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YOUR SKIN UNDERTONE IS

Olive

Yellow-green or grey-toned skin that suits earthy muted colors

What Does Olive Undertone Mean?

Olive undertone has a yellow-green or slightly grey quality beneath the skin surface that makes it distinct from warm, cool or neutral. It is most common in women of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Latin American heritage but exists across many ethnicities. Earthy, muted and warm-toned colors generally look most harmonious with olive undertones.

Olive undertone is the most frequently misidentified undertone because it does not fit neatly into warm or cool. The yellow-green hue can look warm in some lights and cool in others. Women with olive undertones often find that cool colors make their skin look grey and very warm colors can look clashing, but earthy muted tones look effortlessly harmonious. The skin often tans easily but the tan has a grey-green quality rather than a golden one. Foundation is particularly tricky for olive undertones because most shades are formulated for warm or cool without addressing the green-grey quality of olive skin.

Best Foundation Shades

  • Look for foundations with olive, warm-neutral or NW descriptions
  • Avoid very pink or very golden foundations which emphasise the grey-green quality
  • Yellow color-correcting primer can neutralise any greyness before foundation
  • Many olive-toned women find that mixing a warm and a neutral foundation produces the best result
  • Tinted moisturizers often work well because they are sheerer and less likely to sit wrong

Clothing Colors That Work Best

  • Earthy tones: olive green, khaki, warm taupe and stone
  • Terracotta, rust and brick
  • Rich warm brown and camel
  • Muted gold and bronze tones
  • Forest green and deep teal
  • Warm burgundy and deep plum
  • Off-white and warm cream over stark white
  • Muted warm tones generally over vivid bright ones

Hair Colors That Suit You

  • Warm medium brown and chestnut
  • Warm ash: a tone that is neither purely warm nor purely cool
  • Dark chocolate and espresso
  • Deep auburn and warm dark red
  • Avoid very cool ash or platinum which can fight the yellow-green quality of olive skin

Jewelry and Metals

  • Antique gold and bronze suit olive undertones best
  • Yellow gold works well
  • Oxidised silver and gunmetal work better than bright silver
  • Warm mixed metals
  • Bright silver can sometimes look cold against olive skin

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Color Season Quiz

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Explore other undertones

Warm Neutral Cool

Frequently Asked Questions

Olive undertone has a yellow-green or grey quality beneath the skin surface that makes it distinct from warm, cool or neutral. It is most common in women of Mediterranean, South Asian, Middle Eastern and Latin American heritage but is not exclusive to any ethnicity.
Warm undertones have a golden or peachy quality. Olive undertones have a yellow-green or grey quality. When olive skin tans it tends to look grey-green rather than golden. Warm skin glows golden in the sun. Very warm colors that look great on warm undertones can sometimes look clashing on olive.
This is the trickiest undertone for foundation. Look for warm-neutral or NW shades. Avoid strongly pink or strongly golden formulas. Many olive-toned women get their best results by mixing two shades or using a yellow color-correcting primer under foundation.
Some cool colors work well particularly in deeper or muted versions. Very icy or bright cool colors can make olive skin look grey. Muted cool tones like dusty teal or soft sage tend to work better than vivid cool tones.
Neither definitively. Olive sits between warm and neutral with a distinctive yellow-green quality. It behaves like warm in some contexts and neutral in others. Earthy muted colors that suit both warm and neutral tend to be the most reliable guide for olive undertones.