Color Theory for Makeup: Shades That Complement Every Undertone

Have you thought why a lipstick looks good on you but not on someone else or vice versa? Or why the wrong foundation shade makes your skin look weird, dull and ashy. The answer is color theory.

Understanding how different colors interact with different skin tones makes it easier for you to choose shades that look good on you, properly correct any discolouration, and help create a more balanced look.

Many makeup trends come up, but the rules of makeup color theory remain important. Once you understand the basics, you can work confidently to create looks that match your skin tone.

This blog covers the basics of the makeup color theory including understanding the color wheel, its use in makeup and choosing the correct shades of makeup products for your undertone.

What Is Color Theory In Makeup

Color theory is the study on how colors relate to each other, interact with each other and how they work when paired together or mixed together. In makeup these rules of color theory help you choose complementary shades for your skin tone and undertone and blend different colors seamlessly.

The Basics Of The Color Wheel

The traditional color wheel is divided into 3 main sections.

Primary colors – the primary colors include red, yellow and blue. These are the basic colors that are used to create other hues.
Secondary colors – the secondary colors include orange, green and purple. These are created by mixing two primary colors together.
Tertiary colors – these are in-between shades such as red-orange or blue-green. These are created by mixing a primary color and its neighboring secondary color.

Knowing this helps you understand how shades will work together on your skin when blending eyeshadow or correcting discoloration.

The 3 Properties Of Every Color

When choosing makeup shades you need to look more than just the color itself. There are 3 properties in every color that influence how it appears on your skin.

Hue – hue is the primary, secondary and tertiary color family.
Value – it is the indicator of how light or dark the hue or color is.
Saturation (intensity) – it is the indicator of how vivid or muted the hue is.

A quick example of two lipsticks. Both may be red in color but one might be a lot brighter and vivid such as a cherry red shade while the other might be a deep and muted shade such as brick red. These differences in value and saturation can make the lipsticks look completely different on you.

Pairs Of Colors You Should Know About

Name Of Pairing	How It Works	How To use It In Makeup
Complementary	These are colors that are directly opposite to each other on the color wheel.	Complementary colors help neutralize unwanted tone and also create a contrast.
Analogous	These are sets of 3 colors that are directly next to each other.	Analogous colors help create harmonious and well-suited color palettes.
Triadic	These are 3 colors that are spaced evenly at about 120% angles around the color wheel.	Triadic colors work well for bold, colorful and editorial makeup looks.

Why And How To Use Color Theory For Makeup Application

Makeup color theory is used for 2 main reasons, correcting discoloration on your skin and enhancing your natural features. It helps you decide when you should be using complementary shades to neutralize darkness and when to combine similar shades for a harmonious look.

Color Correcting With Complementary Colors

Color correction uses the pairing of opposite colors to reduce the appearance of unwanted tones on your skin such as redness and hyperpigmentation. Apply the right shade of color corrector before your foundation or concealer to create an even look.

Different Color Corrector Shades And How They Are Used

Green – it helps neutralize redness caused by blemishes and skin irritation.
Peach or orange – it helps counteract gray, blue and dark tones on your skin such as darkness in your undereye and around your lips. Peach suits lighter skin tones and orange suits darker skin tones.
Yellow – it helps soften the appearance of purple and blue tones that are the appearance of veins.
Lavender – it helps cover up pale yellow tones.
Pink – it helps brighten up the appearance of fair skintones that appear dull or gray.

Color corrector is to be used only where needed in small amounts. Using too much can show the color even after you apply foundation.

Using Makeup Color Theory To Enhance Your Eye Color

The color of eyeshadow you use can help make your natural eye color stand out. You can use eyeshadow to create a contrast or draw attention to a particular tone in your iris.

Blue eyes – copper, bronze, peach and warm brown eyeshadow create a contrast for blue eyes.
Green eyes – plum, burgundy, red-brown and purple eyeshadow helps bring out the green color.
Brown eyes – blue, teal, emerald and violet eyeshadow creates a contrast while warm neutral shades offer a softer finish.
Hazel eyes – gold, green and purple eyeshadow emphasize the different flecks in the iris.

How To Use Makeup Color Theory To Choose Shades That Complement You

Choosing makeup shades that suit you needs more than just matching the product to how light or dark your skin is. Your skin’s depth and its undertone are different things.

Your skin’s depth means how light or dark your complexion is while your undertone is the subtle underlying color of your skin. Undertones are classified into warm, cool, neutral and olive.

Step 1: Identify Your Undertone

There are a couple of ways to check your skin’s undertone.

Vein check – if you have green-looking veins, it means you have a warm undertone. If you have blue or purple-looking veins, it means you have a cool undertone. And a mix of both means a neutral undertone.
Jewelry – if gold jewelry looks better on you, then that means you have a warm undertone and if silver flatters you more, you have a cool undertone. If both look equally good, then you have a neutral undertone.
White fabric check – to find out your undertone, hold a white fabric near your face and see how your skin appears in natural light. A pink or rosy appearance means you have a cool undertone and a golden yellow appearance means you have a warm undertone.

Olive green undertone has a greenish or golden green appearance and can be confused with warm undertones.

Step 2: Match The Shade To Undertone

Use this table as a starting point when selecting a shade according to makeup color theory.

Undertone	Common Cues	Foundation Shade	Blush And Lip Shade	Eye makeup Shade
Cool	Pink rosy appearance	Pink rosy base	Berry, rose and mauve	Silver, taupe, navy and plum
Warm	Yellow or golden appearance	Yellow or golden base	Peach, coral, orange-red and terracotta	Gold, bronze, olive and warm brown
Neutral	Balance of pink and yellow	Neutral base	Soft rose, warm pink, and brick	Taupe, bronze, rose and plum
Olive	Green or golden green appearance	Olive, or golden neutral base	Terracotta, brick, warm berry and deep coral	Emerald, gold, bronze and aubergine

Step 3: Consider Your Skin Depth And Finish

Once you have identified your undertone, consider how light or deep your skin tone is and how intense you want your makeup to look.

For example, a peach blush creates a subtle flush on fair skin tones but for deeper skin tones a more saturated peach or coral looks better. Another example is that a sheer berry lip product can look subtle on deep skin tones while a more pigmented berry creates a bold look.

The finish of the product also matters. Shimmer finish reflects light and matte finish products create a subtle effect. Sheer finish allows more of your natural skin to show through while opaque finish delivers strong pigments.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Understanding makeup color theory can have its problems and as a beginner to this, you might make some mistakes. So watch out for:

Choosing a foundation based on skin depth alone – two foundation shades can be equally light or dark but have different undertones. Check both skin tone and undertone before selecting one.
Using the wrong color corrector – a color corrector that is too pink, orange or pale can leave your skin looking gray. Choose the shade that is suited to your complexion or skin needs.
Applying lots of color corrector – apply corrector to only the areas that need it rather than over a large section of your face.
Ignoring the lighting – when choosing a foundation or color makeup product, swatch test it on your skin in natural lighting for the real look.

Conclusion

Makeup color theory offers you a practical way to choose the right shades for your skin. By understanding how the color wheel works, identifying your undertone and choosing your makeup products based on your analysis can help get a flawless makeup look.

FAQs

What is the color theory for makeup?

Color theory in makeup helps understand how different colors interact with each other so that you can pick shades that complement your skin. It uses hue, value and saturation properties to to find shades that will help neutralize discoloration, complement your undertone or make your eyes stand out.

How to use color theory in makeup?

The best way to use makeup color theory is to check complementary colors for correcting discoloration and pick shades that suit your undertone for your eyes, lips and cheeks.

How to pick your makeup color?

To check which makeup shades will suit your skin start with identifying your undertone and skin depth. Warm undertones look good with peach, coral and terracotta shades. Berry, rose and mauve suit cool undertones. And brick, berry and golden tones work on olive undertones.

Color Theory for Makeup: Choosing Shades That Complement Every Undertone