GIRL, I do it all the time, but mostly with eye and lip products…and occasionally also with blush and bronzer.
I never do it with foundation, concealer or powder, though. So, basically, no for the big skin products, because they cover such large areas, so mismatches are more obvious. But a green eyeshadow isn’t meant to match your skin color at all. It’s supposed to be different.
I have warm-toned skin, and I love a good cool-toned grey or icy silver eyeshadow. And I’ll wear a blue-based pink lip in a hot second.
I know that some folks won’t ever do it. They avoid colors that contradict their natural color temp or undertones, but I like things that purposefully “clash” sometimes. I think you can use that like a trick to make things stand out more. Plus, I just like the way it looks. 🙂
How about you? Do you ever wear colors that technically (according to “the makeup rules”) aren’t suited for your skin tone?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Ugh, I’m getting over a cold, and it hasn’t been the most awesome-est thing in the entire world.
I think I know where I caught it, too. It was at Target (I always seem to get colds at Target) last week. I was walking around getting stuff, and I remember thinking, jeez, we’re deep into cold season, and I haven’t caught a cold yet. I think I’m gonna make it without getting sick!
Of course, the moment you think that, you catch a cold…
I have two words for you: Cold-Eeze. It works.
I sometimes wear a cool taupe eyeshadow, but it’s hard because I have that weird, dark plum coloring on my eyelids (Indian ancestry, ya know) and I can only do it if that is properly concealed.
I have neutral skin so I can get away with both. I gravitate towards warmer tones but occasionally wear a purplish color or cooler toned lip sticks.
I gravitate toward warm colors almost always. I have skin with a neutral to warm undertone and freckles, natural red hair, and grayish blue eyes, so my coloring is a little different – not quite warm, but not cool either. Cool colors just generally aren’t flattering on me.
First, I have to advise you to NEVER give up the blue-red lipsticks because they make your teeth dazzlingly white! 🙂
I’m ashamed to say that I really can’t figure out what my undertone is. I know you look for blue or green veins but I feel like mine are aqua. HAHA! Actually I’m most likely warmer because cool grays look really stark on me. That said, clothing-wise, blues and greens seem to look better than pinks and reds. You know I don’t experiment with color much, so it doesn’t really matter.
Sorry to hear about your cold. The flu went around here a few weeks ago so I was glad we all came through unaffected. Hopefully that wasn’t a jinx. HAHA!
Those blue-based lip colors are fantastic, right?
One of these I’ll get you to experiment more with color. It’s never too late! Plus, you never know if you’ll find something you’ll absolutely love. C’mon, do it!
You’d be proud of my blueish berry color wearing! But, I promise, anything else pinkish or purplish is enough to scare the hair off of Tabs. 🙂
I’m like you as well! Can’t figure out my undertone and my veins are blue green. Cool tone eyeshadows look odd on me but blue and green clothes are great. Can never where yellow or orange clothes.
What are we?! ?
HAHA! Can we say we’re special, in a good way? I’m going to go with that. 🙂
Karen, do you have some tips on how to pull off the opposing tones? I am cool toned and I have some warm pink and coral lipsticks and blushes that I can’t seem to pull off. For example, if I lightly apply bronzer all over, would that help?
Aw sorry to hear you’re sick! Get some rest!
I’m like a warm winter, so I’m mostly neutral and gravitate warm when I’m a bit more tanned (like now), and cold when I’m my actual color.
But I do tend to gravitate more toward cool colors. It might be what the internet taught me circa 2001 that just stuck with me all these years.
Thanks girl! The hard parts passed during the weekend, so I’m mostly over it. Tabs has been taking good care of me.
How are your cat nephews doing?
I’m warm toned and I usually wear warm colors, too. But I do also wear neutrals and cool shades and to be honest, I think it all kind of works, in its own way. Feel better soon!
First of all, I have yet to see a person that is not a mix of warm and cool tones. Choosing clothing color, hair color, colored cosmetics is just a matter of working with the colors that look best with the person as a whole and with the feature that the colors will be next to in particular. That’s why I found the “season” concept so frustrating. It was OK as a very general guideline, but even proponents of the system realized it fell short and started dividing each season up into sub-groups in an attempt to explain the contradictions. I’m not saying that everyone can wear every color and look good. That’s absurd. We all have a number of colors that either work for us or against us. It’s just that those colors do not necessarily fall exclusively into one particular category.
If we think back to the times we felt and looked great; about the times people complimented us, it’s easy to figure out what our best colors are be they warm, cool, or most probably, both. And as for wearing warm and cool tones together, take a good look at Nature’s palette. Nature is always combining colors to stunning effect. Some of the most breathtaking scenes of beauty are an amalgam of cool and warm tones. A sunset is an excellent example: The fiery oranges, corals, and reds of the setting sun swirling into the purples and blues of the coming night at the same time that silvery stars are emerging upon a field of midnight is absolutely magnificent. Nature holds the key for the most beautiful combinations of colors–warm and cool. If nature can do it, so can we 🙂
Eye shadows, yes. I’m super pale with cool undertones, but I get a nice tan in the summer, so I use those months to experiment with warm based lip products, like peaches or corals. But the rest of the year I stick with cool toned products.
I was bummed out because I just ordered some lip products from Colour Pop and I was super excited to try them out but didn’t realize most of their items are warm toned. They all look funny on my lips to me 🙁 At least they’re inexpensive!
I’m pink but sometimes can even get by with a little bit yellowy foundation (my Josie Maran one is, and I love it anyway), I absolutely switch back and forth on eye and lip colors, though there is a color or too that feel warm in a way i can’t wear them (hoola sadly!)
Interesting question, Karen!
I never really pay attention to the makeup ‘rules’ but I do often make my choices based on color theory. For a long time I thought silvers/greys/blues etc looked sort of ‘off’ on my warm skin, but I think I just wasn’t picking shades that complemented my skintone well.
I still choose warm shades most of the time, but I’m getting more comfortable with the idea of cool tones.
I generally do not gravitate toward warm colors (I even prefer cool-tone yellows over golden and orange-yellows). According to color theory, though, I should be wearing the hell out of brown eyeshadow to make my blue eyes pop. Nearly all brown eyeshadows look like crap on me, and many go orange really quickly. I think that happens because I am incredibly pale, but who knows? I’ve been experimenting with some Bobbi Brown palettes (sterling nights and greige, both of which I found on eBay because they are from a couple of years ago), but am going really slowly because the browns, while on the cool side, tend toward the dark or sparkly.
So, long answer, no.
Being that I am neutral to cool in tone, many colors that others say look cool on them look warm on me. It’s a constant struggle.
While my skin tone is more cool my hair is a natural dark blonde with both red and golden highlights. Golden blonde hair looks terrible on me however which is what happens when I get a lot of sun. Red looks fine.
I also have leaf green eyes so warm colors look okay on my eyes in the very center, but sickly on the corners or too high on the brow bone. If they have a neutral undertone then I can wear them anywhere.
And to make things even more complicated, I look better in slightly warmer toned blush when it’s a lighter shade but better in cool toned blush is it’s a very pigmented color that’s deep.
Oh and then there is the very pigmented red/mauve/violet lip color. If it’s a sheer warm color it’s fine but less so in opaque.
I have neutral undertones, so this isn’t an issue for me. I frequently mix makeup that has warm and cool undertones, which some people say you shouldn’t do. I like the contrast, personally.
When I was in school there was a mantra “Learn all the rules and then break them”. So yeah, I wear whatever colors I’m feeling at the moment. Depending on the lighting, my skin can appear either cool or warm toned, so I guess I’m closer to neutral. I have both green and blue veins under my skin. I have rosacea so my cheeks appear to have a pink under tone. Get closer to my neck and my skin looks like it has a yellower under tone. I really wish I could just get my skin to a state where I don’t feel the need to wear foundation.
Sorry to hear you caught a cold. Being sick when you have a high energy toddler is no fun. Hope you’re able to get lots of rest and feel 105% soon.
I would classify myself as a pale olive? And warm tones definitely suit me best. I find very cool toned pink blushes unflattering so I’m done with trying to make one work for me. But blue toned reds, and certain pink lipsticks still look nice. The one product that I wish I could make work? Mac satin taupe. It’s beautiful on you. But it makes me look like a zombie. Aha.
Hi Karen because I have green eyes and dark hair I always defy any rules of color ! especially if I gave a tan !
I use what looks right for that particular day !
And Love ❤️ black eyeshadow !
Ooh, girl, I never wear colors that clash with my warm, tan complexion. I feel that I look dull in purple, pink and blue. I can tweak that rule by wearing raisin purple, coral pink and turquoise blue. Those warm version look fine on me. But I truly look and feel my best and most beautiful in pumpkin, tangerine, olive, chartreuse, browns, gold, etc. I feel the same way with my clothing color choices. Again, I wear a warm palette all the way! I am very strict about color!
All the time. And I quite like the way it looks too. But I have the feeling lately that I am neither really warm nor really cool toned, I seem to be neutral. Which is awesome for eyeshadows and lipsticks, but a pain in the behind for matching foundation.
Whoa, momma, that’s one heck of a sultry photo up there!! You look pretty! 🙂
I have a really hard time understanding undertones… like, I know I have yellows undertones in my skin, but my fav foundation (chanel aqua lumiere or at least I think that’s what it’s called?) is one of the rose ones because without that bit of pink I just start to look either deadly yellow or closer towards a pumpkin ?… maybe it’s because I’m also super pale… who knows! I barely think about it when it comes to lips and eyes tho, with the only exception that slightly warm pinks look better than blue pinks — but more often than not I head straight for any sort of plummy color, warm or cool, it all works! Bronzer, though… impossible!
Can NOT do it. My skintone is somewhere between rose beige and olive, but definitely cool and not golden. Foundation that’s yellow toned looks like mustard on my skin. Orange, peach, caramel, and yellow-gold makeup make me look like I have the flu. When those colors are in fashion (as they often are) I run the other way!
You look PHENOMENAL in that photo. I need that eyeshadow. Since it’s dc do you know a dupe? I can’t really tell. Maybe MAC Tilt? Let me know if you have one.