Beginner Basics: Knowing your skin tone

Do you know if you are warm or cool?

Knowing which skin tone you are is very important.
This one factor will influence which colours look best on you and which colours do you no favours, making you look washed out and pasty.

If you are a brunette with medium to dark skin and your hair has an auburn undertone when you are in the sun or you  have honey, caramel to a dark shade of blonde hair and tan in the sun without burning..
You are warm. Like these lovely ladies and myself.

You look best when wearing the colours associated with Autumn - this is our season girls!
So dig out of your closet anything that is orangey - red, chestnut brown, caramel, cream, gold, teal, forest green, deep purple or cobalt.
Toss away awaything that is pastel coloured. Avoid pastels like the plague. They wash you out and make your skin look blotchy. Also grey is not ideal close to our faces, try keeping on the bottoms if you just can't give it up.

If you are a brunette with fair skin and light coloured eyes or have a pale shade of blonde hair such as platinum or ash with skin that burns easily in the sun, you might identify with these leading ladies. Welcome to the cool group.

You lucky ladies look amazing in pastel shades and bright hues. Think fuchsia, true reds, lavender, silver and all shades of blue.
Avoid colours with red under tones such as orangey reds,  mustard, camel and olive as they make you look faded.


If you have red hair, determine your group by your complexion and eye colour foremost and then the shade of your hair. If your hair is dark red and you have brown eyes and medium skin you would suit warm colours. If you have a pale complexion and light coloured eyes and freckles, you will suit cool tones.

Isla Fisher is warm toned

Julianne Moore is cool toned

I hope this helps you find the best colours to showcase your beautiful self.