What Is My Skin Undertone? How to Find Your Skin’s Underlying Hues

“What’s my undertone” might be up there on the list of confusing questions along with “why can’t I stop watching TikTok videos?” Yellow, red, pink, blue — these may not be colors you think you’d find in your complexion but there's actually a rainbow of undertones at play when it comes to our skin, and therefore our makeup.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to find your skin undertone. Let’s get into that shade!

Skin Undertone Categories

While it’s easy to figure out whether your skin is light or deep, undertones are more complicated.

The 3 basic kinds are:

Warm Undertones

Warm undertones usually have traces of gold and red in their skin.

• These complexions typically get darker in the sun and never burn.

• Celebs with warm undertones include Beyoncé, Lucy Liu and JLo.

Neutral Undertones

Neutral undertones have an equal mix of cool and warm tones.

• These skin types typically get darker in the sun but sometimes burn.

• Celeb soulmates for neutral undertones include Kerry Washington and Sandra Bullock.

Cool Undertones

Cool undertones have hints of pink and blue in their skin.

• These complexions tend to burn more easily.

• Celebs with cool undertones include Alex Wek, Anne Hathaway and Adele.

Here’s a visual that may give you an idea of where you’d expect to fall on the spectrum:

Skin Undertone Facts

A few things to remember before we answer “What is my skin undertone?” once and for all.

Skin tone and undertone are not the same thing. Skin tone can change over time due to weather, sun damage or age. But undertones stay the same, even if you get tan or darker in the sun.

That’s great news IOHO because it means you only have to figure out your undertones once.

Fair-skinned people can have warm undertones and dark-skinned people can have cool undertones.

It’s a mix-and-match world, baby, and that’s a beautiful thing!

That said, if you want a general rule, it’s this:

• Deeper skin tones and eye colors tend to have warmer undertones.

• Fair skin and light eyes tend to have neutral or cool undertones.

Skin Undertone Tips

There are a few tips when it comes to answering, “What is my skin undertone?”

Look at your wrist veins under natural light.

• If your veins appear to be green, you probably have warm undertones.

• If they’re blue or purple, you probably have cool undertones.

• If they are a mix of both, you may have neutral undertones.

Put on a piece of gold jewelry and a piece of silver jewelry. Which looks better?

• If gold looks more flattering, you’re probably warm.

• If silver looks better, you’re probably cool.

• If both look equally good, you’re neutral.

Put on a plain white T (OMG, remember Delilah? That song is 14 years old, you guys). Now go outside.

• If your face looks yellow-ish or you *know* you’d look better in an off-white or beige color, you’re warm.

• If your skin looks rosy, you're cool.

• If you look good in white and cream colors, you’re neutral.

Skin Undertone Tricks

Not much for DIY? We got y’all! If you haven’t yet taken our spankin’ new Shade Finder for a spin, now’s the time.

Not only will it walk you through undertones, but it will also give you direction as to which BOUNCE foundation you might want to try first. The best part: you can do it in less than 2 minutes.

Bonus tip: If you’re unsure whether your undertones are warm or cool, try a shade that matches your skin tone from both categories. The shade that disappears on your skin is your OTP!