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.
- Warm
- Cool
- 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Tones – Should 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.