There are many factors to consider when you’re trying to create a beautiful makeup look. To some extent, you’ll be dealing with your personal preferences and interests, such as whether you want to create a more natural-looking makeup look or one that really stands out.

Another thing to consider, however, is your skin undertone. Your skin undertone can have a large impact on the type of makeup you create, whether it’s a daily look or a specialty look. Here’s how to consider your skin undertone and craft the right makeup look.

Determining Your Skin Undertone

First, you’ll determine your skin undertone. There are two parts of your skin tone: your shade, which is how light or dark your skin is, and your undertone, which has to do with your skin’s tint. Most people categorize skin undertone into three categories: warm, cool, and neutral.

The best way to find your skin undertone is to look at your wrist veins. The color of the deoxygenated blood is almost purple, which means that if your skin has a warm undertone, it’ll look green, whereas if your skin has a cool undertone, it’ll look blue or purple. If you have a neutral tone, it might look somewhere in the middle or be a mix of the two.

Understanding the Impact of Your Skin Undertone

Why does it matter? The answer is because cool tones and warm tones are on opposite sides of the color wheel, which means that using a product meant for the wrong skin undertone can cause you to look either reddish and flushed or washed-out and pale. Additionally, it can impact the colors you tend to choose for the rest of your makeup. Those with cool undertones often look best in blues and purples, while those with warm undertones may choose reds and yellows. People with cool undertones may prefer silver accents, whereas people with warm undertones may prefer gold ones.

Discovering the Right Makeup for Your Shade and Undertone

Finding the perfect makeup requires that you consider both shade and undertone. Any skin shade can use any makeup, but you might need to adjust the way you apply certain products. If you want a bright color to pop as an eyeshadow on darker skin, for example, you might put down a slightly lighter eyeshadow primer first. Darker skin tones may need to find a high-quality sunscreen without a white cast. Additionally, remember that many foundations come in several shades and undertones, and it’s important to choose the right one of both. Knowing your undertone can help you find the right foundation and concealer.

Playing With Tertiary Colors and Styles

One of the best ways to up your makeup game is to learn a bit about color theory. Tertiary colors are mixes between primary colors, which are red, blue, and yellow, and secondary colors, which are made by combining two of those. If you have a warm undertone and want to try out some cooler tones in your makeup, try out the tertiary color red-purple, which introduces some cooler blue tones into the warm color. Trying out new styles you haven’t played with before can also give your makeup a unique look.

Conclusion

Although these recommendations can help you improve your makeup game, as you get better, you can start playing with them and going against them to introduce some unique concepts to your own makeup. Plus, you don’t have to follow them all the time. If you have a cool undertone but like how you look in red, feel free to use red in your makeup.

However, if you’re already well-versed in color theory and you have your friends and family asking you for these kinds of color recommendations, you might want to turn it into a career. The cosmetology program at Ogle School might be exactly what you need to turn your color-matching skills into a full-time job.