The undertone

What is the undertone?

The undertone is your natural colour below the skin's surface. The undertone is not the same as skin colour, the undertone is the shade within your skin colour. You can distinguish between three types of undertone: cool, neutral and warm. Despite having the same skin tone as someone else, you can therefore have different undertones. The skin colour can change through different influences such as the sun. However, the undertone always remains the same. When you know what undertone you have, it is easier to make choices in which make-up suits you best. To easily search within our products by undertone, use the product filter on the left of the screen.

Undertones are divided into 3 categories:

• Cool: bluish, red and/or pink undertone of the skin
• Neutral: consisting of a mix of both warm and cool undertones
• Warm: gold, peach and/or yellow undertone of the skin

What do you need your undertone for?

• To create the most natural look possible, it is important to know your undertone. With the right undertone, choosing a foundation or concealer to match your skin makes it easier for you to look more natural.
• To avoid hard, unnatural-looking lines on the face.
• To choose the best foundation shade.

How to determine your undertone?

• You know your skin best; how it reacts when exposed to the sun tells you a lot about your undertone. If you burn easily, if your skin turns pink or red, you probably have a cool undertone. If, on the other hand, your skin turns brown, peachy, golden, caramel or olive, you probably have a warm undertone. If your skin sometimes burns and sometimes tans, chances are you have a neutral undertone.

• Another way to determine your undertone is with a white object such as a white sheet of paper. Find a place with natural, bright light and hold the sheet next to your face. If your skin appears pink, you probably have a cool undertone; if it appears yellowish, you probably have a warm undertone. If there is no undertone at all, chances are you have a neutral undertone.

• Jewellery can also help determine your undertone. Do you think gold jewellery looks better on you than silver? If you think gold jewellery suits you better, you probably have a warm undertone. If you prefer silver jewellery, you are more likely to have a cool undertone. Determining your undertone in this way is less objective than the other two because it can be influenced by taste and preference.

• Although there are plenty of exceptions, eye and hair colour can often tell you something about your undertone. In general, people with lighter hair colour and eyes have cool or neutral undertones and people with darker hair colour and eyes have warm undertones. 

We hope the combination of the above points helped you determine your undertone, if you need help or are unsure about your undertone please call us or send us an email.