Right on hue

Do you know the colours that look best on you? Here’s how to choose makeup for your skin tone.

Wearing certain colours can make or break your makeup. The right ones will flatter and energise your appearance; the wrong ones can make you look sallow and tired.

When it comes to choosing new makeup, matching shades to suit your skin tone can be a tricky business. Broadly speaking, cool-toned people have pink, red or bluish undertones and warm-toned people have yellow, peachy or golden undertones. Whether your skin is light, dark or anything in between, taking note of your skin’s “temperature” can help you choose the most flattering makeup for your face.

Are you warm or cool? Hold a white piece of paper to your face in front of a mirror. If your skin looks yellowish or greenish then you likely have a warm skin tone. If your skin looks pink, rosy or blue, you have a cool skin tone. If your skin looks grey or ashen, you are a neutral skin tone.

Still in doubt? Check your veins! The veins on the inside of your wrist are typically the giveaway to what skin tone you are. If they look blue or purple, you’re more likely to have cool undertones. If the veins look green, you have warm-toned skin. Neutral tones will be somewhere in the middle.

How to choose makeup to match your skin tone

If you have warm undertones, opt for hues with a yellow undertone, including brown, tan, green, teal, gold, burnt- orange and warm red. If you suit cooler colours, stock up on pinks, purples, lilacs, grey, burgundy, blacks and blues. When it comes to metallics, warm-coloured skin generally suits golds and cooler tones suit silver.

A good combination for warm skins is foundation with a yellow base and cheeks/lips in bronze, coral or peach. Cool skin benefits from a pink-based foundation and cheeks/lips look best in pinks, plums and cool reds.

Base

Cool tone: You look best with foundations that have a hint of pink. Cool foundation shades are often labelled porcelain, rose and sable.

Warm tone: Yellow-based (subtle, of course) foundations work best as they blend into the undertones of your skin, making the final result look flawless. Warm foundation shades are often labelled beige, golden and tan.

Neutral tone: Choose neutral-toned foundation but if you have an olive complexion you may want to look for bases with a hint of gold to warm up their skin and counter any greenish undertone. Neutral foundation shades are often labelled ivory, buff, nude and linen.

Cheeks

Cool tone: Berry-, mauve- or pink-based colours will work best to brighten your complexion.

Warm tone: An orange or red-based blush will give you a healthy looking flush of colour. Think peaches and bronzes.

Neutral tone: Light peach and soft berry shades are universally flattering.

Lips

Cool tone: Lipsticks with blue undertones generally suit you better. Light pinks, red lipstick with a blue base and classic beiges should be your go-to colour. A bonus of wearing blue-based reds is that they make teeth appear instantly whiter.

Warm tone: Warmer shades of lipstick with yellow and orange undertones are better suited for warm skin tones. Caramel, cappuccino, orange-based reds and browns with hints of gold and bronze will flatter your complexion.

Neutral tone: Feel free to wear a lip of any colour depending on your mood, clothing or time of year – all colours will look good on you.

Eyes

Blue eyes: Earthy colours like golden brown, bronze, gold and apricot really enhance blue eyes.

Green eyes: Purple, mauve, plum and pink all tend to make green eyes pop.

Brown eyes: Deep shades generally highlight darker eyes. Opt for navy blue, brown, deep plum and dark greys.

Hazel eyes: You lucky ones get to choose almost any colour you like. All shades help to bring out various colour flecks in your pupils. Experiment and see which colours you like best.