ask me anything: skin tone & makeup

Recently, a friend (and mama of 2 little nugget boys :D) asked me to share my knowledge on skin tones and which colors work best when it comes to makeup. Since I'm not an expert on these things, I did a little research and found some helpful tips-

source-target.com

For the most part, people of Asian descent will have a warmer skin tone and Caucasians (Anglo) tend to have cool tones. By looking at your veins (ick) you can easily see if you're cool tone (purple/blue), neutral (both purple/blue & green), or warm (green). If you have tanned, greenish skin (commonly known as olive tone), you are most likely neutral to warm. For those of African/Black descent, unless you're skin is extremely dark, you're most likely also neutral to warm.

source-andrewnewland.com

Now that you've determined if you're cool, neutral, or warm, let's talk about complementary colors. Looking at the chart above, you can see which colors complement each other. Since most people who read this blog are probably warm/neutral toned Asians lol, let's take a look at the greens and yellows. The arrows point to the opposite side of the spectrum which are reds, pinks, blues and violets. I'm guessing many of you wear these colors in your wardrobe, right? =] 

Okay, so now that you know what color your veins are and what color dress you should buy next, let's talk makeup! I find this to be the trickiest part because sometimes, a warm orangey red lip looks great on both cool and warm toned gals! So what's the deal? Are there rules to what makeup colors I can and can't use? My answer is- NO lol. In all honesty, you really need to trial and error to see what works for YOU no matter what color/tone your skin is. Because there are so many different shades of skin (ivory, pale golden, tan golden, pinky white, ebony black, etc), there is no right or wrong when it comes to makeup, in my opinion! BUT since this seems like a cop out answer, I'll list a couple tips that have worked for me-

1. If you have brown eyes, a lot of different eyeshadow colors will work on you since brown is a natural color. However, I'm pretty sure the bold, bright eyeshadow trend died in the 80's so unless that's your thing, stick to the basics- if you're pale/light with brown eyes, try rosey pinks, champagnes, and taupes (greyish browns). If you're medium to tan with brown eyes, you can pull off a bit more color such as a dark purple or teal eyeliner but for the most part, bronzes/golds and warm browns will enhance your skin tone and eyes.

source-pixshark

source-makeupforlife

2. For blush, a simple trick to remember is- don't go darker than your natural flushed cheek color. In other words, lighter skinned gals probably shouldn't go for a deep berry blush (unless it's a sheer formula) and darker gals will find that a light peach blush won't even show up! Same goes for bronzer- don't buy a bronzer that is significantly darker than your natural skin (unless you're going for a strong contour in which case, always go for a cool/grey toned bronzer).

source-makeup.com

3. Lastly, lips. Like I mentioned earlier, this can be tricky because a lot of colors look nice on many different skin tones. I've seen super pale girls pull off a deep berry lip and tan girls rocking a nude lip. Just like blush, I would suggest not going too light or dark in comparison to your natural lip color (for daily makeup). A fool proof tip: find a shade that is slightly brighter and darker than your natural lip color. When it comes to red or bold lips, the chart below shows a couple examples of cool and warm reds. I personally think both cool and warm reds look great on anybody, it's more a matter of preference. Keep in mind though that cool reds and pinks will make your teeth look whiter while warm toned colors (like orangey reds and nudes) bring warmth to your face but also your teeth (which will cause them to look more yellow than usual).

source-bellabox

Even though I didn't really answer my friend's question (sorry, Di! haha), I hope this post was somewhat helpful! Now go buy a purple dress and a red lipstick (but don't wear it together...unless you want to, THERE ARE NO RULES!!!) ;]

<3yaeinn

(Ecc3:11)