WHAT IS YOUR SKIN TONE?

If you do not know your skintone, you can estimate it by referring to the following guidelines:

COOL: Eyes are typically blue or grey. Haircolor typically blonde, brown or black. Skin has definite blue and pinkish or peach undertones. Cool-toned people look best in colors such as blue, red, pink and purple, or "gem-tones". They are the skintone most likely to be flattered by pastel shades. Usually look best in silver jewelry. In natural light, the color of the veins on the underside of your wrist are bluish. You can wear a white shirt and it is flattering on you. Those of ethnic descent from Scandinavia, the British Isles, Central Europe (France/Germany/Switzerland and surrounding countries) may often have a cool complexion.

NEUTRAL: Eyes may be any color. Hair may be any color. Skin has unspecifiable undertones, such as pink, olive or yellow. Those with neutral coloring can wear just about any color clothing and look good. Can wear gold or silver jewelry (no preference as to which looks better) Most Aromaleigh customers find themselves within a neutral foundation range. 1N, 2N, 3N and 4N foundations are our most commonly-purchased shades. Those who wear neutral based foundations may come from varied Ethnic descent.

WARM: Eyes are typically brown, green or hazel. Haircolor typically brown, black, red, auburn, blonde or strawberry blonde. Skin has yellow/peach or olive undertones. Warm-toned people look best in earthy-toned clothing, such as browns, yellows, oranges, yellowish green and ecru. Look best in gold jewelry. In natural light, the color of the veins on the underside of your wrist are greenish. You are most flattered by an off-white, cream or ecru shirt (i.e. pure white or pastels make you look washed out) Those of Ethnic descent from Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Scotland, Ireland, or Asia may find a Warm toned foundation is best for them.

YELLOW: Eyes are typically brown, almost black or dark hazel. Haircolor is typically dark brown or black. Skin has yellowish or olive undertones. Those with yellow or olive skintones look best in warm tones, but can wear neutral tones and jewel-toned vivid blues, reds, greens, oranges and purples with flair. Gold jewelry is usually preferred, but not the rule. In natural light, the color of the veins on the underside of your wrist are greenish or yellowish green. Pure white clothing will make you appear washed out unless your skin is tanned. Often of Asian heritage, lighter tones of Yellow-based foundations work best with your skintone. Medium tones such as 3Y or 3YL are often best for those of Mediterranean descent, as these shades have a definite olive tone, however many women of Mediterranean or Eastern European descent with paler skintones may find that Aromaleigh's paler 1Y/1YL/2Y/2YL shades may work for them.

PINK: Eyes are typically light in color, most often blue or green. Haircolor is often blonde, red, auburn or light brown. Skintone is typically pale, has obvious pink tones and is sometimes freckled. In natural light, the color of the veins on the underside of your wrist definitely lean towards bluish or mauve in color. Silver jewelry is most flattering. Those with pink toned skin can wear a variety of colors in clothing, but neutrals are often most flattering depending on hair/eye color. This is a more rare skintone, and many women with pink skintones want to cancel out the pink or "redness" in their skin. Within this unique skintone, there are those with cool pink (most common) and warm pink tones to the skin. Those who have warm pink skintones typically have true vivid red hair (their counterparts with true warm red hair fall into the Yellow, Warm or Neutral skintones). Those with pink skintones are typically pale skintones, from English or Celtic ancestry- the so-called "English Rose Complexion". Most of the time, women with this skintone can wear cool or neutral foundations, but particularly pink-toned complexions may need to augment their foundation with our Pink toner to find a perfect match. While Aromaleigh no longer offers a pink-toned foundation, we do offer a pink foundation toner.

LINEN: This is not so much a natural skintone, as a preference. Women who prefer a linen blend or dominant linen tone foundation usually have light-medium toned skin that is rich with it's own dominant natural tones- be they warm, yellow or cool. Eyes may be any color. Hair may be any color. Depending on the dominant skintone, gold or silver jewelry may be preferred. In natural light, the color of the veins on the underside of your wrist will lean towards warm or cool, depending on the dominance of your skintone. Clothing of any color can be worn, even pure white, as women with skin in a dominant color tone are rarely washed out by paler shades, neutrals, or black. Those who desire a foundation with a linen (beige) base are usually trying to play down the dominance of their skintone, and appear to have a more even, creamy complexion. While most women can easily find a match within Aromaleigh's C/L (cool linen), W/L (warm linen) or Y/L (yellow linen) blends, some women desire a foundation that has more dominant beige tones. While Aromaleigh no longer offers a straight "Linen" foundation, we do now offer Foundation toners in two levels for the linen, or beige/brown tones. These toners can be added to the foundation to further mute the foundation tones and create a foundation that has a more straight beige (aka "linen") tone. Often, women who regularly tan, or are prone to increased sun exposure find that using one of Aromaleigh's Linen blends, or augmenting their foundation with Aromaleigh's Linen I or Linen II toners will be able to achieve their perfect blend, and adjust it as needed depending on the season.

Note: These skintone/foundation suggestions are a guideline and are based on a broad-spectrum of ethnicities and eye/hair/undertone combinations. Many women find that they can wear several different mineral foundation shades, while others find that finding the perfect singular shade and/or "tweaking" that shade with Aromaleigh foundation toners is required.

Often, the level of coverage desired in your foundation will make finding your perfect match more critical. Heavier coverage, such as that offered by Aromaleigh's Pashmina Mineral Foundation and also our Dewdrop foundation, when applied in layers or with a cream or serum- will require a more specific and perfectly matched shade. Those who desire lighter coverage will find that they can wear several foundation shades (and in this case, our Neutral range is the most popular choice).

Finishing powders can be used to further perfect your foundation and play up or tone down certain aspects of your skin. Many women with Rosacea find that the Y/L foundations tone down their skin's redness, while the use of a greenish or yellow Finishing powder finalizes their look. (See our "Glamoured" finishing powders, which provide gentle color correction in green, yellow and lavender tones.