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Skin Tones & The Right Kind Of Makeup That Would Suit Each Type

It is always important to choose your makeup products according to your skin tone. If you aren't sure on how to do so, then here is an overview. Check it out.

By Sindhuja Shekhawat

Knowing your skin tone is important. Random shades of foundation or a lipstick in a colour that appeals to you might not necessarily be what your skin likes. To know what goes with your skin best, you need to first be aware of your skin tone.

Different Skin Tones And The Right Shades

Your surface tone is how you look in natural light. It depends on the kind of pigmentation and the undertone of the skin. We usually take just the undertone into consideration, but it is better to look at skin complexion as the combined result of the surface tone and the undertone.

Skin tones can be categorised broadly into the following types, take a look.

How to choose makeup according to skin tone

Porcelain
Also called fair or pale, this skin type is one of the least problematic ones. Few breakouts and slight tendency to get burnt in the sun best characterizes this skin type. People with porcelain skin normally have a cool undertone.

Foundations that are blue based work best with this type of skin. The blue tones bring down the pinkness and bring out the warmth that this skin type requires.

When it come to lipsticks, all types of pink and red shades, barring the ones that are orange based, work well. Pastel eyeshadows and blushes are the best picks, and anything that is white or blue based.

How to choose makeup according to skin tone

Light
This skin type has tad more colour than the pale type. It tends to get freckles easily and has equal chances of having cool or warm undertones.

People with this skin overtone need to find out whether they are a warm undertone or a cool one. Blue-green veins on the wrist mean warm undertone and blue-indigo veins mean cool undertone.

Ivory and light beige shades work best in foundations for this skin type. A warm undertone will require a yellow and peach-based foundations and a cool undertone will require blue or pink-based foundations.

Always remember, warm undertones can take on more colour than cool undertones. Anything red or peach or orange based will work wonders for warm skin, whereas cool skin is limited to blue, pink and white-based products.

Even so, cool tones can pull off some striking hues, which the warm undertones cannot. For example, lip colour of deep wine red shades will always look better on those who are cool toned; not to mention, this type can also pull off a wider range of nude shades.

How to choose makeup according to skin tone

Medium
Medium skin is what we also call a wheatish complexion. It may have ashy or olive undertones, and is predominantly neutral. People with this skin type usually have green veins on the wrist.

This skin type wears most of the shades well, from both the warm and cool spectrum. However, products with a greenish base can make the skin look ashy.

All in all, this is a comparatively versatile skin type. Avoid using bronzers or go light on them, as they can make the skin look ashy.

How to choose makeup according to skin tone

Dark
This skin type has predominantly warm undertones and the cool undertones are overpowered by the warm, dark overtones. It lies on the other end of the spectrum from porcelain skin, which goes well with cool hues.

Dark skin goes well with warm bold colours. Foundations tend to go ashy on dark skins, and it generally requires a little more effort to find the right shade. Do not go any shade lighter, in fact going half a shade darker can also help prevent greyness.

Therefore, this was an overview of certain makeup tips according to skin tone. At the end of the day, it comes down to trying products and deciding what works for you.

Try a variety of shades and then zero in on the best one, and the above guidelines will surely help in shortlisting what to pick.

Story first published: Monday, May 8, 2017, 12:39 [IST]
Read more about: makeup