Our skin tone makes the difference when it comes to wearing certain colors of clothing. That is why some colors combine better with our skin tone and we must give it preference. Since they help us to look radiant, beautiful and they highlight even more the characteristics of our skin.
But, how to determine which are the colors that favor us the most? This is, undoubtedly, an important question when it comes to fashion and the answer is even more so. And it is that, along with clothes, makeup, accessories and fabrics, the colors we choose will define our image.
Of course, even though we all love a color, it may not be the best for us, but that does not mean that we should stop using it. Rather, we can consider its use as an accent color. Either on a belt, scarf, shoes, or a purse instead of wearing it from head to toe. Let’s find out then, how to determine which colors suit you according to your skin tone, to get the most out of them.
Get ready to determine your true skin tone
To know your true skin tone you have to know how to look at it. Since our skin color is likely to change slightly after exposure to the sun or due to certain reactions to medications. And even for the appearance of some medical conditions such as rosacea. This can cause confusion between the nuances that appear and our skin color, which is why it is possible to be wrong.
So, to avoid these types of mistakes we must determine exactly what our skin tone is. For which, we will first ensure that our skin is free of cosmetics, since these could affect the result of the test. Next, after washing your face, you should wait 15 to 30 minutes for the redness from the wash to fade. Likewise, when examining your skin tone you should make sure to use natural light, because artificial lighting also affects the appearance of your skin.
Determining your skin tone
An easy way to determine your skin tone is to use a white sheet of paper and stand in front of a mirror. Hold the sheet in front of your face and compare how your skin contrasts with the paper. If it looks yellowish, greenish or light brown, this is a warm skin tone. But if your skin looks pink, rosy, or blue instead, then your skin tone it’s cool.
On the other hand, in case your skin looks gray or pale, it means that you have a neutral skin tone. But if you have a skin condition like acne, rosacea, or are extremely tanned, the results of this test may not be accurate. So you will need to ask a friend for help to do the paper test in the crease behind the ear. Because it is generally not affected by any of these variables.
Vein test
Another way to determine your skin tone is to turn the palm of your hand and look at the veins on your hand and wrist. If these appear to be blue or purple, it means you have cool skin. If they look green, then you have warm skin. But if you find it difficult to distinguish between one color and another, that is to say that they are green or blue, then most likely you have neutral skin.
sunkiss test
The third test that we can use to determine skin tone is called the sun kiss test. And the results depend on how our skin reacts to being exposed to the sun. If when you are exposed to the sun, your skin acquires a tan and golden color, your tone will be warm. If you acquire an all pink or red, your tone will be cool. But in case you have some red areas and others golden or brown, your tone is neutral.
Best colors for warm skin tone
In case your tone is warm, then go for golden, honey, brown, copper, reddish, orange, earthy, bright green and yellow tones. You will also look great if you wear “warmer” versions of some cool colors, such as olive, moss, orchid, and purple-red. On the other hand, the neutrals colors that favor you the most are taupe, cappuccino, cream and mushroom gray.
Avoid cool colors like icy blue at all costs, as well as jewel tones like sapphire or amethyst that make your skin look gray.
Colors for cool skin tones
If you have cool-toned skin, the colors that flatter you will be on the cool end of the spectrum. So you can go for bright blue, ice blue, emeralds and violets, along with icy shades of lavender or pink. On the warm side of the palette, you can go for ruby, bright rosy red or super pale yellow.
While, on the neutral side, a safe bet is cool gray, bright white, and navy blue. You have to avoid orange, tomato red and strong yellows, as these clash with your skin tone. As well as dark gray and black.
Colors for neutral skin tones
If your tone turns out to be neutral, then you’re lucky enough to be able to use just about any color on the color wheel. Although it is best to opt for softened or muted versions of a color instead of using the brighter colors. So you can try colors like pink, jade green, yellow, or lagoon blue. For neutral colors, switch to white, brown, midrange grays and black.
However, oversaturated colors like electric blue and magenta are the exception, as they can overwhelm your skin tone. Although this does not include the deep, bright red that will look amazing with your skin tone.
Colors for all tones
There is a group of colors that undoubtedly look great on any skin tone. Since they are able to provide the perfect balance between warm and cool, it will not clash with any skin tone. Among them, we have pure white and light pink, the latter can illuminate any skin tone.
On the other side, teal can be worn by anyone, but it is also a great summer or winter shade. For those who want to darken their look a bit, aubergine purple can act as a neutral, accentuating their skin without overwhelming it.