What's my undertone? A free undertone test for makeup
A free, no-photo undertone test for makeup: your result comes with foundation label words, blush, lipstick and eyeshadow colors.
No photo. Your answers stay in this browser tab.
Read the method and scoring rulesHow to compare the six checks
Your answers stay in this browser tab. Scoring happens here; no photo is taken or uploaded, and your answers are never sent to a server. This tab remembers your answers and result through reloads and Back. Start over clears them. If site analytics are enabled, completing the test records only the result category and confidence, not your answers.
Take these comparisons in indirect daylight with makeup removed where practical. Skin depth and undertone describe different things: light, medium and deep describe depth, while warm, cool, neutral and olive describe color direction. An olive undertone can occur at any depth. No single visual check settles it, and a different lamp or a red cheek can change an answer.
| Check | How to do it | Signs and votes | Main failure mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| What color do your wrist veins look in daylight? | Look at your inner wrist beside a window in indirect daylight. Avoid colored lamps, camera filters and strong reflections from clothing. | Green or olive: warm; Blue or purple: cool; A mix of green and blue: neutral; Can't tell: excluded | Colored lighting can shift what you see. Veins can be hard to read on deeper skin because they are less visible; choose “Can’t tell” instead of guessing. |
| Which jewelry looks more harmonious near your face? | Compare gold and silver of similar size and shine against bare skin in the same light. Look at the effect on your face, not which metal you prefer to buy. | Gold: warm; Silver: cool; Both look good: neutral; Neither looks right: olive signal; Can't tell: excluded | Metal finish, reflected light and personal preference can outweigh undertone. Neither looking right is only an olive signal, not proof. |
| Does pure white or cream fabric look better near your face? | Hold a plain white fabric and a cream or off-white fabric under your chin, one at a time. Keep your position and the daylight the same. | Cream or off-white: warm; Pure white: cool; Both look good: neutral; Can't tell: excluded | Surface redness, makeup and shadows can change the comparison. A bright white may also feel too stark because of contrast rather than undertone. |
| How has your skin usually reacted to sun exposure in the past? | Use your past experience only; do not expose your skin to test this. Sun reaction reflects melanin more than undertone, but receives the same one vote here. | Tan easily: warm; Burn or turn pink: cool; Both burn and tan: neutral; Can't tell: excluded | Sun reaction reflects melanin more than undertone. Exposure, protection and skin depth make this a weak clue; it cannot settle the result alone. |
| What usually goes wrong with foundation colors you have tried? | Think about several shades at a suitable depth after they have dried on your jaw in daylight. One shade from one brand is a weaker comparison. | Often too pink: warm; Often too yellow or orange: cool; Some are too pink AND others too orange or yellow: olive signal; Usually fine: neutral; Never worn foundation / can’t tell: excluded | The wrong depth, surface redness and a formula that turns darker or orange as it dries can imitate an undertone mismatch. |
| How does your skin look beside pastels compared with earthy warm colors? | Compare pale pink or pastel fabric with an earthy warm color near your bare face. Check the skin itself, not how much you like the clothes. | Gray or washed-out in pastels and pinks: olive signal; Brightened by pastels: cool; Brightened by earthy warm colors: warm; No difference: neutral; Can't tell: excluded | Pale colors can wash out deeper skin through low contrast. Lighting, saturation and fabric reflections can also create a gray cast without olive undertones. |
Exactly how this undertone test is scored
Each answered check counts one vote. “Can't tell”, “Never worn foundation” and unanswered checks are excluded. At least 3 usable answers are needed for a result.
Olive takes priority when at least 2 checks give olive signals, even if another category has more votes. A single olive signal counts toward neutral and may be lighting; it does not establish olive.
Otherwise, the category with the most votes wins. Any tie for the highest count, including warm and cool, returns neutral with a conflict explanation. A tie does not turn warm or cool votes into neutral agreement.
For warm, cool and neutral, High confidence means at least 5 answered checks agree with the result (and at least 5 were answered). Medium means 4 agree; fewer means Low. For olive, confidence uses the 3 olive-capable checks: 3 olive signals means High and 2 means Medium. These labels describe agreement between your answers, not measured accuracy.
For warm, cool and neutral without a tie, “N of M agree” counts votes for the returned category out of usable answered checks, after the single-olive adjustment. Ties show the actual vote split instead of claiming neutral agreement. Olive counts signals from its 3 capable checks: jewelry, foundation history and pastels. All six checks still appear in the breakdown.
Makeup colors for each result
Treat this table as a set of colors to compare, not a foundation shade match. Many brands use W/Y for warm, C/P for cool, N for neutral and O for olive, but naming systems vary. Read the brand’s own description. Choose a suitable depth, swatch along the jaw, wait about ten minutes and check the face and neck together in daylight.
| Undertone | Foundation label words | Blush | Lipstick and red | Eyeshadow | Bronzer / highlight metal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm | Warm, golden or peach; many brands use W/Y. | Peach, coral or warm rose. | Coral, peach, brick or warm brown; an orange-based red such as poppy or tomato. | Gold, bronze, copper or warm brown. | Golden-brown bronzer and gold or warm champagne highlight. |
| Cool | Cool, rosy or pink; many brands use C/P. | Cool rose, pink, mauve or berry. | Berry, mauve, fuchsia or cool rose; a blue-based red such as cherry or crimson. | Taupe, cool brown, plum or soft gray. | A muted neutral-brown bronzer used lightly; pearl or cool champagne highlight with a silver tone. |
| Neutral | Neutral or balanced; many brands use N. | Rose or a balanced peach-pink. | Rose, berry or a true red that leans neither orange nor blue. | Taupe, brown, rose or softly blended bronze. | Neutral-brown bronzer and champagne highlight; compare both gold and silver tones. |
| Olive | Olive (many brands use O), or neutral with a slight green or golden base; avoid very pink or yellow bases. | Terracotta, warm rose, brick or berry. | Terracotta, brick, rose-brown or berry; try a brick red. | Gold, bronze, copper, plum or warm brown. | Warm golden bronzer, not orange, and gold or champagne highlight. |
Adjust the depth and saturation to your skin and the effect you want: a pale pastel may disappear or look chalky on deeper skin even when its undertone fits. For lips, start near your natural lip color or a shade deeper. Color preferences still matter; these families give you a place to start comparing, not a rule about what you are allowed to wear.
Frequently asked questions
Can I take the test without a photo?
Yes. Read the six questions and compare the signs yourself. The calculation runs on this page in your browser; it does not examine a photo. Your answers stay in this browser tab, are never uploaded, and can be cleared with Start over. You can use the printed scoring rules without JavaScript.
What happens if I cannot tell on several checks?
Choose “Can't tell” rather than guess. Those checks are excluded from both the vote totals and the answered count. You need at least 3 usable answers; below that the test asks for more instead of assigning an undertone.
What does a split between warm and cool mean?
A tie returns neutral as a cautious starting point and shows the actual vote split, such as 2 warm and 2 cool. It does not turn those votes into neutral agreement. Repeat the suggested comparison in consistent daylight; the tie is not evidence that your undertone is definitely neutral.
Why does olive need more than one signal?
This test requires at least 2 olive signals before returning olive. A single signal counts toward neutral because lighting, foundation oxidation or contrast can imitate it. With 2 or more, the olive rule takes priority. Confidence uses the 3 olive-capable checks: 3 signals means High, 2 means Medium. The breakdown still shows all six checks, including disagreements.
Does High confidence mean the result is accurate?
No. For warm, cool and neutral, High means at least 5 answered checks agree; Medium means 4, and anything lower is Low. For olive, 3 of the 3 olive-capable checks means High and 2 means Medium. These are agreement labels, not an accuracy claim. Compare foundation swatches before buying.
Will the suggested preview show these colors on my skin?
The linked look opens a finished preview. The free preview is an AI sample on a fictional model, not a view of your coloring. Each look has fixed colors; Evening Glam includes bronze as well as plum, so even the cool suggestion is a starting point rather than a fully cool palette.