Bite-sized reads to help you understand your result and put it to work.
Your surface tone is what you see at a glance — fair, medium, deep — and it changes with a tan. Your undertone sits underneath and stays put. Warm undertones lean golden or peachy, cool undertones lean pink or blue, and neutral sits in the middle.
Undertone decides which 'side' of the color wheel tends to flatter you. Warm folks usually shine in yellow-based colors; cool folks in blue-based ones.
Depth is how light or dark your overall coloring is — skin, hair and eyes together. Light coloring looks lovely in lighter shades; deep coloring can carry rich, dark ones.
Contrast is how much your features stand apart. Very dark hair with fair skin is high contrast; blonde hair with light skin and soft eyes is low contrast. High-contrast people suit bold combinations, low-contrast people suit blended, tonal outfits.
Find a spot with indirect daylight and remove makeup if you can. Pull your hair back and cover any colored clothing with a neutral towel.
Hold fabrics, towels or tops near your chin one at a time — try a gold and a silver item, an orange-red and a blue-red, ivory and pure white. Watch your skin, not the fabric: the right color evens out redness and brightens your eyes; the wrong one can deepen shadows or make you look tired.
Take photos of each to compare side by side. A friend's honest opinion helps too!
You don't need to replace your wardrobe. Start with the pieces closest to your face — tops, scarves, glasses frames and lipstick — since that's where color matters most.
Save your palette's HEX codes on your phone and use them when shopping online or matching makeup. Colors outside your palette are still fine below the waist or as small accents.