Can you be a cool skin tone but look better in warmer toned make up? - YouLookFab Forum

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Can you be a cool skin tone but look better in warmer toned make up?

N

I was pretty certain I was a soft summer as all those colours, clothing wise look best on me. I have many of the features of soft summers BUT my hair is golden toned and the foundation shade I just matched myself to is "warm porcelain" the cool toned ones were too orange for me. I also noticed that peachier (maybe?) tones for lipstick looks better than the cool mauves, the cool pink lipsticks don't look good on my face at all.

Can you be a cool tone but look better in warmer make up? Or a cool skin tone with golden toned hair? Could I be neutral? I never can tell what vein colour I have as I think I have all colours...

Dressing

86 replies

Latest reply was from Zaeobi

Anonymous

You’re probably a neutral tone. I wouldn’t over- think it as you sound like you know what colours work for you .

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Yes to all these questions.

Yes to what Lisa P said about being a neutral tone.

For example, I wear warm colours best. I'm a "Warm Spring", to use old colour analysis terminology. But I wear cool toned blue mascara and tightline. I also wear cool toned and light pinks on my lips. I never choose warm earth toned lippie.

N

This is my best make up look. Its my wedding day there and I didnt have a trial or anything just turned up and expected my make up to be awful because suspected the ladies there wouldn't be used to putting make up on European skin but i've never looked better. The lipstick they blended up and i'd love to find one that colour but I don't even know where to begin...

Also, the kimono colour doesn't look too bad on me which is weird as red isnt normally my colour at all. There was other red tones and the ones with more blue in them didn't look as good, so I was really rather shocked...

Perhaps it has something to do with hair colour as well as skin colour.

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Echo

Veteran

You may well be a neutral, although from my experience, warm-toned makeup tend to run yellow on anyone who doesn't have warm skin. Then again, all brands run different, too. As for clothing colors, there are variations of every color that run warm or cool, so every person can wear every color; it is just a matter of finding the right shade. As lipstick perfectly demonstrates, there is no universal "perfect red" because what looks amazing and true red on one person can look orangey and clownish on the next. Red as a color isn't the problem, just the undertones in it.

Either way, as long as your makeup matches your skin and you feel wonderful and confident in the colors you wear, there are no rules you need to follow. I will wear almost any color (to the extent I wear color at all) except pale blue, as it makes me look ill. I can't really identify what it does to my skin, but it sucks all the life out of my face.

And your wedding photo is GORGEOUS! You are beautiful, and your makeup was absolutely perfect.

nuancedream

Veteran

Yes, you can have a neutral undertone, which is balanced between blue and yellow. Undertone and skin tone are frequently confused but the undertone is the color that lies beneath the skin. Your skin tone can change, but your undertone never does. BTW, you were a stunning bride!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I think one can be fairly neutral, I can never tell if the veins on the underside of my wrist are blue or green either!
I did think I was Spring in the old 4-season system but can wear a wider range especially as I have aged and perhaps cooled a little.
And your wedding day photo is stunning! Please forgive me for going slightly off topic, I am interested in your story as my daughter has married a Vietnamese man ( wedding in Vietnam November 2019) and they also wear red for weddings, she had her makeup and hair done there.

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Jenn

(website)

Veteran

What Lisa P said. I finally decided I was a neutral tone when all the advice about determining your tone was just frustrating and didn't make sense. I don't know from experience, but I suspect that if you're warm or cool, it's quickly obvious and if you're a neutral, everything just seems opaque and confusing. They should put that in the articles.

N

Jenni NZ, gorgeous photos of your daughter, she looks like you!

Traditionally in Japan I think there are two kind of looks, the red with black wig or the white with like a hood, but I didn't think all white with the hood would look good on me so went for red but without the wig. Most of of the kimonos were really brightly coloured. I actually think maybe the colour doesn't suit me as well as say a burgundy would as its too bright and i do better in muted but it wasn't too bad. Maybe the colour colours in the pattern made it okay.

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N

Echo, the make up I tried ran too orange on the cool and too yellow on the warm. Its meant to be worn really sheer which is probably why I got a match as you blend it out a lot but i've always found it hard to get a match.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I think colors are trickier than simple categories. You look stunning on your wedding day so whatever that was worked.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Oh your wedding kimono looked wonderful! Really good with the flowers in the hair too.

rachylou

Veteran

Beautiful!

Thinking about colour confuses me deeply... and I don’t know what soft summer means... but I’m thinking about your husband’s trench coat v your wedding gown here... in comparison, I feel you look a little wan in the coat... and it occurs to me your gown is a *clearer* colour than the trench...

I think of warm as having a yellow undertone and cool a blue... but then there’s how much grey in a colour you can take...

N

I really don't know why the wedding kimono works, I normally stick to muted cool colours, navy, black, grey and burgundy but I think teal also works. Actually thinking about them, they aren't so muted are they? They are pretty deep colours...

Soft summers aren't really meant to be able to wear black and I think I look good in black...

But then some of the muted cool colours look okay on me too...

I'm so confused by the colour stuff too

I thought I was soft summer because I'd say my hair and skin and eyes aren't very clear, they sort of blend into one another in colour.

Me in different colours. I think the bright ones are not good. My fave is the burgundy purple.

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Bijou

Veteran

N - your wedding pictures are stunning as was your wedding makeup which suited you perfectly. Of the colours, I love the teal, blues and amethyst, but with the candy pink and pale grey being my least favourite colours on you.

N

I agree Bijou, that's exactly my thoughts. Don't know what i was thinking with that pink dress I was young, so i'll blame that...I also rather prefer darker colours that aren't too bright, so dressing for spring and summer is always hard for me. I prefer more clothes than less as well, I just prefer autumn and winter overall as I hate the heat too. Spring I can get away with my dark colours as it hasn't got too hot yet but summer gosh. Also i'm def a rectangle with a strong shoulder line so wearing more fitted clothes suits me better than loose boxy ones.

If I lived in the UK I think I could get away with the same clothes year round. Sadly not the case here...i'm dreading it already

Also what is worrying me the most is whether i'd suit cream coloured clothes...I don't think I would, in fact most light colours aren't the best on me...I feel...I wonder if white is okay...

Star

Veteran

Lovely wedding pics! I am cool toned but can wear some warm tones. I really look terrible in cream or light beige/oatmeal. Optic white suits me.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Idk anything about makeup, use very little myself, but you looked great on your wedding day. I hear you that you were wearing red, but there are a bunch of other colors in the kimono too.

Anonymous

Wow to the wedding day pic! Just by far the most harmonious on you of all the looks. It's hard to tell because your haircolor was different but the darks seem a bit too dark, the light neutrals too muted, but the pink too bright. I think medium softer teal, rose, mid tone cooler greens, medium charcoal would be worth a try.

The best site I've found about color analysis is 12 Blueprints. I wish she'd offer her whole book as an ebook, but it's worth buying the chapters that are most relevant. Inside out style has a lot too about color and contrast, but she's gone to mostly video these days, so check the older posts. Once you have it nailed down, Kettlewell sells clothes by season, so we still have options even when our colors aren't trending.

Last thing- light colors seem to be the hardest, at least for me (I'm dark autumn). They seem to shift more in different light. Fabric, texture, and sheen can make a big difference.

N

Thank you suntiger! I used to be pretty light blonde as a child and then when it darkened moved on to getting highlights. After moving to Japan I stopped colouring my hair as most salons here aren't experienced with European hair. They use very strong bleach and would probably make my hair disintegrate. Anyway, the darker colour is my real colour all the way through. I do prefer being blonde but I'm going to embrace my natural colour

rachylou

Veteran

That’s interesting about salons in Japan. I have the pitch black Asian hair... until the invention of Olaplex, no one here in the US wanted ever to try and dye my hair, because you of course have to bleach it first. And bleach it a lot. I’ve never taken my hair to white because I’m paranoid about that, but I’ve learned that to get it there, it would take several sessions. More bleach wouldn’t do it. It would take repeated bleach.

But I digress. I like you best in those jewel tones, although that mauve-y one in 5 also appeals. My least faves are the two greys. The pink is not so bad to me... it’s just a lot of dress. You sorta seem like a winter to me and even though your hair is quite red and not at all black, I still find myself thinking ‘Snow White’ (the icon of the Winter Colour Season ).

N

What about in this photo Rachylou as this is in natural light. In the sunlight I can look warmer coloured I think. The others are in front of a mirror with a light so it washes me out a bit. I think here maybe I don't look as contrasted. I always thought I had very little contrast between my features. I suppose its all relative isnt it? leaves a lot open to interpretation. I studied science at university, we usually only take one subject, but i suppose its like a major in the US. Mine was human genetics so i'm not arty at all haha. I like things with clear rules and less interpretation haha

Also about the hair, yes Japanese people would have to come in for repeated bleaching too but their hair can handle the stronger bleach which only needs to be on for around 10-20 mins. I'm used to having a rather weak one on for about an hour, when I got my hair done in the UK.

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rachylou

Veteran

Ok. Well, lol! Yes, that is much lower contrast. Another problem with colour... the lighting, the colours around you, everything affects the appearance of everything else.

... and 10-20 minutes! What the heck are they using?! Lol, I book an appointment and it’s for all day! My stylist, my dog and I take a break for lunch! I wander up the street in foils... Well, I don’t know anything about hair either, but 10 minutes is impossible for me to imagine...

cat2

Veteran

The posts on The Concept Wardrobe finally helped me sort out my colors. There are a lot more pictures of actual eyes, hair, and skin tone and I was able to find my own without this peering like an oracle at your veins stuff.

LaPed

Veteran

Hah, I identify completely with what Jenn wrote! I think there are people at the ends of the spectrum who are quite clearly warm-toned or cool-toned, and then there's everybody else somewhere in the middle and we just have to muddle along and play around to figure out what works.

On paper, I sound like a cool-toned person (dark hair, blue eyes, somewhat fair skin), but my least favourite photos are the ones where I'm wearing jewel tones like cobalt and emerald. Make-up always looked pretty "meh" until I tried a warm shade. It looks so yellow in the bottle but disappears on my skin, while cool and neutral shades seem to sit on top of my skin and look like chalk. I definitely can't wear cool-toned red lipsticks; they just look pink on me. Brick reds with a fair amount of brown in them read more like a real red.

It sounds like you already have a pretty good handle on what colours you like, but I'll add that I'm really struck by the soft mauve colour in photo 5 of 8 (the one where you're wearing rectangular glasses); it looks very natural on you and seems to bring your features into focus. Also, your natural hair colour is beautiful!

Anonymous

Color is so tricky! In the last pic you added, in natural light with your natural hair, you look like a Soft Autumn to me: https://theconceptwardrobe.com.....sive-guide

That could make sense with your makeup question - “The skin is either neutral, olive, or neutral-warm” for Soft Autumn. It could also be easily confused with Soft Summer. But does it resonate with you at all? I find that we all have our color preferences, and while flattery can be important it’s not the only motivation for wearing certain colors.

slim cat

Veteran

Lots of beautiful pictures! I like navy, teal and mauve on you - definitely into the warmer colors with at least medium contrast. Soft beige or maybe oatmeal as the light neutral colors could work out for you.
I'm pale with cool, ashy undertones - light blue and aqua colors are my best friends .
BTW - highlights bleaching takes 9 min on my hair - usually go for semi-permanent colors ( less damaging and easier to handle when it washes out ).

Helena

Veteran

Colour analysis is a rabbit hole that I am very familiar with! I agree with the advice you've gotten above.

I did have a colour person explain to me that makeup is it's own thing, because the way to colours layer over our personal colouring makes such a difference. For example, I am cool-toned, but because my skin can be a bit almost yellow, really 'cool' (i.e. pink) foundations look wrong and neutral-warm ones look more natural. On the other hand, my lips are really cool, so if I wear a really cool lip colour the effect is rather un-natural, whereas if I choose a neutral, it still skews cool when layered onto my natural lip, so looks much better.

FWIW, you look rather soft to me, and perhaps can wear both cool and warm colours if they are soft?

shiny

Veteran

I'm definitely cool-toned (blue undertones) and a soft summer as well, but yes I can wear neutral based foundation, but can't wear warm-toned foundation at all. For the longest time, I wore L'Oreal True Match N2 and that was better than C2. I found the N2 helped neutralize the redness in my cheeks (rosacea). Then once the rosacea cleared up, I've since moved on to L'Oreal Infallible 415- Rose Ivory. It is absolute perfection for me as far as a color match goes. As for lipstick, I can only pull off shades with blue undertones, so mauves are awesome and fuchsia is my pink!

Meanwhile, my friend *appears* to have similar coloring to me (sometimes people think we're related) but she once stayed overnight and forgot her foundation so borrowed my C2. It looked like she'd smeared Calamine lotion all over her face!! She wears N2 instead. Turns out she is a Spring, not a Summer. Her natural hair color when it's not highlighted is very much like your own. And I've got to say that the green top you're wearing in pic 2 is her absolute favorite color and looks glorious on her, as it does on you! If you can wear peach that's another hint you may be a Spring.

My mom is also a Spring and your skin reminds me of hers. Also the top in pic 5 is one of her very best colors, but that color washes me out.

But then again I think you look great in the teal and blue tops so this is a tough call.

Despite being a summer, when I get highlights, my stylist uses a neutral color as anything too ashy looks absolutely horrible (as does anything too warm/golden). I am a natural blonde (towhead as a kid--darker blonde in adulthood). I also have lots of red in my hair (or did, before I started gaining some white hairs).

Not sure if that helps at all, just commiserating!

shiny

Veteran

Just saw someone suggested you might be an autumn: my sister is an autumn! She can pull off all the rich autumn colors beautifully. Her skin has a deep olive undertone, and she has deep auburn hair. We don't look all that related -- totally different coloring.

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