How to determine skin tone

I completely understand your frustration! Like you, I spent ages feeling lost when it came to makeup, just picking what I thought looked close. It turns out, understanding your skin tone and undertone is the game-changer, and it's not as complicated as it sounds. I’ve learned a few simple tricks that really helped me, and I hope they help you too! First, let's tackle undertones, because that's where a lot of people get stuck. There are three main types: cool, warm, and neutral. An easy way I found to check is the vein test. Look at the veins on the inside of your wrist in natural light. If they appear blue or purple, you likely have cool undertones. If they look green, you probably have warm undertones. If you see a mix of both, or can't quite tell, you might be neutral. Another great trick is holding a pure white piece of paper next to your bare face in natural light. If your skin looks pinkish or rosy against it, you're cool. If it appears yellowish, golden, or peachy, you're warm. If it looks gray or ashen, you could have olive undertones, which can lean cool or warm. Once you have a handle on your undertone, choosing makeup shades becomes so much easier. If you're cool, look for foundations, concealers, and blushes with pink or blue bases. Berry and rose-colored lipsticks will typically flatter you beautifully. For warm undertones, go for products with yellow, golden, or peachy bases. Think coral or nude lipsticks, and warm bronzers. If you're neutral, congratulations! You often have a wider range of shades that work, but typically beige or balanced neutral foundations are your best bet. This really helps narrow down the vast selection of makeup foundation out there! You also asked about what changes between winter and summer. This is a fantastic question! For most of us, our skin tone can indeed shift slightly. In summer, with more sun exposure (even if you're careful with SPF!), your skin might get a bit tanner or more golden. This means your summer foundation shade might be half a shade or even a full shade darker than your winter one. I've found having a slightly darker foundation for summer, or a set of color drops to adjust my current one, is really helpful. In winter, skin can also become drier, so you might need to switch to more hydrating formulas. The overall color palette that suits you, based on your undertone, usually stays the same, but the intensity or depth of the shades might change seasonally. Don't be afraid to experiment a little once you've identified your undertone. Think of it as building your personal color palette – a set of shades that naturally enhance your unique beauty. It makes shopping for everything from eyeshadow to clothing so much less overwhelming. You've got this!