Have you ever experienced someone saying that red complements his/her skin tone? This is actually true! As we all have different skin tones and undertones, there is actually a perfect color that matches your skin tone. And one of which is having a neutral skin tone.
Some say that if a person has a neutral skin tone, a lot of colors suit his/her skin tone. Lucky for them, they have a wide range of choices to choose from – experimenting with warm to cool color palettes.
If you’re still unsure about what color matches your neutral skin tone, continue reading this article to know more. This way, you may have your personal color palette to rock your everyday OOTDs!
Key Takeaways
In a hurry? the best colors for neutral skin tone are:
- Muted and neutral colors like off-white, light brown, mid-range grays and black are the best clothing colors for neutral skin tone.
- Caramel lipstick shades like coffee, taupe, pink, dark purple, and red suit you best.
- Those with neutral skin tone have to avoid going for foundations on yellow, golden, or pink ends of the color wheel.
- Neutral skin tones fall between warm undertones and cool undertones.
- An undertone is a shadow beneath your skin’s surface.
What is a Skin Tone?
Before I go on to the details of choosing the right color for neutral skin tones, let’s briefly discuss what a skin tone is. It is the surface skin color in one’s epidermis. The color varies on the melanin production in our skin. Melanin is a natural skin pigment that also protects you from harmful sun exposure.
Four Main Types of Skin Tone
- Fair skin tone
- Light skin tone
- Medium skin tone
- Dark skin tone
These are generally the main skin tone types, but there are still a lot of skin tones out there! Check out this article to discover more skin tones.
Related: What is olive skin tone?
What is an Undertone?
Take note that skin tones are different from your skin undertones! It’s best to know your skin undertone, too, to find the best colors for your skin tone.
An undertone is a shadow beneath your skin’s surface. Undertones do not necessarily change their shades or colors, unlike your skin tone. So even if you get a tan, your skin’s undertone remains the same.
Three Main Types of Undertone
- Cool Undertone – hints of pink and blue
- Warm Undertone – hints of gold/yellow and red
- Neutral Undertone – a mix of cool and warm skin undertone
Defining Neutral Skin Tones
As the name suggests, neutral skin tones fall between warm undertones and cool undertones. It’s a bit challenging to define and go into the specifics of a neutral skin tone is, but these are the common questions you may ask to know if you fall under this type of skin tone:
- Does your skin has a hint of pink and yellow?
- Do you have green and blue veins in your wrist?
- Is your skin able to burn and tan?
If the answers to these questions are YES, then you are part of the neutral skin tones group! Selena Gomez, Sandra Bullock, and Victoria Beckham are some of your celebrity groupmates in the neutral skin tones club!
Best Clothing Colors for Neutral Skin Tone
Being in the neutral skin tone club, it’s true that any color in the color spectrum suits you. But if I were to name a few, go for softened or muted versions than the bright and saturated clothing colors.
Muted Versions
These colors include cornsilk yellow, lagoon blue, dusty pink, light blush pink, mauve, mint, and jade green. These colors are not as vibrant and oversaturated, making them not overpower your skin tone. It complements and highlights your skin tone instead.
Neutral Colors
You may ask if wearing neutral tones, or neutral shades will still flaunt your neutral skin tone and neutral undertones. The answer is yes, without a doubt.
Off-white, light brown, mid-range grays and black neutral colors should be part of your wardrobe!
No to Oversaturated Colors
Oversaturated colors tend to overpower the natural color of your skin, and we do not want that to happen. Bright blues like electric blue and magenta are some colors you might want to steer away from.
However, there’s an exception to this rule! You can never go wrong in wearing bright red dresses and deep purples. It will definitely flaunt your natural skin color and stand out in the crowd!
Finding the Best Makeup Colors for Neutral Skin Tone
The right makeup colors also count! You must know which shade of foundation, lipstick, blush, or eye shadow suits perfectly for neutral skin. I’m sure no one wants to look unpresentable since you chose the wrong shade, don’t you? Below are some tips for finding the best makeup colors or shades for neutral skin tone:
Foundation
Should you choose the wrong shade of foundation, your skin may look ashy, pink, or worse, too white. Those with neutral skin tone have to avoid going for foundations on yellow, golden, or pink ends of the color wheel. Instead, try out peach-colored foundations and those with subtle gold tones.
Eye Shadow
Any eye shadow suits neutral undertones, however, you should check which shade suits the color of your eyes. In order for your eye makeup to stand out and also complements your skin tone, you should choose a color that contrasts with the color of your eyes.
I suggest trying out the color wheel and placing it on the eye area to see which shade suits you perfectly.
Lipstick
It really depends on the occasion and your mood, of course! You may go as bold bright colors, or keep it subtle by choosing nude, neutral colors. Similar to choosing the best clothing colors for neutral skin tone, it’s safe to opt for the muted shades.
For neutral tone, caramel shades like coffee, taupe, pink, dark purple, and red suit you best.
If you have a warm undertone, darker shades like deep purple, orange, and coppery red go well with your overall look.
On the other hand, cool undertones pink tones, and jewel tones like ice blue- and purple-based shades are the bomb for you!
Blush
As mentioned earlier, anything goes well with neutral skin tones! But you may want to try taupe, brown, or tan blush shades. This works best if it’s put below the cheekbone as it gives a contour effect of having a thinner face.
Brown and taupe blushes are also perfect for those with cool skin tone while tan blushes compliment warm skin tone beauties.
Choosing the Best Hair Color for Neutral Skin Tone
Last but definitely not the least, your hair color should also match perfectly with your skin tone! Honey or caramel blonde can be on the top of your list on your next visit to the salon. Aside from that, you can also try warm reds such as copper, amber, and rust hair color shades.
Final Thoughts
Indeed, colors make or break your OOTD as it complements specific tones of your skin. The first step to acing this game is determining your skin tone. Neutral skin tone falls between warm undertones and cool undertones and lucky you, anything goes well with your tone!
But to stand out, you need to know what color works best and what does not. Muted and neutral colors are the top picks and safe colors for you. You should also consider checking your eye and hair color as part of your checklist. Caramel shades also go well with your hair color and lipstick shade.
With all these tips shared in this article, I hope this helped you decide on rocking your everyday glam and outfits!