how do you work out whether you're cool toned or warm toned?

[manandbeast]

Ok riddle me this:
Auburn / chestnut hair
Pale blue / green eyes
Yellow undertone to skin - but pale
Burn easily but can tan eventually
Blue and green veins on inside of wrist
Have rosacea so redness in face and flushing

Am 35 and really should have figured this out by now.

Want to buy a bright lipstick but don't know whether to buy one for a cool or warm toned person...

Any ideas?!?

[Floisme]

Thanks for replying, mayum - yes I can see it must save time and money.

I guess I quite enjoy the whole thing of trying out different colours and seeing what works or doesn't. So I never think of it as a faff, even when I make a mistake.

[clarabellabunting]

I always struggle to decide if I'm warm or cool but veer towards cool. But as to whether I'm winter, Autumn, etc. I can't seem to figure it out.

Pictures of my face and wrist. Any help would be much appreciated!

[HopefulAnxiety]

It's pretty difficult to go by face alone, let alone wrist alone! I wouldn't make a call by wrist. scatter do you mean a yellow-based foundation when you say 'ivory'? Is it the nearest match or is your skin yellow-based?

clara your lips look cooler-toned to me. But really draping/knowing what colours look better on you is the best way to tell. An Autumn and a Winter can look very similar in terms of colouring, until you drape them.

Floisme some people are quite 'borderline' in terms of seasons and can find it harder to work out what suits them, or why they look good in eg navy but not black. Also I find that colours vary from shop to shop so it can be helpful to know what specific shades suit you, eg red is not the same everywhere.

[Floisme]

HopefulAnxiety I completely agree about colours varying - in fact that's kind of what I'm trying to say. I look ok in some shades of navy but terrible in others and for me, charts and swatches and talk of seasons overcomplicate matters. I find it much easier to just try on and look in the mirror!

I'm not knocking colour analysis and if I couldn't tell what suited me, I'd have it done like a shot. But I don't think it solves everything.

[HopefulAnxiety]

If it helps, I don't think colour analysts (and I'm not one) would suggest that it does solve everything! It is ultimately a guide and they can't reproduce all shades ever. I do find it helpful in terms of understanding undertones, but there's still colours that I find tricky to wear even though I 'should' be able to wear them (I find all purples and burgundies make me look a bit ill even if cool-toned).

[scatterthenuns]

Hi HopefulAnxiety.

I don't know if my foundation is yellow-based or not. It matches my skin tone perfectly though. It is this one in ivory:

www.maybelline.co.uk/makeup/face/foundation/superstay-better-skin-foundation.aspx?origin=ProductCategorypage

[scatterthenuns]

This colour.

[HopefulAnxiety]

That looks quite pink to me. Maybe a Summer? Hopefully will be a better guesser though! But like I said, it's usually hard to tell for certain without draping or knowing what colours you suit. What colours do you think look best on you, do people compliment you on, make your face light up? I think distinguishing between colours you like but wear you, and colours you wear well, really helps.

[scatterthenuns]

I generally wear black!

Currently in a navy dress which looks fantastic. Tend to stick to the basics - black, white, grey, tan, navy. But do also wear purple well, and have an orange-red dress that I look fantastic in.

I'd avoid colours like pink blush/that pale orange colour.

Wear gold and silver jewellery in equal measure.

[HopefulAnxiety]

I'm thinking perhaps a Blue Spring or similar Winter/Spring border season. But Hopefully is better-placed to say.

[scatterthenuns]

Yeah I think you're probably not wrong. Fingers crossed she'll turn up shortly.

I really would like to wear lipstick, but never in my 30 years on this earth have I found a colour that works on me!

[HopefulAnxiety]

If you can wear black, white, navy - try a neutral red? Like a proper pillar-box red with no cool or warm undertones. I think Rimmel Alarm is neutral. If you can wear orange-red then Maybelline colour sensational lipstick in Neon Red might be worth a go...or try some of the red Revlon lip butters? Candy Apple might work for you. Revlon Fire & Ice?

I sympathise because you may have a neutral skintone - I have one too - and it can be really tricky to decide on lipsticks and other makeup.

[mayum1]

scatterthenuns - no problem! :) I totally understand.

Floisme - are you neutral? I'd love to be neutral! I'm undoubtedly cool-toned that there's never an orange, a brown, a green etc that worked for me. Even off-white, it has to be stark white. I'm more of a jewel winter, though. The dark cool tones like burgundy, wine, etc make me look old I think but better than the warm colours!

[mayum1]

scatterthenuns - you seem neutral based on your description.

clarabellabunting - you seem cool to me.

[Floisme]

mayum1 I might be neutral, I've no idea really but I think I can wear just about any colour (except black and white) providing the shade is right. It works the other way too e.g. I think my best colour is purple but there are still some tones - e.g. that very bright purple - that don't look good.

I do have a kind of palette - a lot of dark green, purple/plum or dark grey but my main rule is to just avoid black, white and anything too bright.