What Is Skin Tone?

What Is Skin Tone?

Credit: Pinterest

We all have different skin tones, it's part of what makes us who we are. But what exactly is skin tone and how does it affect your style?  Skin tone is an important foundation element in personal color and style. Why is that? Because your natural color palette, best colors that nature created for you, comes out from 3 major elements:your eyes, skin and hair. Because skin is the biggest organ in our body, this makes it one of the most important ingredient in color identification. It probably sounds a bit scientific, but don't you worry. In few simple steps, I will show you how to determine your skin tone and find whether you are Cool or Warm.

The human skin tone can range from almost black all the way through almost white and every hue in between. This is caused by the amount melanin in our skin and our individual melanin levels are pre-determined  by our genes. There are a number of variables that effect our genes, therefore effecting our melanin levels such as race. Although, there are also external factors that change our tones such as age and time in the sun. All of these factors determine how you find your skin tone so as to wear the perfect matching make up products or required colours for clothing. 

Firstly, you need to know if you have a cool or warm skin tone. Simply check the colour of your veins: If they look to be more of a blue colour you have cool undertones, if they look more green you have warm undertones. 

Now that you know that you skin is Cool or Warm, you can determine what season you are.  There are 4 seasons: Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. If you have acool skin tone you will either be Summer or Winter. If you have a warm skin tone you will fit into either the Autumn or Spring category. Now let's delve even deeper into Seasons.

Summer is Cool. If you are a summer tone, you should wear lilacs, soft purples, pale blues and should choose pastels and soft neutrals with rose undertones. Hair often contains blue, blue-violet, silver and ash-like undertones. Eyes are usually seen to be light blue, gray-green, blue green,black or stark brown. Generally, cool tones go better with the blue half of the spectrum. Their metal colours are silver and white gold.

Winter is Cool. Winters have blue, red or pink undertones. Their skin colour can range from pale pink to white, be olive or be an extreme dark brown/black. Best metals for winters are silver or platinum.

Spring is Warm. Springs usually have a golden undertone and seem to have a peach or cream hue. Spring people generally have strawberry blonde hair, dirty blonde hair, red hair, freckles, rosy cheeks, and green, aqua or blue eyes. Springs should wear clothes that have yellow undertones. Colours like peach, coral and pastel orange-pinks look best on Springs.

Autumn is Warm. Autumn types have golden, warm or yellow undertones and should wear colours such coffee, caramel, beige and some golden toned reds. Autumns tend to have hair with hints of orange, yellow or gold. Their eye colours are generally dark brown, hazel or deep green. For Autumns, the best metals are gold, bronze or copper.

Once you know what Season are you, it goes even deeper. Each Season divided by 3 category. I made a graph for you to visually see the 12 Color Analysis System.

Understanding what skin tones are and how yours influences you specifically, it will help you in the long run with shopping for clothes that are best suited to and to find the closest match for beauty products. It will have an obviously positive effect on the way you look and, in turn, the way that you feel thus increasing your confidence!

Do you know your skin tone? Did you ever tried to find out or maybe hear about it from someone? If you have any difficulties or need some confirmation, I am here to help!

Check out E-Color Analysis and discover your best colors!