Have you ever wandered up and down the cosmetic aisle or searched endlessly online stores looking for your next product, but get stuck asking yourself, “How do I determine my skin tone?” Determining your skin tone can be a daunting task and buying the right shades to beautify your complexion is sometimes overwhelming.
The wrong foundation, concealer, bronzer or blush can turn you into an orange clown or uncanny porcelain doll if you aren’t careful. Your makeup needs to blend seamlessly with your natural skin tone at the jawline to avoid looking unnatural or ‘caked’, and determining your skin tone is paramount for accomplishing this task. Here is a comprehensive guide on how you can (correctly!) discover your skin tone—and prevent those dreaded makeup disasters.
The “tone” of your skin is the genetically endowed amount of melanin in your epidermis (the outermost layer of skin). Melanin—a complex polymer produced by cells called melanocytes—refers to a group of naturally-occurring dark brown or black pigments present in human skin (and animals, too!).
When the skin is exposed to damaging ultraviolet light from the sun, melanocytes kick into overdrive as a natural defense mechanism, producing an abundant amount of melanin spread across the epidermis is absorb the sun’s harmful rays. For that reason, determining your skin tone will vary depending on how much time you spend in unprotected sun exposure, but the skin tone you were born with is based on your genetic makeup. Our ancestors adapted to their environment; those in sunnier regions and climates evolved to naturally produce more melanin for sun protection, and therefore had darker skin tones. It’s hard to group skin tones into categories, since each of us has uniquely varying hues, but generally speaking there are three different categories you can use to determine your skin tone:
If you have ever shopped for makeup products, you’ve probably heard the terms “cool”, “warm”, and “neutral” describing different shades of skin tone. These terms refer to the skin’s “undertone,” or the subtle, muted color beneath your skin’s surface. Think of it as a shadow that’s always there; while your determined skin tone may change, the undertone remains the same. Learning how to determine skin tone to find the right cosmetic relies largely on matching your unique undertone. Let’s break down the different undertones:
The surface color of your skin tone, or the first thing you see when you look in the mirror, may appear ruddy, but your undertone could be golden or yellow. Therefore, when determining your skin tone for foundation, concealer or any other type of cosmetic, pay equal importance to your undertone.
Before teaching you how to determine your skin tone for those who are still unsure, it’s worth noting that skin tone and complexion are not one in the same; tone refers to the color of your skin while your complexion encompasses your overall appearance. Think of rosy, red cheeks or dark under-eye circles; “complexion” includes these colors in addition to your natural skin tone. It also refers to texture, such as dry versus oily.
Pick products suited to your complexion as well as tone, i.e. those with excessive shine should seek mattifying products, or those with uneven tone should find color correctors, and so forth.
Before going up and down that cosmetic aisle to find the perfect product, check out these handful of ways to determine skin tone and nail your perfect match:
Now that you know how to determine your skin tone, it’s time to start finding the right cosmetics to beautify your complexion. If you can determine the skin tone that goes with the corresponding color, perfect makeup application will be a breeze.
By using this guide and learning how to determine your skin tone, you’re well on your way to finding the perfect color cosmetic for your complexion. Browse our catalog and pick the shade that suits you best.
Post Sourced From Colorscience.com
