Does Your Skin's Cool Undertone Have A Summer Or Winter Tone? Here's How To Tell
If you're pretty sure you have cool undertones but aren't 100%, one of the easiest ways to tell is to look at the veins underneath the skin on your wrist area. If you can see blue and purple veins, it's likely you have a cool undertone. If they are more greenish, you have warm undertones. If you can see both blue and green, you have neither warm nor cool undertones, but neutral ones instead.
If you can't see your veins clearly, try the paper test. Hold a bright white piece of paper next to your face and see how it makes your skin look. If your face has a pinkish glow to it, you likely have cool undertones. This is in comparison to your skin looking yellowish or slightly washed-out, both of which indicate warm undertones.
There are obviously different skin undertones, but there are also different seasons for different undertones — spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Those with warm undertones fall into the spring and autumn categories, whereas those with cool undertones are classed as winters or summers. It may sound a little complicated, but figuring out which season you are in will help you to know which colors best suit you best.
Use these clues to help you work it out
The best way to tell if you're a cool summer or a cool winter is by your hair and eye color. If you've dyed your hair, this can be a little tricky to figure out, but base your answers off your natural hair color rather than the color you have dyed it.
If you're a cool summer, your eye color will likely be blue, hazel, green, or gray. It's important to note that cool summer green eyes will typically be a cool tone green, not a bright and warm one. A summer's (natural) hair color ranges from light blonde to medium brown, though all hair shades will have ashy undertones. Kate Middleton and Kate Moss are good examples of cool-toned summers. If you're a cool winter, your hair will always be a darker shade, starting from medium brown and finishing at deep black. Your eyes will be bright shades of brown, black, hazel, blue, or green. Anne Hathaway and Naomi Campbell are both winters with cool undertones.
As you can see, there's some overlap between the two seasons, which definitely makes the whole thing a little confusing. In general, those with winter undertones will usually have a striking contrast between their hair and eye color, whereas those with summer undertones have a softer, more muted look.
Stick to these palettes to glow from within
Once you know whether you have a cool summer or a cool winter skin tone, it's easier to figure out the best makeup colors and the best clothing colors for your undertone. Keep in mind that each skin tone is individual, and this is just a general overview of colors that suit cool undertones.
For cool winters, vivid colors are your best friend. You will shine in bold blues, any bright shade of pink, loud purples, vivacious reds, and jungle, bottle, and emerald greens. If you're more of a neutrals fan, pure white and black will also suit you. For cool summers, soft white is your go-to neutral, as are taupe and rosy brown. When it comes to brighter colors, you'll look especially good in berry shades of pink, pinkish-reds, pine green, and every shade of blue, no matter how dark or light.
The above is a basic guide to finding out if you're a cool summer or winter. However, aspects like dyed hair can have an impact on what suits you, so do your own research and simply test out which colors suit you best before throwing out your whole wardrobe in exchange for one full of your new colors.