Monday Myths - Undertones

Welcome back to another

This time we're going to talk about undertones. Skin undertones have a HUGE impact on what choices you make while shopping for beauty products. Not only do they determine your ideal foundation shade, but also what colors you can "pull off", be it in your makeup or wardrobe.

I was inspired to write this post based on my own undertone challenges, so let's take a look at how important and confusing undertones are!

The wrist test is the best way to determine your undertone

Photo from http://beautyandbedlam.com

TRUE!

 This is the most accurate test to find your undertone. If you can't quite tell if you have blue or green tinted veins you are probably a neutral. If you are neutral be thankful! Being neutral means you can use cool or warm tones/colors. That being said, even though this test is accurate it's not 100%. For example, according to this test I have cool undertones, but in reality I don't.

Undertones are the same as your skintone

Photo from http://www.luckymag.com

 FALSE!

Skintone is the visual aspect of your skin, not it's true tone. A lot of people, myself included, use the term skintone when in truth they are referring to undertones. It's a bad habit that I have been trying to break. Example, you could have a beautiful golden tan and have cool undertones. The same is true for very fair complexions that have warm undertones.

BUT!

Skintone can effect your foundation and other makeup choices.

Are you confused yet?

I know I was! My veins told me I was cool toned. Another point towards being cool toned was that most coral shades do not complement me. Yet here I was, with colors for cool tones in clothing and makeup looking horrible, and my foundation shades had warm base tones.

Here are the three ways I cleared my confusion, and I hope they can help you as well!

1. Use the seasonal system

 

Photo from http://www.pirina.co.uk

I learned my season (Autumn) from a Clinique specialist years ago. The seasonal system not only can help determine your undertone, but it takes your hair and eye color into account. That is part of what makes it a complete test. Summer and Winter are cool toned, while Spring and Autumn are warm toned. There are tons of tests on the internet that can help you determine your season, but keep in mind one test could tell you one season, and the next test another. The best way to find your season is to find a specialist who can help you. Try your local Clinique counter. If they can't help try the other makeup counters, they are always willing to point you in the right direction!

2. Try the eyeshadow test

Photo from http://www.makeup.com

 This is probably the easiest test if your vein test was not conclusive and you had trouble determining your season. Place a silver eyeshadow across your lid on one eye, and gold eyeshadow on the other. One will look ridiculous! If the silver shines, chances are you have cool undertones. If the gold makes you glow, warm it is. If they both look great, you're one of the lucky neutrals. This test can also be done with gold and silver jewelry. The reason I use eyeshadow is if you like gold over silver, or silver over gold you will be biased. The eyeshadow method keeps you from lying to yourself. I am a perfect example. Gold eyeshadow looks AMAZING on me, but I don't like gold jewelry.

3. Go get your Color IQ number from Sephora

Magic is the only word to describe this. A Sephora associate will take 3 pictures of your skin using a special camera. The camera works by photographing your skin in pure darkness. Without light the camera captures your true tone. R corresponds to red/pink/cool tones, while Y corresponds to yellow/peach/warm tones. The larger the number before R or Y, the more present the tone is in your skin. If you are a 1R or 1Y you are fairly neutral, but 2+ takes you away from neutrality. The number after the R or Y determines if you are fair, light, medium, deep, or somewhere in between. Not only is this the most accurate way to determine both your undertone and skintone, but Sephora has a list of what foundations and shades work with your ID number. With all the shade guesswork gone all you have to focus on is brand, coverage, ingredients (oil-free, SPF, etc), and price.

I hope this helped take the confusion out of undertones for you. If you are more confused than ever, or have any questions just let us know!

~Amanda