Warm, cool or neutral, your skin tone (also known as an undertone) plays a role in which shades look best on you.
Whether it’s lipstick, clothing or jewelry, knowing your tone can help you find your perfect shade.
Understanding what skin tones are is easy. Determining your own can be a little trickier.
In this guide, we’ll help you determine if you are warm, cool or neutral and make it easier to determine which Boomstick or shade is right for you.
The Towel Trick.
Here’s one easy way to determine your skin tone.
Hold up something white next to your face in a mirror in natural or bright white light (try to avoid warm light or most fluorescent light).
A clean white towel or a piece of paper are good choices.
Then examine the colors in your skin. If you see red, pink or rose, you likely have a cooler skin tone. If you see peach, yellow or gold, your skin tone is warmer.
Check out your veins.
The appearance of your veins beneath your skin are influenced by your skin tone and can provide some clues.
Take a look at more visible veins, like those in your wrist or the crook of your arm.
If your veins appear blue or purple in natural light, you likely have a cooler skin tone. If your veins appear green or greenish blue, your skin tone is warmer.
Not getting a clear picture? Here are a few more tips…
You likely have a cool skin tone if…
You look better with silver jewelry than gold.
You burn easily.
Your eyes are a lighter shade, like blue, light green or gray.
You look best in emerald, deep purple, lavender, pink, ice blue and bright blue. Bright white, navy, gray and black also flatter you.
If you have a cool skin tone, look for cosmetics that contain blue-based reds, including many shades of pink, red and purple.
You likely have a warm skin tone if…
You look better with gold jewelry than silver.
You tan easily.
Your eyes are a darker shade like brown, amber or dark green.
You look best in green, brown, mustard yellow and warm reds. Off-white, cream, tan, peach, coral and amber also flatter you.
If you have a warm skin tone, shades like coral, peach, terracotta and brick likely flatter you best.
Still not sure? If…
You can’t tell what color your veins are.
You look amazing in silver and gold.
You see yellow and rose in your skin—or neither—when compared to a white towel or sheet of paper.
You tend to burn, then tan.
You can pull off almost any color.
Congratulations! You likely have a neutral skin tone. Those with more neutral skin tones can often wear it all.
What does all of this mean? Are there “rules?”
Knowing your skin tone can help you choose makeup and clothing that flatters you best—but it’s not a one-size-fits-all situation.
While these guidelines may work for some people, others break every “rule” and look amazing doing it.
Skin tones exist on a spectrum from warm to neutral to cool. If your tone sits in the cool range nearer to neutral, you likely have far more options than someone at either end of the spectrum would have.
Additionally, many women style their makeup and clothes in ways that defy every guideline, creating their own incredible and unique looks along the way.
In the end, we suggest doing as you like! As Cindy Joseph said, confidence and joy are a woman’s best styling tools.
Did you know we have two new Boomsticks designed for your skin tone, Peony Pink and Golden Peach, coming soon?
Sign up here to be first on the list to meet these new stunning Boomstick shades—before they sell out!
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