Color analysis
How to find your skin undertone
Undertone is the single most useful thing to know about your coloring. It decides your foundation shade, which hair colors look natural on you, and which half of the color wheel makes you look alive. Here are the tests that actually work.
Undertone is not skin tone
Skin tone is how light or dark you are on the surface — fair, medium, deep. It changes with sun, redness and season. Undertone is the hue underneath, and it never changes. Two people with the same fair skin can have opposite undertones, and they will suit completely different colors.
There are three:
- Warm — golden, peachy or yellow beneath the surface
- Cool — pink, red or bluish beneath the surface
- Neutral — a genuine mix, where neither dominates
Olive skin is often called a fourth category; in practice it is usually neutral-to-cool with a green cast, and it behaves like neutral for most decisions.
Four tests you can do right now
Do all four in daylight, near a window, with no makeup and no fake tan. One test alone can mislead; three agreeing is a reliable answer.
1. The vein test
Look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. Green-looking veins → warm. Blue or purple → cool. Can't decide, or a mix of both → neutral. This works because your skin's undertone tints the color of the blood vessels showing through it.
2. The jewelry test
Hold a gold piece and a silver piece against your bare skin, one at a time. Ignore which you prefer — look at which makes your skin look clearer and more even. Gold flatters warm; silver flatters cool. If both look fine, you are neutral. This is the test most professionals trust first.
3. The white-shirt test
Hold a stark, pure white top under your chin, then an off-white or cream one. Pure white makes cool undertones glow and warm undertones look a little yellow. Cream does the reverse. Whichever white makes your face look fresher is your answer.
4. The sun test
Think about how your skin reacts to sun. Tans easily, rarely burns → usually warm. Burns first, tans reluctantly, goes pink → usually cool. This is the least reliable of the four on its own, but it is a useful tiebreaker.
Skip the tests. Selflogue measures undertone directly from a selfie and places you on a warm–cool spectrum, then gives you the foundation depth, hair tones and clothing colors that match. About ten seconds, no jewelry required.
What your undertone changes
| Decision | Warm | Cool | Neutral |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Golden, yellow-based shades | Pink or rosy-based shades | Balanced shades; avoid the extremes |
| Hair color | Honey, caramel, golden brown, copper | Ash, platinum, cool brown, blue-black | Most tones; avoid very brassy or very ashy |
| Metals | Gold, bronze, rose gold | Silver, platinum, white gold | Both |
| Best whites | Cream, ivory, off-white | Pure white, stark white | Soft white |
| Reds | Tomato, coral, brick | Cherry, berry, blue-red | True red |
Why people get it wrong
- Testing under warm bulbs. Indoor lighting adds yellow to everything. Daylight only.
- Confusing redness for cool. Flushed cheeks or rosacea are surface, not undertone. Look at the neck and inner wrist instead.
- Assuming dark skin is warm. Deep skin comes in every undertone. Many deep-skinned people are cool or neutral and are sold warm foundation that turns orange.
- Going by what you like wearing. Preference is not the same as what flatters. The test is what your skin does, not what your eye is drawn to.
Undertone is step one of your color season
Once you know warm or cool, you are halfway to your season. Add depth (light or deep) and chroma (clear or muted) and you have it. The full method is in What color season am I?
Measure your undertone from a selfie
Selflogue places you on the warm–cool spectrum and builds your palette from it. Free on iPhone and Android.
Cosmetic and styling guidance only. Selflogue is not a medical or diagnostic tool.