How to tell? Warm/Cool/Pink/Yellow?
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skin Care and Makeup Forum

Mon Jul 05, 2004 3:07 pm

I would like to try some new makeup lines, but I don't even know if I am a warm or cool, or if I have yellow or pink undertones! Since most makeup seems to be grouped this way, how can I find out which I am, so that I know which groups will work best? My skin always seems pink, but that may just be the acne!

free skin care · Mon Jul 05, 2004 6:15 pm

As I was reading one of the beauty books written by Bobbi Brown, she said that most (almost all)women can be benefitted from yellow-toned foundation/powder Very Happy

, she said if she could convince all women using yellow-toned cosmetics, that would be her greatest success Cool

I believe so Wink

though I couldnt tell the logic/trick behind!

free skin care · Tue Jul 06, 2004 11:09 am

apparantly, you can go by the colour of the veins in your wrist and whether they are blue or green depends upon your skin tone. mine are purple so I haven't a clue ! Confused

free skin care · Tue Jul 06, 2004 12:26 pm

One way to find out is to hold up something navy blue next to your face - if you are yellow-toned, you'll really be able to see the yellow. Hold up a green (true green) and if you are pink, it should really pop the pink. (This is what I have been told.) I'm yellow and I have to say the the navy blue "trick" really shows that undertone.

Wed Jul 07, 2004 2:07 am

Well, apparently I'm yellow then Smile

Mental note: must remember not to wear a navy turtle neck jumper again Confused

free skin care · Wed Jul 07, 2004 9:41 am

Now wait a minute, Mabsy. Just because it makes you able to see the undertone better, that doesn't mean that it looks bad! I'm yellow and as long as I stay away from the "spring-like" blues - stay in navies, midnight blues, and/or pale silvery aquas, light blues, etc., then I can wear blue...Now, don't even talk to me about Spring Greens - eeek! Or bright yellow!!!! I look like a dead person.Brings out all the olive, greyish undertones....Okay, enough "color me beautiful"... Smile

I wonder what you wear when you have burnt 1/2 your face off using 50% peel while doing hair? Smile

free skin care · Wed Jul 07, 2004 1:21 pm

Quote:

wonder what you wear when you have burnt 1/2 your face off using 50% peel while doing hair?

funny

free skin care · Wed Jul 07, 2004 2:01 pm

I am gonna try this test later. I'm sure Guapagirl will be green when she see's what you said. But I think it was very funny. Well said. Laughing

Thu Jul 08, 2004 2:04 am

Betterat40 - my navy turtle-neck thanks you for saving its life Laughing

I don't look too crash hot in light/bright greens or bright yellows for that matter. Pity, coz I have a cute yellow top that I really like (but can never wear again).

free skin care · Thu Jul 08, 2004 2:24 am

Argh... I've tried both methods and I still can't determine wether I'm pink og yellow! Some of my veins are green and some are blue/purple (those closest to the skin).. I can't see any great difference between the green and and navy blue, but I look terrible in yellow. Yellow really makes me look pink... And I look fantastic in cool blues. Does that mean I'm pink??

I'm very confused.........

free skin care · Thu Jul 08, 2004 11:20 am

Based on what you wrote, Aurora, I think you have more pink in your skin. The fact that you look good in cool blue tones but pink in yellow...I think you are more pink. I am yellow and Yellow makes me look more grey/green, not pink....

Of course, this is all ridiculous since I can't even see you. Smile

Prescriptives used to be really good at putting different tone cards up to your skin and you could see immediately which was the best match...I think they would say that you need foundation that is in their "blue/red" family...

And still no word on the fashion choice from GuapaGirl.... Razz

free skin care · Thu Jul 08, 2004 12:33 pm

indianT wrote:

Quote:

wonder what you wear when you have burnt 1/2 your face off using 50% peel while doing hair?

funny

yes, flippin hilarious Mad

ha ha

free skin care · Thu Jul 08, 2004 1:02 pm

couldn't stop Laughing

when betterat40 wrote that. So had to reply Wink

free skin care · Fri Jul 09, 2004 8:27 am

betterat40 wrote:

And still no word on the fashion choice from GuapaGirl.... Razz

you know I'm starting to feel a little picked on here! Have none of you lot done anything dumb hmmmm? Laughing

As for my fashion choice, I wear what I like, never really been concerned about cloths clashing with skin tone and I've never figuered out what mine is anyway. I've never found a foundation that I liked and tend not to wear them, but the ones I have I test first by painting a stripe down my face and if it looks invisible in daylight that's the one I buy. If I haven't been able to test though I go for yellow ones as bbiz said

Sat Jul 10, 2004 5:33 am

guapagirl wrote:

you know I'm starting to feel a little picked on here! Have none of you lot done anything dumb hmmmm?

Of course! But nothing that burned the skin off my face! Laughing

Sorry hun, that was the last one. I promise! Shall (try to) never speak of it again Very Happy

free skin care · Sat Jul 10, 2004 7:18 am

I don't mind really...eventually someone else will come along and make you laugh Wink

free skin care · Sat Jul 10, 2004 7:25 am

yeah right Rolling Eyes

free skin care · Sun Jul 11, 2004 12:21 am

Yea, like me. Without really thinking too hard a couple of nights ago. Put on my nice exfoliating gloves and picked up some bath soap as I sat there trying to relax and proceeded to frickin' scrub my face into oblivion. I rarely ever use soap with those gloves. I think I must have thought that I was doing my heels are something. Anyway, woke up at about 2AM cuz face was burning and irritated. Isn't that just wonderful? And woke the next day (took valium and went back to bed)to a nice patchy, reddened face. Now I have to wait for all that poor skin to peel off.

Buuuuuuut, dahlinks! I found the most beeeeaauuutiful cashmir! sweater to wear with my complexion. Very Happy

free skin care · Sun Jul 11, 2004 3:51 am

Poor you! try the old aloevera gel. Put it on really thick as even if it does nothing else, it takes the redness away and smooths the skin. I do recon it helps healing though as well. here's a big hug
((((((((

free skin care · Sun Jul 11, 2004 6:32 am

OK girls, here is a non-fail formula to find your true skin tone, and to match up what color of makeup and also hair color best compliments your skin tone. Save this, b/c it is always true, and failsafe!

Skin tones can be broken down into 4 categories: olive, red/pink, golden, & neutral. The easiest way to find your true skin tone is to hold a piece of white paper up to the skin where your neck meets your collarbone.

Olive skintones have an underlying tone of green, gray, or yellow. Olive people look best in either cool or neutral colors. Warm colors should usually be avoided unless it is of a darker value.

Makeup shades for cool/neutral skintones include: blueish reds (not orange/reds), plums, violets, silvery greens (evergreens), grays, and deep mauves. Haircolors that compliment olive skin are: blueish blacks, auburns, chestnut brown, dark golden brown. If you go lighter, you should never go lighter than a level 4 with a golden tonality.

Red/Pink skintones have an underlying hue of reddish brown, red, or blue-red. This skintone also looks best in cool or neutral colors. Warm colors are not recommended for this skin type. Complimentary hair colors for this type are any ashy or sandy blonde, burgundy browns, light cool blondes, avoid reds - it will make your skin look ruddy. If you want a red tone, go with a very light auburn or strawberry blonde.

Golden skintones have an underlying tone of golden-brown, gold, or peach. This skin tone looks best in warm colors. Makeup colors should include: grays, tan, browns, bronze, gold, grassy & mossy greens, warmer orange-reds, and corals. Complimentary hair colors should include ash and golden blondes, aubruns, neutral browns, and warm dark browns/blacks.

Neutral skintones have a balance of pink and gold undertones. You will have a hard time finding a dominant undertone in this type. Tis skin tone is usually described as ivory, beige, or brown skin. Neutral skintones can wear either cool or warm.

Taking your eye color into account can also help you decide your skintone:
Warm Eye Colors:
-Brown with red, orange, yellow or gold flecks.
-Blue with yellow or gold flecks.
-Green with reddish-brown, orange, yellow, or gold flecks.

Cool Eye Colors:
-Brown with black, gray-brown, gray-green, or gray flecks.
-Blue with white, blue, gray, or violet flecks.
-Green with blue or gray flecks.

When choosing makeup, there are other factors that you must take into consideration too. Women often choose a foundation that is too light for their skin. This gives you a pasty, pale "canvas" of a face. Then any makeup that you put on looks overly done - painted on. The other danger is going too dark with your foundation and ending up with an orange "mask". NEVER go more than 1 shade lighter or darker than your natural skintone. Also, don't rely on the names that the companies give to their foundations - look at the actual color of the product. What Revlon calls "golden", L'Oreal might call "beige". But whatever foundation you choose make sure that you BLEND and feather it from under your chin down onto the neck and behind the ears. But if you are choosing the correct level & tone, you should not see a line where your foundation stops anyway.

Eyeshadows can really compliment your eyes. Choosing a deeper/darker shade of a color will make the iris of your eyes appear lighter & brighter. A lighter eyeshadow will usually make your eye color deepen.

Sorry this post is so long, but there is a lot of info here. I use this guide all the time with clients, and there have been only maybe 2 or 3 times when someone did not fit this formula exactly!

Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:27 am

Thanks for the great information.

J.

free skin care · Sun Dec 17, 2006 9:42 am

Thanks for that information,pbsadhaka.

I think I'm light golden/neutral, with warm colour eyes.

Often I've bought 'beige' foundations and they are horrribly pink on me.

And light neutral colours which are a bit draining.

Yellow is very flattering in make up.

Good to have this spelled out, as I'm tired of making costly mistakes!

free skin care · Sun Dec 17, 2006 11:50 am

I agree with bbiz that everyone should try to wear yellow-based makeup. However, if your skintone is pink, perhaps try neutral.

free skin care · Sun Dec 17, 2006 12:02 pm

I agree it's so difficult to tell. One easy way of getting an idea is look in your closet and jewelry box. Do you wear more gold or silver? Doy you wear more warmer colors: olive, oranges, reds, etc, or more cooler colors: pinks, purples, blues, etc. It's not exact, it just gives you a starting point.

I feel better in cooler colored clothes, lipstick, etc. I ordered a cool foundation sample and a neutral one from Alima (thanks to the gals on EDS!) and the neutral was perfect. The cool looked a little white.

You could also do half on each side of your face to see which you like. HTH
Smile

free skin care · Sun Dec 17, 2006 2:57 pm

catski wrote:

Yellow is very flattering in make up.

What kind of makeup has a yellow tone to it? Is it neutral makeup that has yellow in it?
Thanks

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