Find your undertone.
Your undertone is the subtle colour beneath the surface of your skin - and it stays the same even when you tan. Getting it right is the single biggest reason makeup looks natural rather than off.
The four undertones
Golden, yellow or peachy beneath the skin.
Pink, red or bluish beneath the skin.
A balance of both, no strong lean either way.
Green or grey-gold cast - very common in melanin-rich skin.
At-home tests
Do two or three - not just one - and look for an honest pattern.
Gold tends to flatter warm undertones, silver tends to flatter cool, and both look good on neutral.
Hold a pure white cloth and a cream one near your face. If white looks better you may be cool; if cream looks better you may be warm.
If you tan easily and rarely burn you likely lean warm or olive. If you burn first you may lean cool.
If foundations keep turning orange on you, you may be more neutral or cool than you assumed. If they look grey or ashy, the shade may be too cool or too light.
Why deep skin needs the extra step
The classic vein test (checking whether the veins on your wrist look green or blue) is unreliable on richer skin tones because the veins are harder to read. Lean on the white-versus-cream test and the mismatch clue instead.
Still not sure?
Describe your test results to our AI and it will help you place your undertone - then suggest shades that match.
Open the shade finder →Frequently asked.
- Can my undertone change?
- No - undertone is the constant colour beneath your skin and stays the same even when you tan. Only your surface depth changes.
- What is an olive undertone?
- An olive undertone has a green or grey-gold cast and is very common in melanin-rich, Mediterranean and South Asian complexions. It's the undertone most often mismatched by foundations.
- Why is the vein test unreliable on dark skin?
- The vein test relies on seeing blue versus green veins on the wrist - but on richer skin tones, veins are harder to read clearly. Lean on the white-versus-cream test and how foundations behave on you.