This guide contains Global Shades products! These are available in a wide range of inclusive shades and undertones. Look out for the Global Shades icon or visit globalshades.org to find out more.
There are three main things to consider when choosing a foundation: your skin type, your skin tone, and your undertone.
The first two can be pretty easy to suss out. But if you’re having a blank over your undertone, don’t worry. You’re not alone! Ignoring your skin’s undertone can lead to mismatched makeup though.
So if your foundation is looking a little on the orange side or patchy, then determining your undertone just might be the answer to your woes.
So, What Are Undertones?
‘Undertone’ refers to the hue underneath the surface of your skin, which affects how your skin colour looks overall.
People typically have pink undertones, which are cool-toned; yellow undertones, which are warm-toned; or neutral undertones, which are somewhere in between.
Once you know your undertone, it can tell you which makeup to choose, which clothes to wear, and even how to pick jewellery and hair colour. Knowledge is power!
Pink Undertones vs Yellow Undertones
You can take some easy tests to see if you’re cool- or warm-toned.
If you have warm tones, or a yellow-based skin tone, you’ll suit gold jewellery best, have green veins, and tan in the sun.
If you have cool tones, or a pink-based skin tone, you’ll suit silver jewellery best, have blue veins, and burn in the sun.
If you have a neutral skin tone, your answers may overlap. You may see a combination of blue and green veins, tanning and burning, and suiting all jewellery well.
If you’re looking at your skin and seeing all warm tones, then you’ll need to start choosing makeup for yellow undertones to truly suit your complexion.
