How to tell if your undertone is cool or warm

Your undertone is the colour that sits beneath your skin. It isn't the same as your skin tone (light, medium, deep): two people with the same depth can have opposite undertones. And it's by far the biggest factor in whether a lipstick, blush or foundation flatters you.

There are three undertones: cool (pink, red or bluish hints), warm (golden, peachy or yellow hints) and neutral (a balanced mix).

Test 1: the veins on your wrist

Look at the inside of your wrist in daylight.

• If your veins look blue or purple, you're probably cool.
• If they look greenish, you're probably warm.
• If you honestly can't tell, you're probably neutral.

It's the best-known test but not foolproof: vein colour also depends on skin thickness.

Test 2: gold or silver

Hold a gold piece of jewellery and then a silver one near your face, in front of a mirror, in daylight.

• If gold lights you up and silver drains you, you lean warm.
• If silver looks better, you lean cool.
• If both look equally good, you're neutral.

Test 3: the sun

• If you tan easily and rarely burn, that points to a warm undertone.
• If you burn easily and struggle to tan, cool is more likely.

Test 4: pure white or off-white

Hold a pure white T-shirt near your face, then an ivory or off-white one.

• If pure white flatters you, you lean cool.
• If off-white looks better, you lean warm.

What to do with the result

Cool undertone

• Lipsticks: blue-reds, cool pinks, mauves, berries and plums.
• Blush: pinks and mauves.
• Eyeshadow: greys, taupes, plums, silver.

Warm undertone

• Lipsticks: corals, orange-reds, terracotta, yellow-based nudes.
• Blush: peach, coral, apricot.
• Eyeshadow: bronze, copper, gold, warm browns.

Neutral undertone You have the most freedom. In-between shades — a brownish rose, a true red — are usually your best bets.

The fastest way: use a photo

If you'd rather not rely on your eye, the colour analysis test analyses a photo of you right on your phone: it samples your cheeks and forehead, corrects the lighting using the white of your eye as a reference, and estimates your undertone, contrast and colour season. Your photo is never uploaded.

For a reliable result:

1. Take the photo in natural light, facing a window.
2. No makeup, no filters.
3. Avoid yellow bulb light and harsh shadows.

Common myths

• "Deep skin is always warm." False — there are very deep cool skins and very fair warm ones.
• "Tanning changes your undertone." No: it changes depth, not undertone.
• "If I get red patches I must be cool." Not necessarily: redness sits on the surface, not in the undertone.

Once you know yours, head to How to choose a lipstick shade for your skin tone to put it into practice.