Are You Cool.....Or Warm?

A key element of deciding what shades of makeup work best on you is to figure out if you are a cool or warm skin tone. You may have heard or read these terms before, but do you know which skin tone you are? Do you know how to find out? Once you determine if you are a cool or warm tone, then you can select hues of colors that will flatter you.

Skin shades certainly come in a variety of colors, but just about all of us fall into one of these categories: dark, olive, yellow (Asian or Latin), rosy, tan or fair. A simple way to determine your shade is by holding a piece of white paper next to your face and looking in the mirror. What is the main color you see?

Another simple way to do this is to try on a bright white shirt, and then try on an off-white or cream colored shirt. Which one looks better on you? If you look better in the bright white top, you have a "cool" skin tone. If the cream top looks more flattering, then you have a "warm" skin tone. Another way you can determine your skin tone is by whether you look better in silver or gold jewelry. Silver is best on a cool skin tone, while gold sparkles best on the warm tone skin.

Now that you know which skin tone category you fall into, you can select color shades that flatter your own complexion! In future articles we will talk about what colors work best on each skin tone.

If you have a skin tone similar to the model in the photograph, then you are a warm tone. Notice the shades of lipstick and eye shadow selected and how complimentary they are with her coloring.