UndertonaWhat is my undertone?
Seven quick questions to tell cool, warm, neutral and olive undertones apart. Answer in daylight, with a clean face and your natural hair color in mind.
Want it read from a photo instead? Undertona reads your undertone from one selfie and gives you your full color season.
How the undertone test works
Your undertone is the hue under the surface of your skin. It does not change when you tan, which is why it decides which colors, metals and foundations look right on you year round. There are four: cool leans pink or blue, warm leans golden or peachy, neutral sits between the two, and olive adds a green or grey tint.
No single sign settles it. Vein color, metals, white versus cream and how you tan each point one way, and they often disagree. The test weighs all seven answers together, and treats a cluster of olive signs (a green cast, foundations that are never right, an easy deep tan) as olive even when the other answers look warm or neutral.
Getting a clear answer
- Use daylight. Warm indoor bulbs make everyone look warm. Stand near a window, out of direct sun.
- Go bare. Remove makeup and tinted sunscreen, and look at your jaw and neck rather than your cheeks, which can be red.
- Compare, do not stare. Two fabrics or two metals side by side make the difference obvious in a way one alone never does.
- Torn between two? Try the virtual color draping tool with warm and cool colors under your face.
Undertone test FAQ
How do I know if my undertone is cool, warm or neutral?
Check several signs, not one: vein color, which metal suits you, white versus cream near your face, and how you tan. When most point cool, you are cool; most point warm, you are warm; a split usually means neutral. The test above weighs all of them together.
Is the vein test accurate?
On its own, not very. Skin thickness and lighting change how veins look, and many people see a mix of blue and green. It is useful as one sign among several, which is why this test asks about metals, white versus cream and foundation too.
What is an olive undertone?
A green or grey tint that sits alongside warm or neutral tones. People with olive skin often find that pink foundations look too pink and yellow ones look too yellow. It is common across Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Latin American and South Asian skin, though it can appear on anyone.
Is undertone the same as skin tone?
No. Skin tone (or depth) is how light or dark your skin is. Undertone is the hue under the surface. Fair and deep skin can both be cool, warm, neutral or olive. The free skin tone finder on this site reads both from a photo.