How to Find Your Skin Undertone at Home Using Just a Mirror

Undertone Guides  ·  6 min read

Skin undertone is one of the most useful things to know about your complexion and one of the most confusing to identify. Unlike skin tone which you can see directly, undertone is beneath the surface and requires a little more observation. This guide walks through five reliable methods you can do at home right now.

The Vein Method

The most widely cited method for identifying undertone is looking at the veins on the inside of your wrist in natural daylight. The key is to use indirect natural light, not fluorescent or artificial light which distorts color significantly. If your veins appear clearly green or olive, you have warm undertones. If they appear clearly blue or purple, you have cool undertones. If you cannot decide and see a mix of both, you are likely neutral. If your veins appear greenish but with a grey or muddy quality rather than a clear golden green, olive undertone is likely.

This method works for most people but has limitations for very deep skin tones where the veins may be less visible, and for women who are significantly tanned since the surface tan can affect how the veins appear. If you are unsure, combine this method with others.

The Jewelry Method

Hold a piece of silver jewelry and a piece of gold jewelry against your bare wrist or collarbone area in natural light. Look at which one makes your skin look more alive, even and harmonious, and which one makes it look dull, grey or slightly unwell. If gold looks clearly better, you have warm undertones. If silver looks clearly better, you have cool undertones. If both look equally good with no strong preference, you are neutral. If antique gold or bronze looks better than bright gold or silver, olive undertone is likely.

This method is reliable for most people because the contrast between the warm yellow of gold and the cool grey of silver is strong enough to reveal the undertone clearly. Use jewelry you actually own rather than looking at photos which may have been color-corrected.

The White Fabric Method

Hold a piece of pure bright white fabric close to your face in natural light, without makeup if possible. Look at what happens to your skin color. If the white makes your skin look yellowish, golden or peachy, your undertone is warm. If it makes your skin look pink or rosy, your undertone is cool. If it makes your skin look grey or sallow, olive undertone is likely. If your skin looks unchanged and the white simply looks clean against it, you probably have neutral undertones.

The same test works with a sheet of warm ivory or cream fabric. If your skin looks better against the warm ivory than against pure white, this points toward warm or neutral undertones. If your skin looks better against pure white, cool undertones are more likely.

What to Do When Methods Give Different Answers

It is entirely common to get slightly different signals from different methods. The vein method might point toward warm while the jewelry method gives a neutral result. When this happens, take the quiz which combines multiple indicators at once and look at which undertone your results cluster toward rather than the precise single result.

The most reliable confirmation of undertone is the clothing test. Put on a warm coral or orange top. Then put on a cool pink or lavender top. Look at your face in each one in natural light. One will make your skin look cleaner, healthier and more alive. That is your undertone family. This real-world test is the most practical confirmation because it shows you directly what the undertone knowledge is for.