A Crash Course on Undertones — The Lexington Line

There has been in depth research, countless articles, and more than enough TikTok filters telling people which metal jewelry they “must wear” in order to complement their skin properly. While there is no law against wearing silver, even though you technically should be wearing gold, it is always helpful to understand why something may not look right on you.

Follow along for an undertone and jewelry crash course to learn how to find which metal is right for you!

A lesson on tones

Skin tones

A person’s skin tone is the surface color of their skin and it can be broken up into four main groups: fair, light, medium, and dark. Skin tone is often thought to be directly correlated to the make-up of person’s undertone, but the truth is that one does not determine the other. Skin tone can change depending on weather, age, or sun damage, while undertones always remain the same, no matter how the skin changes.

Undertones

A dark skin tone does not always equate to warm undertone and a light tone doesn’t mean that one’s undertone will be cool. Simply put, dark toned people commonly have cool undertones as well as light toned people having warm undertones. A person’s undertones never change and can alter the appearance of a their skin, making their skin look warmer or cooler.

How to determine your undertone

Undertones are also broken up into groups: cool, neutral, and warm. The science behind determining them isn’t anything fancy and requires nothing more than a glance at your wrist. Turn your hand over and look at the veins on your wrist, then read to see which undertone you have!

Cool Undertone: Veins appear blue/purple and the skin has hints pink and blue. Cool undertone people are more likely to burn easily in the sun.

Neutral Undertone: Veins appear blue/green, meaning you have a good mix of both cool and warm undertones in your skin.

Warm Undertone: Veins appear a green/olive color and the skin has hints of gold and red. Mostly warm, but sometimes neutral, undertones tend to tan easier in the sun and burn less often.

Still unsure how to determine your undertone? Take POPSUGAR’s quiz and get your answer!

What to do with what you know

Now that you’ve discovered your undertone, it’s time to put that information to use. Undertones determine which type of metals suit you best, therefore it’s important to know how to choose jewelry that works for you!

Gold

Gold jewelry is known to compliment skin with neutral to warm undertones because it brings out the warmth of a person’s skin, whereas silver on a warm undertone can wash someone out. The key to successfully complimenting your skin with jewelry is to choose quality metals that won’t tarnish or fade after only a couple of wears. Let’s break down the types of gold jewelry and which are truly worth your money.

Gold-Plated: A base metal, such as nickel or copper, is made into a piece of jewelry, then finished with a thin coat of gold. This type of jewelry is typically the cheapest because it contains the least amount of gold compared to others and the quality is correlated to the price. Gold plated jewelry tarnishes the quickest, turns skin green, and has a very limited durability. Although it is the most common and most affordable, gold-plated jewelry doesn’t last long and often ends up being a waste of money.

Gold Vermeil (Pronounced ‘ver-may’): This is a type of gold-plated jewelry that has pure sterling silver as the base metal. The difference between this and regular gold-plated jewelry is that gold vermeil will not tarnish and with silver as the base metal, people with sensitive skin can wear this jewelry without concern.

Gold Filled: Where gold vermeil and gold-filled jewelry differ is the method of coloration. Like the other metals, Gold filled jewelry has a base metal, usually sterling silver. What’s unique about gold filled is that instead of a thin gold coating, a thick sheet of gold is applied on top of the base metal core then exposed to high pressure and heat. This fuses the metals together and allows the jewelry to be made up of more gold than just a thin layer on top. Gold filled jewelry rarely tarnishes and is made to last decades.

Solid Gold: Of all the types of gold, solid gold is undoubtedly the highest in both quality and price; however, the name isn’t entirely accurate. This type of metal isn’t actually made of 100% gold, mainly because that would be too expensive, but most importantly, the metal would be too soft and damage far too easily. To make this jewelry, gold is mixed with other base metals that will provide the piece with structure and durability, while still being made of mostly gold. The higher the gold content, the higher the price!

Silver

Silver jewelry is the best choice for some neutral, but mostly cool toned people. The metal complements the skin in a way that makes the jewelry seem like it was made for the person wearing it. In the same way as gold, silver jewelry is often cheaply made and quickly tarnishes. This is why you need to be aware of the type of silver you’re buying, follow along a bit more for a lesson on silver jewelry!

Sterling Silver, .925: This type of jewelry is made from an alloy of 92.5% silver, meaning that majority of metal is actual silver, while the remaining 7.5% consists of copper or sometimes nickel. Sterling silver is the most common type in United States’ jewelry stores, and it is the silver color that people are most familiar with; it does tarnish, slowly, but is very easy to clean.

Silver Plated: Similar to gold plated, silver plated is a jewelry made of a base metal, such as nickel or copper, that is very thinly covered in a layer of silver. The overall silver content is very minimal compared to the rest of the metals in the piece. This is often used for costume jewelry and will tarnish easily.

Nickel Silver: This type jewelry contains no real silver at all. It consists of primarily copper with nickel and/or zinc. It’s made of an inexpensive base metal that is similar in appearance to sterling silver. Costume jewelry is often made from nickel silver and it’s clearly labeled because of many people’s allergy to the metal.

Silver Filled: Around a brass core, a thick layer of silver is fused with heat and pressure. The layer of silver on top of the core is much thicker than silver plated jewelry, but it is still significantly lower in quality compared to solid sterling silver. Silver filled jewelry will eventually tarnish, but holds up pretty well.

Now that you know how to properly compliment your skin with jewelry, maybe think about investing in some new pieces! Vintage and thrift shopping are great places to start for testing out your chosen metal and they’re a great place to find unique jewelry! My personal favorite place to shop for anything sterling silver is Etsy because of the quality and price that the small businesses offer. If you’re looking for more recommendations, or even the next step into personalizing your accessories, delve into Ryleigh Clarkson’s article on Mixing Metals!

Have any tips or tricks on how to determine your skin tone? Leave a comment below!