Thanks to that gorgeous olive skin, women from the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions have a natural looking tan all year round. Those genes are a real blessing and the last thing you want to do is choose the wrong make-up base to cover up that beautiful sun-kissed complexion. This handy guide will help you determine your skin’s undertones so you can make the most of that radiant olive skin.
There’s a subtle undertone underneath your dominant skin colour and the main key to finding the perfect foundation shade is to determine that undertone. That’s because foundations have slightly different colourings that match specific skin undertones. And what makes foundations work is how well they complement those undertones. Generally, olive skinned people have warm (also called yellow) undertones that come with a green hue. They also tend to have neutral undertones, which are a mix of warm and cool. Your undertones mostly depend on whether you’re in the lighter or darker olive skin spectrum. The lighter your natural skin tone, the cooler your undertones usually are, while darker olive shades have deeper, more golden undertones.
Finding Out Your Undertones
If you don’t know what your skin’s undertones are, a quick way to find out is by looking at the colour of your veins. The general rule is blue veins mean you have cool undertones, green indicate you have warm undertones, and if you can’t tell whether they’re green or blue, you’re neutral. Another easy test is to get two pieces of clothing or two towels, one that is bright white and another that is off-white, before putting any make-up on. If the pure white item complements you more, then your undertones are warm and if the creamy hue suits you better, you have cool undertones. If both look good on you, then you’re neutral. One more test you can perform is seeing if gold or silver jewellery looks better on you. If you find gold jewellery complements you more, then your undertones are on the warmer side, which leads to the conclusion those who preferred silver have cool undertones.
Quick tip: Rub several foundations on your jaw, the one that disappears is the correct shade match.
