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Skin Undertone Quiz

Find out whether you have a warm, cool, neutral or olive undertone. Your undertone affects which foundation shades suit you, which clothing colors make you glow and which hair colors work with your natural coloring.

8 Questions Takes 2 minutes Free
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What Is Skin Undertone?

Skin undertone is the subtle hue beneath the surface of your skin that stays constant regardless of tanning, sun exposure or seasonal changes. Unlike your surface skin tone which can change with the seasons, your undertone is determined by the amount of melanin, hemoglobin and carotene in your skin and remains consistent throughout your life.

Undertone is the single most important factor in choosing foundation that looks natural, identifying clothing colors that make your skin glow rather than look dull, and finding hair colors that harmonize with your complexion. Most people who feel that certain colors wash them out or that their foundation always looks slightly wrong are choosing based on surface skin tone rather than undertone.

The 4 Undertones

Warm: Golden, yellow or peachy tones beneath the skin surface. Warm undertones suit gold jewelry, earthy and warm colors in clothing, and peachy or warm-toned foundations.

Cool: Pink, rosy or blue tones beneath the skin surface. Cool undertones suit silver jewelry, clear and cool colors in clothing, and pink-toned or neutral foundations.

Neutral: A balance of warm and cool tones with no dominant hue. Neutral undertones are the most versatile and suit both warm and cool colors as well as both gold and silver jewelry.

Olive: A yellow-green or grey undertone that sits between warm and neutral. Olive skin has a distinctive quality that can make some warm and cool colors look dull. Earthy, muted and warm tones generally work best.

Frequently Asked Questions

Skin tone is the surface color of your skin, ranging from fair to deep. It changes with sun exposure and seasons. Undertone is the subtle hue beneath the surface that stays constant throughout your life regardless of tanning or environmental changes.
Yes. Undertone exists independently of skin depth. Deep skin tones can be warm, cool, neutral or olive. Many women with deep skin have cool or neutral undertones and suit cool-toned foundations and colors, not the warm tones sometimes wrongly assumed to suit all darker skin.
Undertone is genuinely subtle and a quiz can only capture so many indicators. If warm does not feel right, read the cool and neutral guides. Many people with neutral undertones score near-equal for warm and cool and may identify with both.
Olive undertone has a yellow-green or slightly grey quality that makes it distinct from warm or neutral. Olive skin often tans easily but the tan has a greyish or greenish cast rather than a golden one. Many women of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Latin American heritage have olive undertones.
Yes significantly. Warm undertones look best with warm hair colors like golden blonde, honey, auburn and warm brown. Cool undertones look best with ash, platinum and cool brown shades. Olive undertones generally suit warm ash or neutral hair colors. The wrong hair color for your undertone can make skin appear sallow or washed out.