7 Ways to Flaunt Your Neutral Skin Tone

Knowing your skin tone and undertone makes it easier to decide what to wear and how to choose your makeup and hair color. Having a neutral skin tone, which is common among Filipinas, means that most colors will look good on you.

Still, it helps to have a guide to playing up your natural color with your beauty and fashion choices. Disclaimer: These are just recommendations. At the end of the day, you’re free to wear whatever colors you feel best in, neutral skin tone-enhancing or not.

First, learn to differentiate skin tone and undertone. Skin tone is usually described as fair, light, medium, or deep.  It refers to the surface layer of your skin and is determined by melanin, the pigment that gives your skin color. Sun exposure boosts melanin production, which can deepen your complexion over time. 

Undertone, meanwhile, is the hue beneath your skin that affects how the colors you wear look on you. The color comes from the melanin types found in the deeper layers of your skin. Cooler undertones tend to have brown or black pigments, while warmer undertones contain red and yellow pigments.

The unique mix and combination of these pigments dictate whether your undertone is warm, cool, or neutral. Undertones don’t change regardless of sun exposure or conditions like rosacea or hyperpigmentation.

So, having a neutral skin tone means that the color beneath your skin’s surface is a mix of warm and cool hues. If you’re not sure what yours is, below are ways to find out.

• Wrist check: Look at your inner wrist. If your veins are bluish, you likely have a cool undertone. If it’s greenish, then you’re warm. But if you can’t tell, you may be neutral.
• Jewelry match: Silver suits cool tones, while gold goes with warm tones. If you think you look good in both, you may have a neutral skin tone.
• Tanning level: Skin with cool undertones won't tan easily, but those with warm undertones do. Neutral tones experience both – you tan with sun exposure and burn if you overdo it. 
• White shirt test: Wear white and check your skin in natural light. Do you appear yellowish? You’re likely warm-toned. If you’re pink- or bluish, you’re cool-toned. If it’s hard to tell, you may be neutral.

Still confused? Know that it’s also possible to be neutral with tinges of warm or cool tones, which can make your true tone difficult to determine. If these self-tests aren’t doing the trick, consult with an image professional or color analyst.

Know the rules before you break them, they say. In this case, it’s helpful to know the shades that flatter your neutral skin tone best. Then, if you feel like experimenting beyond the ideal colors for you, that’s totally fine, too. To start, check out these tips.

If you put on base makeup that’s too warm or cool, the pigments will clash against your natural skin tone. Too much warmth can make the foundation look as if it’s sitting on your skin, instead of blending with your complexion, while a too-cool base can make you look washed out.

The good news is that pressed powders and foundations often carry shades literally labeled “neutral” or “beige.” You have it easy finding your match!

Another secret to a glowy base is using POND'S Bright Miracle Ultimate Pore Clear Facial Scrub, a daily must-have to help even out your skin tone. It has NIASORCINOL, developed by The POND’S Institute, which helps fade dark spots and acne marks and boosts skin repair for a bright, radiant complexion.

Follow with POND'S Bright Miracle Ultimate Clarity Day Serum. It's formulated to help enhance your skin’s natural repair process to help give you radiant and clearer skin.

Choose either a warm or cool palette for both your cheeks and lips. Try a coral blush with brick red lips or berry shades on the cheeks and plum on your puckers. Or you can go all-neutral on your cheeks and lips with shades like rose, peach, and mauve, which are colors that have a balanced mix of both warm and cool tones.

Think classic, tried-and-true eye makeup colors that go with anything. Taupe, rose gold, mocha, olive, and gray are great at complementing neutral skin. If you’re feeling extra adventurous, mix warm and cool tones to make your eye makeup stand out.

Your hair is a key feature of your look, so it makes sense to match its color to your neutral skin tone. A pro tip? Avoid the extremes, like a too-warm sunset orange or an overly cool electric blue. Instead, try a warm brunette, golden brown, honey blonde, and ash brown, or cool tones like deep burgundy, and rose gold, or muted pastels like lavender.

If an all-over color is too much for you, get a balayage or ask your stylist to give you face-framing highlights. That way, you can add neutral skin tone-flattering hues without going for a drastic change.

As a neutral, you’ll look great in most colors, but it’s best to go for a muted palette. Too warm or too cool can clash with the natural color of your skin or look overpowering. Take your pick from soft pastels to earthy greens, and muted jewel tones to classic black and white. Want to go for a monochrome look? Mix textures, combine prints, or wear the same color in slightly different intensities.  

Take advantage of the fact that you can wear gold jewelry, silver, or both. Gold or silver accessories complement the tinges of warm and cool tones on your skin. You can’t go wrong with rose gold, bronze, platinum, and a little color like plum or teal.  

So, how do you flaunt a neutral skin tone? While this guide offers the essentials, the fun starts when you trust your instincts, play with color, and experiment. After all, no one knows your style like you do.