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Take This Quiz to Determine the Undertone of Your Skin

It can be hard to find your perfect match in concealer and foundation, and even harder if you aren’t sure what your undertone might be. Knowing your undertone will not only help you find the perfect makeup shades but also which color clothes and hair dyes will look best on you. 

In the video below, Pauline shares one of our absolute fav hacks on how to discover your specific undertone. Watch the video to discover how, then take the quiz!

 

There are three primary undertones you need to know. 

  1. Warm
  2. Cool
  3. Neutral undertones

Unlike skin tones, undertones stay the same no matter how pale or tan you are, meaning that both fair and deep skin tones can have cool undertones and vice versa. 

If you don’t know your undertone, don’t worry, we put together this old school cosmo-style quiz to help you. Write down the letter corresponding with the statement that represents you best, and we will tally them at the end.

The inside of a person's wrist.

What color are your veins?

Look at the inner part of your wrist or anywhere on your body where you can easily see your veins.

  • A. You have blue or purple veins.
  • B. You have green looking veins.
  • C. Your veins look the same as your skin color or are a mix of the two.

A woman with golden toned hair running her fingers through it.

What hair colors do you look best in?

Have you always been a fan of platinum blonde, or do you gravitate towards golden shades when it comes to picking a suitable hair color? Depending on your undertones, certain hair dyes may be more flattering on you.

  • A. You look best with ashy or platinum hair shades.
  • B. You look best with mahogany or golden tones.
  • C. Both kinds of hair colors are flattering on you.

A lady holding up a white dress.

Try the white shirt trick

A quick trick you can use to determine your undertone involves a white shirt and a window. Stand in front of the window or in some sort of natural lighting and hold the shirt up to your face. How does the appearance of your skin change?

  • A. Your skin appears to be rosier when the shirt is up against it.
  • B. Your skin appears more yellow.
  • C. You don’t notice much of a difference.

A woman sun bathing on the beach.
Do you burn or tan in the sun?

After a relaxing day at the beach, are your typically slathering aloe on your sunburn or admiring your golden tan? The way your skin reacts to the skin is a good indication of your undertone. 

  • A. You sunburn easily anytime you’re in the sun for an extended period.
  • B. You get a tan without burning in the sun.
  • C. You usually get a mix of tan and sunburn. 

A wrist with jewelry adorning it.
What color jewelry do you look best in?

It’s fun to play around with different kinds of jewel tones to add the finishing touches to our look. You probably have a mix of gold and silver in your jewelry arsenal, but chances are, you reach for a certain type of metal more often than not because it’s the most flattering on you. 

  • A. Silver and rose gold jewelry look best on you.
  • B. Gold is your go-to for jewelry.
  • C. You can rock both gold and silver. 

The moment of truth

After you’ve written down your answers to the previous questions, add up the letters to determine whether your undertone is cool, warm or neutral. 

  • If you chose mostly A’s: You have a cool undertone
  • If you chose mostly B’s: You have a warm undertone
  • If you chose mostly C’s: You have a neutral undertone

Now that you know your undertone, you’ll want to look for concealers and foundations based on their hue:

Cool Tones  – Look best in a foundation or concealer with a pinkish appearance.

Here is a list of Subtl Beauty concealer shades for our Cool Tone Babes:

shade description 1.0 Shade 2.0 Shade
light for cool neutral undertones chartiers 003N
fair with cool undertones brookline 002C
medium with cool undertones bloomfield 015C
medium dark for cool neutral undertones beechview 021N
dark-deep for true cool undertones st. clair 015C
deep with cool undertones ellsworth 020C

Warm TonesShould reach for foundations and concealers that have a slight yellow tint.

Here is a list of Subtl Beauty concealer shades for our Warm Tone Babes:

shade description 1.0 Shade 2.0 Shade
light for warm neutral undertones arlington 005C
light-medium for warm golden undertones carrick 010W
medium for warm olive undertones perry 010W
light-medium for warm yellow undertones hazelwood 013W
medium-tan for warm olive undertones brighton 016W
tan-dark for warm olive undertones etna 017W

Neutral Tones – Look best in combination foundation and concealers that have both pink and yellow hues. 

Here is a list of Subtl Beauty concealer shades for our Neutral Tone Babes:

shade description Header 2 Header 3
light for warm neutral undertones arlington 005C
light for cool neutral undertones chartiers  003N
light for neutral olive undertones homestead 008W
medium for cool neutral undertones bloomfield 015C
tan-dark for true neutral undertones morningside 014N
tan-dark for golden neutral undertones hays 019N
dark for cool neutral undertones beechview 021N

dark deep for neutral rich undertones 

highland 021N

Still, having trouble finding the perfect shade? Try using our shade matrix that calculates your match based on the products you’ve used before.

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