Asian because of her skin tone and her eyes. I myself strongly feel that I have a cool skin undertone with yellowy overtones, because my veins are quite blue, and I look best in cool colors like silver and berry toned reds. But anytime someone sees me at a makeup counter they try to sell me bright orangey lipstick, which inevitably looks terribly on me! When I was a little girl I had typically cool toned ghostly pale skin, but as i aged I yellowed up quite alot... but my undertones are still in the cooler pink range. Until I read this post no one else I read admitted it's possible to have yellow overtones and cool undertones. Thank you!

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  151. Thanks for posting such an informative article.

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  152. Please, please do a post on cool vs warm shades of colors, i.e. what shades of blue are warm or cool, what shades of yellow are warm or cool, etc. Especially as it pertains to those with yellow overtones and cool undertones like Asians and light olives. ~Ria

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  153. Super love this post! this is very informative, and thanks to you I find out that I'm fair olive cool undertoned, like you ^^, as I can look both yellow-ish and pink-ish in my outdoor photos, and sometimes in other photos I can see the "green" showing up ^^
    so once again thanks alot
    God bless
    -luz-

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  154. Thank you so much! I am of Native American heritage and I believe the complexities of skin tone are similar to Asian skin. I always wondered why jewel tones look good on me when I'm pale but then start looking really ugly when I get a tan. Olive undertones!

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  155. just forget to describe myself. My skin is quite pale and "white" since I live in the cold area for 4 years with lots of snow and not much sunlight. But when I get back home where it is always sunny, my skin is easily to get quite tanned (just a little bit tan). My wrist vein is quite green and purple. In some pics I found myself warm but in other pics I think it is quite cool... so its freaking complicated.

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  156. I can't believe I discovered this article years later. Going to show people

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  157. @Anonymous: Based on your description of yourself, I thought you were probably warm (primarily because you mentioned that "coral and orange liptiscks are the best looking colors con me, and whenever i tried with purples, or cool pinks i always look awful", which would imply a warm skintone). When I looked at your photos, I felt like it was harder to tell, because in some photos you look a little warmer, and in some photos you look a little cooler. I would think that you are perhaps neutral, with maybe some olive undertones.

    Regarding your question about eyeshadow, if you're comfortable wearing warm colours on your lips, then warm colours for your eyes is a good place to start as well - but feel free to branch out and try cooler tones if you want - judging from your photos, it seems to me that you can probably wear a fairly wide range of shades, so feel free to experiment! Hope this helps!

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