Cool Skin Tone Makeup

Cool skin tone makeup, if you have pink or blue undertones, can make your skin come alive in a way that bronzes, golds, olive greens, and warm browns never could. In fact, if you have a cool skin tone and you've been wearing shades best suited for warm skin tones, you may have been asked on more than one occasion if you're feeling alright. It's important to match the skin tone to the makeup, choosing shades from the matching color family.

Take a quiz to find out how to choose the right face makeup.

• Do you look better in silver jewelry than gold?
• Does your skin appear to be more pink than golden?
• Does your natural hair color have little to no copper-red or gold in it?
• Do you look better in white than cream?
• Do you prefer to wear jewel-toned clothing rather than earth tones?

If you answered yes to most or all of the questions above, you may be in need of cool tone makeup to match your undertones. If you're still in doubt when you're trying to judge your own coloring, you can visit a makeup counter for advice.

Cool skin tone makeup includes pinks, mauves, plums, roses, cool browns, black, navy blue, bright blue, teal, white, gray, and so forth. All of the "cool colors" on the color wheel fit in with this category, though you wouldn't wear all of the colors on every part of your face, of course. Blue-based colors work perfectly with cool skin tones. That includes blue-based red lipsticks, plum blushes, taupe shadows and more. For your best look, stay away from yellow-based eye, lip, and cheek products. They'll drain the color right out of your skin.

If your skin tone is cool, you may be surprised to find that you don't need a pink-toned foundation. Sometimes those end up looking unnatural on top of an already rosy face—especially if your face has more pink tones than your neck. If this sounds like you, look for foundations with more of a neutral or yellow base in order to balance out the pink in your skin and successfully match your face to your body.

While most cool-toned girls will be choosing colors within the same color family, they won't always go for the same depth. As a general rule, fair skin looks best with lighter cool tones and darker skin looks best with darker hues. As always, of course, there are exceptions to that rule when fair-skinned ladies mix it up with an edgy burgundy lipstick or women with dark complexions sport light nude-colored lips.

Try lighter pinks or mauves on the lips and cheeks for a daytime-friendly look. You could even go for pale pink on the lid with a gray-brown or plum in the crease. For night, try smoky brown or gray shadows with dark liner and lashes or burgundy lips with understated neutrals on the lids. Pale greens that err on the side of blue rather than yellow and blues themselves look great on the lids if applied sheerly.

You'll do best with something a little darker and in the berry family for eyes and lips. You may also love mauves. Any eye color can generally pull off plum, purple, and lavender shadows. Medium skin tones pull them off exceptionally well. If you have brown eyes, try smudging bright blue along the upper or lower lash line (or both for a fun summer look!). Revlon's Matte Eyeshadow in Venetian Blue is great for fearless makeup divas.

Bronzes look fantastic, too, on eyes, lips, and cheeks; just stay away from bronzes that lean too far into the red territory. MAC's Bronze shadow is a good choice. If you have blue eyes, bronzes and browns will make them really stand out, but the eye shadow will still be subtle since it's still somewhat of a neutral tone.

You can wear all of the cool skin tone makeup colors listed above, but do so with care. Don't choose an opaque, pastel pink shadow that a woman with a lighter skin tone may be able to pull off. Instead, do a sheer wash of a light-to-medium pink that won't be so stark against your dark skin. Your lids will glow, your eyes will stand out, and you will be center stage—not your eye makeup. This goes for other cool colors as well.

One of the perks of having dark skin is the ability to choose colors from a dark palette, like hunter green or navy blue, and use it in your everyday makeup looks. While a fair-skinned lady may only feel comfortable sporting navy blue at night, you can wear it on the lid, in the crease, in the outer V, or as a liner without a second thought about whether it's daytime appropriate. You can also wear rich, beautiful burgundy shades on your lips whenever you like.

When you determine that you have a cool skin tone, choose cool toned makeup to match for your most flattering look.

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