Olive Skin: The Right Looks For Your Tone

Finding the perfect shades of foundation and the most complementary eye and lip colors relies heavily on knowing your skin tone. If you've had trouble determining whether you're a "warm" or a "cool," you might have a more neutral skin tone.

Olive skin tones are neutral tones that can occur in any color of skin, not just medium to darker colors like tans or toffees. Learning whether you have olive colored skin is easy. The RMS Beauty team will teach you how, and give you some shade ideas to create a flawless face.

First, Find Your Undertones

Finding your undertones is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Following these three steps can help you determine whether your undertone is warm or cool.

To get started, grab a white shirt, a mirror, and head toward the nearest natural source of light (like a window).

1. Look at Your Veins

Flip over your wrist and take a peek at the veins just below the surface of your skin. Cool undertones will see blue or pink colored veins. Warm undertones, as well as neutral tones, will see greenish veins, or have trouble seeing a distinct color (i.e. the color of the veins blends with the skin).

2. Wear White

How your skin looks in neutral-colored clothing can help you determine your skin tone. Bright, crisp white perfectly complements cool skin tones, whereas off-white and ecru favor warm skin tones. If your skin looks great in both, you likely have a neutral skin tone.

3. Silver vs. Gold Jewelry

Drawn to silver jewelry? You likely have cool undertones. Love gold? You probably have warm undertones. If your skin complements both silver and gold (and looks great with earthy elements like wood and metals like copper), you have neutral undertones.

How Do I Know If I Have Olive Skin?

Not all neutral skin undertones mean you have olive colored skin. To determine your actual skin tone, look at your skin's overall appearance. You're probably olive skinned if any of the following are true.

Your skin has a green or grayish tint
You have a problem finding the right foundation; most shades make you look too orange or too washed out
It's hard for you to find a true red lipstick

Can You Have Pale Olive Skin?

Yes! Olive skin doesn't have to be tan skin. Although olive toned skin is most often associated with skin types III, IV, and V on the Fitzpatrick scale (which measures the amount of melanin in your skin), it can also be less pigmented.

Pale skin with neutral undertones can have an olive-like appearance. The shade of skin will be closer to champagne or pale gold than true olive.

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What Makeup Shades Are Best For Olive Skin?

Finding makeup shades that suit olive toned skin can be a challenge. Formulas with too much white can make you look ashen, while shades with too much rich pigmentation can look completely different once applied. Red lipsticks may look more pink, and tan foundations may look peach or even orange.

To complicate matters, not all olive skin tones belong to those of Mediterranean, Latin American, Middle Eastern, or Asian descent. This neutral skin tone is found across virtually all nationalities, with a variety of hair and eye colors.

Choosing Your Foundation

Olive skinned complexions can find it especially difficult to get a true foundation match, but it's absolutely possible. Look for foundations that:

Have neutral undertones. Specifically, look for a green undertone rather than tan or pink, which can appear orange on olive skin.
For darker olive skin tones, look for a gold or amber base.
Counter dullness. Olive skin can appear sallow, so try a foundation with a built-in luminizer to diffuse imperfections and create a radiant glow that looks natural, not glittery.

You don't need to apply foundation over your entire face unless you want that much coverage. Applying to trouble spots or the T-zone (if you have oily skin) helps reduce shine and create the perfect palette for color cosmetics.

Using a concealer instead of foundation to cover dark spots or correct discoloration can help you keep a more natural look. RMS Beauty's "Un" Cover-Up Concealer won't settle in your pores and has a buildable, natural finish.

Blush Shades To Look For

Olive skin tones may need to shy away from peachy foundations, but peach-based blushes look positively radiant on them.

Look for colors like salmon or pinks with gold undertones. Cream-based blushes are easier to adjust than powders and are nearly fool-proof for a natural, flushed look.

It's All About the Eyes

One of the best features of olive skin is how well it plays with bold colors. If you love jewel tones, a sweep of emerald or ruby will look beautiful on your lids. You'll also get great mileage out of earth tones and shades with gold and amber highlights.

For a natural look, dab a small amount of luminizer in the center of your lid and sweep on a coat of mascara. You can also use a highlighter on your lids or a bronzer for a sunkissed look.

The Perfect Pout

We don't like to make rules about lip color. If you love it, wear it. The caveat is finding a color you love with an undertone that matches your skin.

If you love red and have olive toned skin, a red with an orange base will read more orange than red. Instead, opt for reds with a deeper plum or raisin base.

Consider Your Hair Color

Olive skin isn't always dark skin. If you have fair olive skin, consider your hair color to help find shades that work for you. Olive skin with light hair will favor different colors than olive skin with dark hair.

The key to making any color work is paying attention to the undertones in the product. Most olive skin tones have neutral undertones, so sticking with neutral-toned colors should give you good matches.

Conclusion

Olive skin is beautiful, but it can be tricky to match foundation and makeup colors. The key for any skin tone is paying attention to your undertones and selecting shades with similar tones.

At RMS Beauty, our color palettes are inspired by the natural beauty in all complexions. Cool, warm, and olive complexions can all wear virtually any shade, as long as the undertones in those shades complement the undertones in the skin.

As always, beauty starts with healthy, radiant skin. Our products are formulated with the cleanest and most nourishing ingredients available.

With RMS Beauty, you can have olive skin that radiates luminosity and health, one cleaner ingredient at a time.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is olive skin tone?

Olive skin is a neutral skin tone that can have green or grayish undertones. It occurs across a range of complexions, including fair, medium, and darker skin.

Q. How can I tell if I have olive skin?

You may be olive skinned if your complexion has a green or grayish tint, many foundations appear too orange or washed out, and you find it difficult to identify a flattering red lipstick.

Q. What foundation shades are best for olive skin?

Foundations with neutral or olive undertones complement olive colored skin best. Depending on your complexion, shades with green, gold, or amber bases may give a more natural match.

Q. What makeup colors look good on olive skin?

Peach and salmon blushes, pinks with gold undertones, jewel tones such as emerald and ruby, and earthy shades with gold or amber highlights all complement olive toned skin.

Q. Can people with fair skin have olive undertones?

Yes. Olive undertones can occur in fair skin as well as medium and darker complexions. Fair olive skin may have a subtle champagne, pale gold, green, or grayish appearance.

Q. How to find skincare products for olive colored skin?

Choose skincare by your skin type and concerns, not your tone. The one tone-specific factor is that olive and deeper complexions are more prone to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, so prioritize daily SPF, gentle treatment of breakouts, and a strong focus on hydration and barrier health to keep dark marks from setting in.