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Beauty | Magazine

Perfect Pairing: Find the Best Wedding Makeup for Your Undertone

The world of wedding makeup can be so daunting, and whether or not it’s a part of your everyday routine, most brides opt for wedding day makeup either done by themselves or by a wedding beauty professional. But if you don’t already eat, sleep and breathe makeup, where do you even begin? We asked some of the best in the business about an important first step in makeup, which is finding your undertone! Read on as Houston wedding beauty experts give us the ins and outs of what wedding makeup is the perfect pairing for your skin tone – especially on your big day.

wedding makeup for porcelain skin tone

wedding makeup

Porcelain

with Crown of Glory Beauty

What colors and products perfectly complement a porcelain skin tone?  

Let me just say that I am obsessed with redheads, probably because I have a few redheaded nieces who are just THE CUTEST. Typically, redheads are pretty fair-skinned, with more warm pink and red undertones. Warm color palettes like reds, orange, peach and golds, and of course neutrals, look great on redheads, in my opinion! For Kelly’s wedding day, her light, coppery hair color was my inspiration behind her makeup color palette. I just HAD to use the golds, coppers and peach eyeshadow and blush colors that our Elevé Cosmetics (Crown of Glory’s go-to clean makeup line) Crop Top + Flip Flops makeup palette has to offer. If you are a redhead, you NEED this palette in your makeup bag! I finished her off with a matte, velvety lipstick, in shade “Caribbean” because of its peach/orange colors. On her fair skin, it looks like a muted orange/red lip. Which adds the perfect complementary pop of color to her blue eyes!

What products did you use to achieve this particular look?  

I am personally committed to using clean, high-quality skincare and makeup, so why wouldn’t I extend the same standards to my clients? That’s why we are committed to using Elevé – a local Texas independent beauty line. The best part about redheads is their FRECKLES, so we do not want to use a heavy foundation that’s going to cover those beauties up! So in addition to the Crop Top + Flip Flop palette and Caribbean matte lipstick, we used the lightweight, creamy Bombshell Beauty Balm in shade, Fair! Bonus—it has natural SPF to protect her fair skin from the sun (it was July, and that sun was bright and hot)!

What’s the difference between your skin tone and undertone?

When it comes to color matching your foundation, we must understand the difference between our skin tone and undertone. Your skin tone is the level of light or darkness your skin has (from fair, medium, to dark), which can change throughout the seasons depending on how much sun exposure we have had. Your undertone is the underlying tone your skin has (neutral, warm or cool). This does not change. While there are many ways to determine your undertone, a good way to know is to look at the under part of your arm or wrist in the indirect sunlight (near a window). Do you see more blue veins? You’re most likely cool. If you see more green/olive colors, you are warm. If you can’t decide, you might be neutral. Have patience with yourself, try out different foundations on your wrist or neck and determine which foundations you think blend in well! Essentially, you want your foundation to melt into your skin and give you a radiant glow!

Photo: Jessica Scott Photography // Also Pictured: BHLDN

 

wedding makeup for warm ivory skin tone

wedding makeup

Warm Ivory

with Etoilly Artistry

What colors do you love to use for a warm ivory skin tone?

On Jocelyn, we wanted to bring out her gorgeous, glowing, ivory skin by using warm, blush tones throughout, and we predominantly used a warm tan to make her blue eyes POP! A warmer bronze or blush tone is always a blue-eyed-girl’s best friend!

What products did you use in this look?

We love our go-to palette and hue line, “Pillow Talk” by Charlotte Tilbury. A very simple, elegant bridal look, but still maintains with the current trends of the beauty world!

How do you find a color match?

The easiest and most efficient way to determine your skin’s undertones is by color matching to your neck! Many artists will color match to your chest or the underside of a client’s arm, but we have found that this sometimes creates an inaccurate skin tone that’s not perfectly matched to the client. The underarm can definitely help in finding the proper undertone, but you must assess the client’s complete complexion for a perfect color match!

Photo: Courtney Leigh Photography // Also Pictured: The Creative Chateau, a & bé bridal shop, Hayley Paige

 

wedding makeup

wedding makeup for medium skin

Medium

with Butter Artistry

What colors perfectly complement a medium skin tone?

Her skin tone is a gorgeous medium shade with a neutral undertone. A neutral undertone allows for her to wear both cool tones and warm tones based on her desired look and possibly what she is choosing to wear that day. We chose to focus on bringing out the blush undertones in her skin by creating a look with cool colors. Hints of lavender and a soft white shimmer can be found in her eyeshadow and blush. Using cooler colors like a rosy pink lipstick, and a highlight with a dash of pink instead of gold allowed for us to play up her blue-green eyes and her off-white wedding dress.

What products did you use to achieve this particular look?

Because this bride had beautiful natural freckles across her nose and her cheekbones, we chose to use a light layer of foundation, so as not to hide them. A warm bronze color was chosen for her liner and her contour to help accentuate and complement her natural milk chocolate freckles, and we topped off the apples of her cheeks with a cool lavender-pink blush. We kept her eyeshadow soft and to a minimum to accentuate her long lashes and bold brows.

What are some tips to finding what undertone you are?

Your undertone is also often determined or reflected by your natural hair and eye color. This bride’s crystal blue-green eyes and sunkissed light brown hair is a natural complement to her neutral, yet slightly pink undertone. Now that is not to say that if she was naturally tan in the summertime or changed her hair color that her undertones wouldn’t adapt and change. It is important to always adjust your makeup to things that you may change, like the richness of your tan or your hair color. If you suddenly go from blonde hair to black hair, your undertone will most likely have a shift to the naked eye as it is now juxtaposed against a new bold color. When deciding what undertone you are, we suggest starting with your foundation to determine cool, warm or neutral tones for you. Cool undertones will look better in a pink base, warm tones in yellow base foundations, and neutral tones in a slightly peach colored base. We suggest always testing your foundation to the center of your chest to achieve the most accurate match.

Photo: Josh & Dana Fernandez Photography // Also Pictured: Kaira, Brickhouse Bridal, Two Be Wed, Carr Mansion

 

olive skin tone

olive skin tone

Olive

with ELM Beauty

What lip color is your fave for this skin tone?

We really wanted the focus of this look to be the wine-colored lip. By using a sheer lipstick with a subtle satin finish, we kept the look modern and the lips kissable.

What eye look works well with an olive tone?

On the eyes, we did a soft wash of champagne and bronze to shape the eye without being too harsh. Fluttery lashes added a little drama and a lot of romance.

What are your go-to skin tips?

Skin stayed soft and satiny with the help of light diffusing powders and a touch of bronzer on the high points of the face. A light facial oil on the cheekbones made the skin glow and kept the look from getting too matte and heavy.

Photo: Jason Smelser Photography // Also Pictured: Houston Bridal Gallery, The Vine, Callie Elizabeth Hair

 

chestnut skin undertones

wedding makeup

Chestnut

with Hey Lovely

What do you use primarily for a chestnut skin tone?

We love bronzes, plums, creams and golds.

What products did you use to achieve this look?

We used Bobbi Brown and Tarte chocolate, mauve and cream shadows. Blush was Nars Amour.

What are some tips to finding what undertone you are?

You have cool undertones if you can see blue veins in your skin. If your veins appear green or olive on the skin, you’re warm. Neutral is a mixture of both warm and cool undertones.

Very Fair: Fair skin tends to have neutral or cooler undertones. Cooler-toned shades such as taupe, beige and soft pinks complement this undertone.

Light: Skin that’s light but not as fair look best in cooler-toned shades that are more soft and neutral such as grays and deeper beiges.

Medium: This skin tone usually has the ability to go with both warmer and cooler colors

Olive: Like medium, olive can also do both warmer and cooler shades, though I’d recommend adding more vivid colors, as olive skin tones can usually handle it.

Tan: This skin tone looks great with warmer shades like bronze as well as warmer tones such as orange.

Medium to Dark: Skin can go both cool and warmer in color.

Deep: This skin tone can go both cool and warm in color. Going more vivid with color can really pop against this skin tone.

Photo: Sarah McKenzie Photography

 

cocoa skin undertone tips

cheek, lip, eye for cocoa skin

Cocoa

with BP Artistry

What colors perfectly complement this skin tone?

She had such a beautiful undertone, we wanted to keep it soft with rose colored blush, golden bronzers and a golden highlighter.

What products did you use to achieve particular look?

We used Charlotte Tilbury’s “Pillow Talk” palette for this look. We loved the dusty rose tones and wanted to keep everything very natural. We also finished it with the same brand and color lipstick — “Pillow Talk.”

What are some tips to finding what undertone you are?

This is one of the most common concerns we get from clients, but we always give them this little tip: If you are in between colors, or feel like your foundation always looks a bit dull, try mixing two foundations together! You’ll probably get a gorgeous glow and fall in love with it!

Photo: Brandy Palacios Photography // Also Pictured: The Creative Chateau

 


Find even more talented Houston wedding makeup experts here or read our wedding beauty guide here. Happy planning!

Other Local Vendors: Caked up with Riley, Tease HTX, AH Specialties, Pearl and Co. Artistry, Adorne Artistry, Brittany Blanchard Beauty