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Cool or Warm Skin Tone?

Do You Have Cool or Warm Skin Tones?

When selecting not only your foundation shade of mineral makeup, but also your blush, lip colors and any all-over face colors, you need to know if you should purchase cool or warm colors.

This is based on the undertone of your skin - look at the underside of your arm. If your veins appear bluish you are cool toned, if they appear greenish you are warm toned.

Why is this important?

With the correct colors (in cosmetics and clothing):

Your skin tone will appear radiant and glowing
Your eyes will appear brighter and clearer
Your hair will reflect highlights
You will hear compliments - such as "You look great"!

With the wrong colors (in cosmetics and clothing) :

Your skin tone will appear tired and drained
Your eyes may appear shadowed, dark circles
Even your teeth can appear with a slight yellow hue
You will hear comments - such as "You look tired” "Do you feel OK?"

If you aren't sure if you have Cool or Warm Skin Tones, these comparisons should help:

Cool	Warm
You look best in these colors:	You look best in these colors:

Includes "jewel tones" - blues, greens, pinks, purples, blue-greens, magentas, and blue-based reds.	Includes "earth tones" - yellows, oranges, browns, yellowish greens and orange-based reds.
Foundation is pink based	Foundation is yellow based
Looks better in pure white than ivory	Looks better in ivory than pure white
Can easily wear black	Looks washed out with black worn close to the face
My skin is: Very dark brown with reddish or blue undertones Brown with pink undertone True olive (most Asians and Latinos) Medium with no color in cheeks Medium with faint pink cheeks Pale with no color in cheeks Pale with pink undertones Ruddy-pinkish red Brown or bronze when I tan	My skin is: Very dark brown with golden undertones Brown with golden undertone Medium with golden undertones Pale with peach or gold undertones Golden brown, when I tan
Notable examples - Elizabeth Taylor, Demi Moore, Anne Hathaway, Courtney Cox, Sandra Bullock, Terri Hatcher, Kirstin Davis, America Fererra, Keira Knightley, Eva Longoria, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Hudson, Liv Tyler, Alexis Bledel, Megan Fox, Jennifer Connelly, Shania Twain, Brooke Shields Sophia Bush, Penelope Cruz, Candace Bergen, Sarah Chalke, Hillary Clinton, Heather Locklear, Britney Spears, Sarah Jessica Parker, Christy Brinkley, Reese Witherspoon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeri Ryan, Jennifer Aniston, Ellen Pompano	Notable examples - Nicole Kidman, Meg Ryan, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reba McIntyre, Julianne Hough, Sarah Ferguson, Marcia Cross, Calista Flockhart, Rebecca Romjin, Tara Reid, Renee Zellweger, Ellen Degeneres, Diane Sawyer, Amy Adams, Jillian Anderson, Amanda Bynes, Becki Newton, Nicole Richie, Kim Raver, Kristen Johnston, Leona Lewis

Cool or Warm Skin Tones? If you can't decide between Cool or Warm Skin Tones - Cool coloring is much more common than warm. You probably know if you are warm. More & more companies are adding "neutral" colors - if your coloring is more balanced you may want to try colors designated as neutral. If most foundation looks too pink or too yellow, definitely try a neutral (or balanced) shade.

Need More Help?

Free Color Analysis:
New! BeautiControl has a new, wonderful online color analysis tool. You answer the questions and it gives you your skin tone (for example, I am "intense cool"), you can print out the page with your color swatches and can even see specific recommendations for eye shadow, lip color, blush, etc. To get your free color analysis, go to BeautiControl Color Anaylsis Quiz .