Temptalia https://www.temptalia.com/understanding-colors-undertones-in-makeup-guide-part-1/ In-depth makeup reviews with swatches and dupes, plus what you need to know about new product launches and tips on how to use your makeup! Mon, 20 Apr 2026 22:27:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 How I Understand Colors & Undertones in Makeup (Part 1) https://www.temptalia.com/understanding-colors-undertones-in-makeup-guide-part-1/ https://www.temptalia.com/understanding-colors-undertones-in-makeup-guide-part-1/#comments Mon, 08 Jun 2020 19:00:00 +0000 Christine https://www.temptalia.com/?p=433436 Describing colors and undertones is a challenge. It's something that I've been working on for almost 15 years, especially because no matter how well I might calibrate my colors on my end... I can't control how they're viewed on a plethora of devices, screens, and lighting conditions. (Seriously, just tilt your screen slightly and see how colors adjust; then what happens if you turn your brightness down or, if you have an iPhone like me, turning on and off "true tone" -- this is why I actually try to get a "happy medium" between multiple screens/devices I have.) It has Continue Reading… ]]> How I Understand Colors & Undertones in Makeup (Part 1)

Describing colors and undertones is a challenge. It’s something that I’ve been working on for almost 15 years, especially because no matter how well I might calibrate my colors on my end… I can’t control how they’re viewed on a plethora of devices, screens, and lighting conditions. (Seriously, just tilt your screen slightly and see how colors adjust; then what happens if you turn your brightness down or, if you have an iPhone like me, turning on and off “true tone” — this is why I actually try to get a “happy medium” between multiple screens/devices I have.)

It has helped me to think of each color as a spectrum that ranges from light to dark, cooler to warmer, which means that even though a color might be a warm color, there are “cooler” versions and “warmer” versions as well as “balanced” versions. It’s also useful to know that there are multiple ways to describe colors sometimes, so you might say “that’s a deep peach” and someone else might say “that’s a muted coral.” Go google “coral” or “peach” or any non-primary color and see the gamut these colors run. You might try typing in random colors into Pantone’s Color Finder (which is a system used by a lot of industries).

I think of warmth and coolness as relative rather than absolute in most instances; red is a warmer color per color theory, but there are cooler-toned reds and warmer-toned reds along with reds in the middle (often referred to as true or neutral). This is true across primary, secondary, and tertiary colors… and all of the in-between colors we’ve come to use.

There are a lot of external resources if you want to understand color theory, but here’s a summary: the color wheel starts with three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. When you mix two of these shades together, you create three secondary colors: orange (red and yellow), green (yellow and blue), and purple (blue and red). Then there are six tertiary colors, which are created when you mix primary and secondary colors together (like yellow-green or blue-purple). The color wheel defines warm colors as reds, oranges, and yellows with cooler colors as blues, greens, and purples.

Colors that are opposite of each other on the color wheel are considered “complementary” (like orange and blue), whereas colors that are beside each other (yellow, green, blue) are considered analogous. With respect to makeup, colors that are analogous are usually easier to blend together, where as complementary colors can muddy more readily.

Burgundy | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lipstick Colour Velvet Midnight
Velvet Midnight
Pat McGrath MatteTrance Lipstick Full Blooded
Full Blooded
ColourPop Matte Lux Lipstick Ursula
Ursula
Estee Lauder Pure Color Matte Sculpting Lipstick Deep Secret
Deep Secret

Burgundy is a deep red, and when they’re cooler-toned, they tend to look almost purplish with a lot of depth and darkness (and are less vivid/bright) compared to true red hues.

Burgundy | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Black Cherry
Black Cherry
Sephora Rouge Lacquer Goddess (30)
Goddess (30)
NARS Audacious Lipstick Siouxsie
Siouxsie
YSL Rouge Pur Couture SPF15 Lipstick Prune Power (89)
Prune Power (89)

Neutral burgundies are somewhere in-between; I find neutral to be a narrower spectrum in this color category compared to others. They often only look neutral when put against very cool or very warm-toned burgundies.

Burgundy | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
ColourPop Matte Lux Lipstick Pencil Me In
Pencil Me In
Anastasia Matte Lipstick Brandy
Brandy
ColourPop Matte X Lippie Stix Infinite Best
Infinite Best
Sephora Lipstories Lipstick Malt Shake (29)
Malt Shake (29)

Warmer-toned burgundies have less purple, more red or brown to them. When these tones appear in lighter shades, they can be better described as plum.

Red | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
MAC Love Me Lipstick Nine Lives
Nine Lives
ColourPop Matte Lux Lipstick Hi Striker
Hi Striker
Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim High Intensity Lipstick My Icon Is
My Icon Is
Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick Sour Cherry
Sour Cherry

Cooler-toned reds have strong, blue-based undertones, and when they get very, very blue-based, they look more like pink-reds (and sometimes could be classified as magenta, when they’re brighter, or berry or raspberry if they are deeper).

Red | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
NARS Lipstick Inappropriate Red
Inappropriate Red
Sephora Rouge Lacquer Survivor (10)
Survivor (10)
Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer Lipstick Passion Pop
Passion Pop
Fenty Beauty Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Color Uncensored
Uncensored

Neutral reds are ones that have a balance of blue and orange undertones; to my eye, they can lean one way or the other depending on one’s coloring or whatever it is paired with. It is always easiest to determine when you put a neutral red against a very cool or very warm-toned red, though. You can also sheer it out and see how the base blends out, which is another helpful way to see undertone (in general).

Red | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Estee Lauder Pure Color Matte Sculpting Lipstick Demand
Demand
NARS Audacious Lipstick Dolores
Dolores
Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Matte Scarlet Rouge
Scarlet Rouge
NARS Audacious Lipstick Rita
Rita

Warmer-toned reds have stronger, orange undertones; deeper, warm-toned reds can look almost brown.

Fuchsia | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Fenty Beauty Poutsicle Juicy Satin Lipstick Tropic Tantrum
Tropic Tantrum
Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick Beauty Junkie
Beauty Junkie
MAC Lipstick Girl About Town
Girl About Town
ColourPop Lux Lipstick Sweetener
Sweetener

Fuchsia is best thought of a vivid take on pink, whether it’s a brighter, lighter pink–think bubblegum or cotton candy but make it neon–or more mid-tone (which I’d say is closer to true fuchsia), which is a vibrant, medium-dark pink with stronger, cooler, bluer undertones. The deep fuchsia gets, the more it starts to look like other shades; cooler, deeper fuchsia shades could also be lighter, cool-toned berries.

Fuchsia | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick Candy Venom
Candy Venom
Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color Crush
Crush
Pat McGrath LuxeTrance Lipstick Psycho Candy
Psycho Candy
Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipstick Pretty Vain
Pretty Vain

“Balanced” fuchsias tend to appear like richer, more vivid true pinks than really purple or blue-based.


Fuchsia | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Sephora Rouge Lacquer Love Wins (09)
Love Wins (09)
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Cherries in the Snow
Cherries in the Snow
ColourPop Matte X Lippie Stix Runaway
Runaway
Milani Bold Color Statement Matte Lipstick I Am Bold
I Am Bold

Neutral-to-warmer-toned fuchsias look like pink-reds and blue-based reds (and may be more aptly described as magenta, which is redder compared to true fuchsia, which is purpler).

Pink | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
ColourPop Lippie Stix Westie
Westie
Clinique Pop Lip Colour + Primer Lipstick Fab Pop
Fab Pop
MAC Lipstick Snob
Snob
MAC Lipstick Dressed to Thrill
Dressed to Thrill

Cooler-toned pinks have blue-based undertones, and they are often described as “cotton candy” or “bubblegum” (but they will be lighter and/or more muted, less neon, compared to lighter, cooler-toned fuchsias!).

Pink | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Shiseido VisionAiry Gel Lipstick Pixel Pink (205)
Pixel Pink (205)
Burberry Liquid Lip Velvet Primrose (21)
Primrose (21)
MAC Lipstick Feeling Fizzy
Feeling Fizzy
NARS Audacious Lipstick Anna
Anna

Neutral pinks are, you guessed it, more balanced between blue and yellow undertones, though I find that within the industry, neutral pinks tend to really mean more muted pinks and can lean warmer more so than true neutral.

Pink | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
ColourPop Matte Lux Lipstick Name Drop
Name Drop
Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Matte Fascinator
Fascinator
NARS Audacious Lipstick Anita
Anita
Shiseido VisionAiry Gel Lipstick Rose Muse (211)
Rose Muse (211)

Warmer-toned pinks have yellower-based undertones, and sometimes, they get into a peachy/coral range. Lighter, very warm pinks can be described as pinky peaches or true peach, while deeper, very warm pinks can fall into pink-coral or true coral territory.

Coral | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
ColourPop Pressed Powder Pigment Tuxedo Rose
Tuxedo Rose
Melt Cosmetics Eyeshadow Flamingo Dream
Flamingo Dream
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Flowerboy
Flowerboy
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Boo Bird
Boo Bird

Coral is either a pinkish or reddish variation on orange, and in cosmetics, there are pink-leaning corals (which are “cooler” on the spectrum of coral) and orange-leaning corals (which are “warmer” on the spectrum of coral). The pinker a coral shade leans, the closer it is to a very warm-toned pink.

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Good Vibes
Good Vibes
Urban Decay Eyeshadow (Discontinued) Still Shot
Still Shot
Dominique Cosmetics Eyeshadow Strawberry Milk
Strawberry Milk
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Bubblicious
Bubblicious

Neutral is when there’s a balance between pink and orange undertones, and these are often referred to as “true corals.” They’re less likely to be described as “neutral,” since coral is really a warm-toned shade — so it’s more like a “cooler” vs. “cool-toned” when you’re describing how pink or orange a coral hue leans.

Coral | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Lay Low
Lay Low
ColourPop Pressed Powder Pigment Dream Maker
Dream Maker
Dose of Colors Eyeshadow Oh So Sassy
Oh So Sassy
Huda Beauty Eyeshadow Coral #8
Coral #8

Warmer-toned corals tend to look more orange with just a hint of pink or red, and they are often more vivid/brighter compared to peach as a color. The more orange a coral shade leans, the closer it leans to a cooler-toned (red-based) orange.

Copper | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
NARS Hardwired Eyeshadow (2018) Fired Up
Fired Up
Pat McGrath EYEdols Eyeshadow Rose Gold 005
Rose Gold 005
Sydney Grace Pressed Pigment Shadow Blaze
Blaze
Charlotte Tilbury Eyeshadow Mesmerising Maroon #3
Mesmerising Maroon #3

Copper is often thought of as a “reddish-brown,” but in the makeup industry, it runs from a richer, deeper gold to rose gold to brighter, warm red-orange. Cooler coppers lean redder or rosier; they’re closer to rose gold or warmer reds rather than dominated by orange or gold/yellow.

Copper | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
NABLA Cosmetics Fluid Metal Eyeshadow Coral Amber
Coral Amber
Huda Beauty Eyeshadow Nude Medium #5
Nude Medium #5
Pat McGrath EYEdols Eyeshadow Copperized
Copperized
Natasha Denona Metallic Eye Shadow Crest (267M)
Crest (267M)

Like other warm-toned shades, “neutral” is relative–it’s more of a copper balanced between red and yellower undertones; I classify more orange-leaning coppers here.

Copper | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
Natasha Denona Metallic Eye Shadow Penny (259M)
Penny (259M)
Melt Cosmetics Eyeshadow Hot Wire
Hot Wire
Pat McGrath EYEdols Eyeshadow Bronze 005
Bronze 005
Natasha Denona Metallic Eye Shadow Atria (107M)
Atria (107M)

When coppers start moving from orange to more golden, they seem like they get brighter as well as warmer. They’re further away from red undertones, which are “cooler,” so this is how I’ve come to identify more golden coppers as warmer.

Orange | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
ColourPop Ultra Matte Liquid Lipstick (Discontinued) Chronos
Chronos
MAC Lipstick Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality
Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro Notorious (408)
Notorious (408)
ColourPop Lippie Stix Parachute
Parachute

“Cooler” oranges have strong red undertones, so they may even look more like an orange-leaning red to your eye. They will look less true orange–like construction cone orange–and will not lean yellowy either.

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim High Intensity Lipstick I Desire
I Desire
Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lipstick Colour Velvet Morning
Velvet Morning
Dose of Colors Matte Liquid Lipstick Hot Fire
Hot Fire
Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Matte Wild Ginger
Wild Ginger

With respect to orange, “neutral” is more like a true orange, one that is balanced between red and yellow undertones.

Orange | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Hermes Rouge Matte Lipstick Orange Boite (33)
Orange Boite (33)
MAC Lipstick Forbidden Sunrise
Forbidden Sunrise
Fenty Beauty Poutsicle Juicy Satin Lipstick Sun Snatched
Sun Snatched
Fenty Beauty Mattemoiselle Plush Matte Lipstick Pumpkin Rose
Pumpkin Rose

Warmer oranges have yellower undertones that pull the color away from red-orange and given it a more golden hue, which can sometimes mute the brightness of orange as well.

Peach | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow The One
The One
Urban Decay Eyeshadow (Discontinued) Reflection
Reflection
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Nesting
Nesting
Too Faced Eyeshadow Georgia
Georgia

If you think about peach as a fruit, it just makes you wonder if we’re referring to the flesh of the fruit or the skin of the fruit? The skin is quite varied depending on the peach variety, whereas the flesh definitely tends to be yellower more often. Between more typical understanding of “peach” by readers as well as how it’s used in the industry, I’ve come to understand peach as more of a washed out, lighter concept of coral, which means that “cooler” peach shades are pinker.

Peach | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
Natasha Denona Creamy Matte Eye Shadow First
First
Urban Decay Eyeshadow (Discontinued) Highway Queen
Highway Queen
Huda Beauty Eyeshadow Topaz #5
Topaz #5
Natasha Denona Creamy Matte Eye Shadow Bermuda (130CM)
Bermuda (130CM)

This results in more “neutral” peaches to be the “true peach,” which are more balanced between pink, orange, and yellow.

Peach | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
Anastasia Eyeshadow Soft Peach
Soft Peach
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Zested
Zested
Anastasia Eyeshadow Dawn
Dawn
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Ben
Ben

Warmer-toned peaches go between orange and yellow–lighter peaches seem to get more noticeably yellow, whereas very warm-toned, darker peach hues tend to get more orange-leaning. They can sometimes be thought of as very, very light oranges or the space where yellow and orange meet.

Gold | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
Natasha Denona Metallic Eye Shadow Aura (25M)
Aura (25M)
ColourPop Jelly Much Eyeshadow We Jammin'
We Jammin'
Urban Decay Eyeshadow (Discontinued) Fool's Gold
Fool's Gold
NABLA Cosmetics Just Pearl Eyeshadow Citron
Citron

When we speak of “cool” golds, it’s about looking at it on a spectrum of cooler and warmer gold hues, so these are cooler but may still be classified as a warm color overall. I’ve found that when gold gets closer to truly cool, they end up looking more like a lighter, brighter taupe (sometimes described as platinum), which I’ve classified as “pewter” (will be described in part two!). These types of golds tend to look almost greenish or more champagne, white-based.

Gold | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Rascal
Rascal
ColourPop Super Shock Shadow Here We Go Again
Here We Go Again
Natasha Denona Metallic Eye Shadow Aurum
Aurum
Pat McGrath EYEdols Eyeshadow Incandescent Gold 003
Incandescent Gold 003

Because gold is a warmer color, there’s no true “neutral” undertone so much as a balance between what can make a gold cooler or warmer; it is the space where “true gold” lies–where the yellow undertone is most prominent, so it doesn’t appear greenish nor does it appear more orange.

Gold | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Earth
Earth
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Bold Rush
Bold Rush
Pat McGrath EYEdols Eyeshadow Gold Fortune
Gold Fortune
Tarte Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Monkey Business
Monkey Business

Warmer-toned have stronger, more orange undertones coming through. Lighter, very warm-toned golds may appear “peachy,” where as darker, very warm-told golds may look “copper.”

Yellow | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
Anastasia Pressed Pigment D2 (Norvina Vol. 4)
D2 (Norvina Vol. 4)
Anastasia Eyeshadow A1 (Norvina Mini Vol. 2)
A1 (Norvina Mini Vol. 2)
Anastasia Eyeshadow A2 (Norvina Vol. 2)
A2 (Norvina Vol. 2)
Anastasia Eyeshadow A1 (Norvina Vol. 3)
A1 (Norvina Vol. 3)

Cooler yellow are ones that have a hint of green, they also run lighter rather than deeper on the light-to-dark spectrum. If you’re familiar with the typical “highlighter yellow” markers, that’s the vibe. I have found that cooler yellows still pull yellow enough that they don’t get into “chartreuse” territory (yellow-green), but to some, that might be a closer descriptor of a “cooler” yellow.

Yellow | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
Melt Cosmetics Eyeshadow Wax
Wax
UOMA Beauty Eyeshadow Barbados
Barbados
Anastasia Eyeshadow D4 (Norvina Vol. 2)
D4 (Norvina Vol. 2)
Coloured Raine Eyeshadow Lemon Drop
Lemon Drop

A balanced (rather than “neutral”) yellow is a true yellow, so it doesn’t pull green and doesn’t have orange or red undertones mixed in.

Yellow | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
Natasha Denona Creamy Matte Eye Shadow Citrine
Citrine
Huda Beauty Eyeshadow Electric #5
Electric #5
ColourPop Pressed Powder Shadow Sun Belt
Sun Belt
Natasha Denona Creamy Matte Eye Shadow Rhizome (273CM)
Rhizome (273CM)

Warmer yellows are ones that approach very light orange, so they will have brighter, more vivid tones and see a mix of yellow and orange undertones.

Beige | Cooler

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
MAC Lipstick Calm Heat
Calm Heat
MAC Lipstick Bosom Friend
Bosom Friend
Smashbox Be Legendary Cream Lipstick Phantom
Phantom
Sephora Lipstories Lipstick Love Love (07)
Love Love (07)

Cooler beiges range from having an almost grayish cast to a muted, pink tone to it. I think the key to understanding beige is thinking of it as a very, very light brown, like 20% brown and 80% white. Otherwise, it tends to be more useful to think of as pink, peach, or brown.

Beige | Balanced

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick C103
C103
Tom Ford Beauty Lip Contour Duo Lip Color A/W '16 (Lip Color)
A/W '16 (Lip Color)
MAC Lipstick Peachy Peter
Peachy Peter
Tom Ford Beauty Lip Color Blush Nude
Blush Nude

More balanced beige shades tend to look less gray and have pinker, rosier tones to them. They always put me in the mindset of a more muted, washed out pink or pink-peach.

Beige | Warmer

Gallery Options
Products
Swatches
On LipsLip Swatches
MAC Lipstick Bare Bling
Bare Bling
MAC Lipstick Leave Me Breathless
Leave Me Breathless
Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim High Intensity Lipstick I Wish
I Wish
Anastasia Liquid Lipstick Sand
Sand

Warmer beige tends to lean slightly peach or yellow-orange–true yellow may be more of a balanced beige than particularly warm, as when beige itself is a lighter color, it often has a muted quality when there is a yellow tone to it. “Warmer” beige is a color I don’t find exists as often as “cooler peach” does.

Head on over to part two, which will cover green, teal, aqua, blue, berry, plum, purple, lavender, brown, taupe, mauve, pewter, white, silver, gray, and black.

How I Understand Colors & Undertones in Makeup (Part 1)

How I Understand Colors & Undertones in Makeup (Part 1)

When divided in half, you can see the warmer vs. cooler undertones of the color wheel.

When divided in half, you can see the warmer vs. cooler undertones of the color wheel.

Here's a desaturated version of the color wheel--colors that described as muted, faded, dusty.

Here's a desaturated version of the color wheel--colors that described as muted, faded, dusty.

Here's a darkened version of the color wheel, which starts to show the depths of colors and where they fall.

Here's a darkened version of the color wheel, which starts to show the depths of colors and where they fall.

How I Understand Colors & Undertones in Makeup (Part 1)

How I Understand Colors & Undertones in Makeup (Part 1)

When divided in half, you can see the warmer vs. cooler undertones of the color wheel.

When divided in half, you can see the warmer vs. cooler undertones of the color wheel.

Here's a desaturated version of the color wheel--colors that described as muted, faded, dusty.

Here's a desaturated version of the color wheel--colors that described as muted, faded, dusty.

Here's a darkened version of the color wheel, which starts to show the depths of colors and where they fall.

Here's a darkened version of the color wheel, which starts to show the depths of colors and where they fall.

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