Do any of you remember Carole Jackson’s blockbuster book from the 1980s called Color Me Beautiful? Maybe you – like me – carried around colored fabric swatches to help you choose the clothing colors that would help you look your best.
According to the book, we were either a “winter,” “summer,” “spring” or “autumn” and all of these determinations were based on the undertone of our skin. Although the field of color analysis has certainly become more sophisticated in recent years (with further subcategories of intensity and bright, light, soft and dark), the basic premise of warm, cool or neutral undertones still holds true.
Quite honestly, I did not look forward to filming this video because the products I used go totally counter to the guidance offered in Carole Jackson’s book and my knowledge as a makeup artist. And because of this, it was somewhat uncomfortable to do. But my hope is that this article and video will provide very dramatic, visible evidence of what a positive difference it can make to wear makeup colors (and clothing colors) that complement the undertone of our skin and make our complexion come alive.
These Colors Will Be Oh So Wrong on Me
In today’s video I apply makeup colors that make me look sallow and just “off.” Now, granted, trying to choose the perfect makeup colors can feel overwhelming – especially if we’re shopping online – since colors can look very different in online pictures.
But the most important secret to looking our very best is to choose makeup colors that make our skin come alive and glow rather than look sallow, ashy, green or even orange. And the secret to picking our best makeup colors is to choose the colors that enhance the undertone of our skin.
It’s All About Our Skin’s Undertone
Although the outer surface of our skin can change with the seasons or over time, the undertone – which is the shade of our skin just underneath the surface – doesn’t. No matter where our skin falls on the spectrum of fair to dark, when we shop for foundations, concealers, lip, and cheek colors – and to some extent eye colors – the key is to match the colors we choose with our skin’s undertone which is either warm, neutral or cool.
If we don’t do this, our makeup will never look quite right because a mismatched undertone will work against our skin’s natural complexion instead of complementing it.
For instance, if you have a warm undertone and use a cool toned foundation, your face will look ashy. If you have a cool undertone and you wear a warm shade of foundation, the warm foundation shade will enhance the redness of your skin and you’ll look sallow and unhealthy. And another reason that your makeup won’t look good if you’re wearing a foundation that’s not the right shade is that you’ll also always see a line of demarcation.
If you’re not sure of the undertone of your skin, be sure to check out this video where I go through the nine questions you can ask yourself that will help you determine the undertone of your skin and I also demonstrate how to make these determinations.
Be sure to check out Elise’s YouTube channel which specifically focuses on makeup tips, techniques, and product reviews for those of us 50+. Don’t forget to subscribe!
I have a cool undertone so the colors that work best for me are cool toned colors such as pink, berry, plum, mauve, burgundy and blue based reds. The colors that are best for me to avoid wearing are warm colors such as yellow, peach, coral, orange and copper. But if you have a warm undertone, peach, yellow, coral, orange and copper can look fabulous on you.
If you have a neutral undertone, you have an equal amount of cool and warm color in your skin’s undertone and can wear either cool or warm colors. But you probably want to avoid the most extreme bright or deep shades in either the cool or warm family of colors such as bright or deep orange or bright fuchsia because these will most likely be too strong for you.
Creating a Great Look for a Warm Undertone – But Not So Great for Me
Let’s Start with Eyebrows
Warm eyebrow shades such as warm brown – rather than ashy brown shades – will really look wrong on me. Since I don’t have any warm brown eyebrow products in my collection, I use a red brown eyeshadow in the video, choosing between the colors in these two eyeshadow palettes: the “Gone Matte” eyeshadow palette from Colourpop and Makeup by Mario’s original Master Mattes palette which is primarily warm toned neutral colors.
Eyeshadows
For my eyes, I combine warm colors from two eyeshadow palettes: Colourpop’s “In the Springs” palette and Bh Cosmetics’ “Summer in St. Tropez” palette, but I also present a beautiful golden palette from Juvia’s Place called “The Nubian Glow” palette. I use the shade “Chino” from the “In the Springs Palette” for my eyeliner.
Foundation
For my foundation I apply a newer product from Makeup Forever called HD Skin Hydra Glow Hydrating Foundation in the shade “Warm Vanilla” which is shade 1Y06. This is a wonderful, hydrating foundation which I love – and which is wonderful for mature skin – but this is definitely not the right shade for the undertone of my skin!
Blush
The only warm contour shade I have is the deep warm color in this Makeup Forever palette. I have three different warm toned blushes from which to choose. One is a new blush from Haus Labs called “Glassy Tangelo” which is a bright coral and the other is a newer liquid blush line from Georgio Armani. It’s their Luminous Silk Cheek tint in the shade 31 which is a softer coral shade.
I have two warm toned powder blushes from Kosas: the shade “Blissed” is a warm peachy pink and the shade “Thrilled” is a vibrant blood orange. I often use a powder blush over a cream or liquid blush to make it more long lasting, so I’ll apply just a small amount of the vibrant blood orange shade “Thrill” over the cream blush I’m wearing.
As a cool-toned person, I normally wear a pearl or pink toned highlighter, but to keep going with the warm-toned look, I apply a shimmering medium gold highlight from the Makeup Forever Palette. Another gold tone highlighting option could have been Merit’s Highlighter in the color “Citrine” which is a soft gold, but I felt I needed to go with a bolder gold look today.
Lipstick
There are some interesting warm lipsticks from both MAC and Makeup by Mario which make me nervous and uncomfortable, but I’ve settled on the MAC option in the appropriately named color “Lady Danger.” And the three Makeup by Mario choices are the colors “Soho” which is a soft coral, “Chelsea” which is a red orange and “Uptown Girl” which is a rusty orange-red. I’ll combine “Soho” and “Chelsea.” Now these could be absolutely gorgeous on you if you have a warm or neutral undertone, but on me – well, I kind of feel like I should be in a scary movie.
Lip Gloss
The best warm toned gloss in my collection is from a palette called “Favorite Lip Glosses” from Three Custom Color Specialists (which has now been discontinued).
Final Thoughts
In the video you will see my completed warm-toned makeup look and to be honest, I can’t wait to get into the bathroom and take off these colors which are so wrong for me. But I hope you found it helpful to see what a dramatic difference it can make when we wear makeup colors that don’t work with the undertone of our skin.
I’ve always wanted to wear a “Golden Bronzed” Golden Goddess makeup look which seems to pop up every spring and summer and looks absolutely stunning. But I’m afraid on my cool-toned skin all those gorgeous gold and bronzey shades would look completely wrong. However, if you have a warm or neutral undertone, this type of look could be stunning on you.
But as a cool-toned gal, I definitely do love my cool-toned raspberry and pink colors and would never want to give up deep blue eyeshadow for those special occasions!
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Do you know the undertone of your skin? If so, what colors don’t work for you? What makeup and clothing colors look fabulous on you?
