What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone?

Finding colours that suit you can be a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. DESIblitz presents 10 tips on how to dress for your skin tone.

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone - f

There’s a lot of room to play around with colours.

Whilst fashion has no rules, many individuals struggle to find out what clothing colours are best suited for them and may need some guidelines.

Fashion experts and stylists have been using certain tricks and methods for years to create showstopper looks and dress individuals according to what suits their skin tone.

Although that’s not to say that wearing certain colours are only dependent on a person’s skin tone as fashion can be universal.

DESIblitz presents ten top tips to keep in mind when dressing for your skin tone and methods you can use to find your skin undertone.

Knowing your Undertone

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 1Skin undertones refer to the underlying tone of your skin that be categorised into three different groups – warm, cool, and neutral.

By identifying your skin undertone, you can then identify which of the skin tone groups you fit into which is a very useful tool in determining what colour clothing bests suit you.

A tip for determining your undertone is the vein test where you can examine the colour of veins by looking at the underside of your wrist.

Another way of determining your undertone is by trying on different items of clothing to see which clothes make your complexion appear healthier or brighter.

Cool Undertones

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 2Cool undertones are often present in individuals who appear to have purple or blue coloured veins under the skin as seen on their wrists and their skin tone is usually pale.

If the base tone of your actual skin colour is often pink, red, or blue then it is also likely that you have cool undertones.

This means clothing in colours deep purple, bright green, pale and dark blues, and pinks tend to suit this skin undertone more.

In terms of accessories, silver and rose-gold jewellery tends to look great on cool undertones as yellow gold jewellery can often give the appearance of looking washed out.

Warm Undertones

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 3Those with green or yellowish-toned veins under their skin tend to have a warm undertone to their skin.

Colours like mustard, orange, and gold suit individuals with warm undertones as well as natural, earthy-toned colours like browns, rich greens, and deep reds.

These colours are more suitable as they often have yellow-based undertones which means they are more likely to bring out the natural warm undertone in the skin as opposed to washing it out.

This also means gold jewellery looks great on those with warm undertones as it does not diminish or make the skin tone look dull like silver jewellery will.

Neutral Undertones

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 4If you are unsure of the colour of the veins and it appears you may have a mixture of green and blue or purple, then you may have neutral undertones.

Neutral undertones, as hinted by the name, sit somewhere in between warm and cool undertones meaning there are a variety of colours that will suit this skin tone.

Any colour of clothing tends to look great on individuals with neutral undertones and that even extends to jewellery as well.

There’s a lot of room to play around with colours with this undertone as colours don’t tend to wash out the skin tone.

The White Paper Test

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 10If the vein test doesn’t work out for you and you still can’t determine your skin undertone, then try the white paper test.

This tip includes a piece of white paper that is held up against your neck and chest area in a well-lit area in front of a mirror, which can determine whether you’re cool, warm-toned or neutral through the colour reflected on the paper.

If the paper colour appears yellow, golden, or peachy, then you have a warm undertone whereas, with a cool undertone, the paper will reflect blue, pink or red tints and neutral may have a mixture of both.

However, the white paper test is just one method for determining your undertone and may not be entirely accurate, so it is always best to test these results against a jewellery or vein test.

Coordinate your Wardrobe

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 5Once you have found a set of colours that suit your skin tone, why not coordinate your wardrobe to include them and create outfits using pairings of these colours?

Cleanse your wardrobe of the clothes that aren’t in your set of colours and buy more clothes that are.

Wearing coordinated outfits using these colours such as shoes that match the colour of your top is also a sure-fire way of creating a cohesive look in colours that flatter you.

Coordination can be the key to an effortless yet stylish outfit.

Avoid Overpowering Contrasts

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 6Though fashion is all about expression, we often get overexcited when it comes to colour resulting in bold colours overpowering and clashing with each other.

Using the colour wheel can be an effective tool in finding colours that pair well together and do not clash.

For example, contrasting colour pairings on the wheel include blues and oranges, or purple and yellow, which make for a harmonious and balanced blend of colours.

Colours opposite your skin tone on the colour wheel also often work well against your skin tone and probably complement it.

Celebrity Match

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 7If you don’t know how a certain colour or style of clothing will look on you or against your skin tone, why not find a celebrity match to help visualise it?

Find a celebrity that may have the same or similar skin tone as you and take a look at their outfits to see what style and colours of clothing they mostly wear.

For instance, if you have cool undertones look at some of the clothes Cara Delevingne and Anne Hathaway wear, whereas for warm undertones, take inspiration from celebs like Beyoncé and Priyanka Chopra.

These are just a few examples of celebrities with great style that you could take inspiration from and if you’re still struggling go on Instagram and Pinterest and see if that fuels your fashion senses.

Find your Colour Shade Palette

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone?When it comes to finding the best colours to suit you, it is all about finding the right shade of colours.

For instance, you may find on the colour wheel that green sits opposite your skin shade and is perfect for your skin tone, however, it’s important to determine exactly what shade green.

This is where a colour palette comes in handy as you can compile a collection of your favourite colours including specific shades of colour and the ones that best suit you to apply to your entire wardrobe.

Having a set colour palette with a variety of different colours to choose from may even make shopping trips easier as you can quickly identify which clothes are for you with a set shade or colour in mind.

Experiment with Colour

What Colours Should I Wear Based on my Skin Tone? - 9Incorporating different colours into your wardrobe may seem like a daunting task however the results can be rewarding.

Whilst darker colours have historically been seen as slimming, they can often drain you and wash you out, so don’t be afraid to incorporate brighter colours into your wardrobe.

Studies have even found that brighter colours boost your mood, energy, and happiness levels!

So, don’t be afraid to experiment with different colours and patterns when it comes to clothes.

Dressing to suit your skin tone includes finding colours, patterns, and clothing combinations that don’t diminish your tone but enhance its natural glow.

However, remember that these tips are simply guidelines to finding out what suits you if you are struggling, as colours are universal and can be worn by anyone regardless.

So, if you have a favourite colour then don’t be afraid to wear it, but if you’re looking for tips on where to start remixing your wardrobe to suit your skin tone, then try these out.

Knowing what colour works for you can be incredibly important and can completely transform your style!

Tiyanna is an English Language and Literature student with a passion for travel and literature. Her motto is ‘My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive;’ by Maya Angelou.




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