Find Your Skin Undertone
Five at-home tests to identify warm, cool or neutral undertones in your skin — with a Perth consultant's tips on what to trust.
Skin undertone is one of those things most beauty brands assume you already know. You don't have to. Here are five tests, ranked by reliability.
Test 1 — Jewellery comparison (most reliable)
Hold a gold and a silver chain against your collarbone, look in daylight. The metal that 'belongs' is your undertone — gold for warm, silver for cool, both for neutral.
Test 2 — White vs cream
Drape a pure white shirt under your face, then cream. Whichever brightens you is your undertone direction.
Test 3 — Vein colour (least reliable)
Greenish = warm; bluish = cool; both = neutral. Many people see both — that just means you're neutral, not that the test failed.
Test 4 — Sun reaction
Tan-easily, rarely-burn types skew warm. Burn-first types skew cool. Skin that goes pink before brown skews cool too.
Test 5 — Existing flattering clothes
Pull out five tops that always get compliments. If they're mostly warm-toned, you're warm. If cool, cool. If mixed, you're likely neutral — or you need a proper consultation.
Frequently asked questions
What if all five tests give different answers?
You're almost certainly neutral — book a draping session for accuracy.
Does undertone change with tanning?
Surface tone changes, undertone doesn't. A tanned cool-toned person is still cool.
Ready to discover your palette?
Book your personal colour analysis or makeup session with Sue in Currambine or across the Perth metro area.