It can be hard enough picking out the right swimsuit silhouette to highlight your natural shape. But the colour? It's more to think about. Of course, when it comes to fashion, there are no hard and fast rules. It’s all about experimenting and having fun. That said, there are some colours that look better on your skin, wherever you may fall on the spectrum.
To save you the decision fatigue, we’re compiled a list of questions to ask yourself the next time you go swimwear shopping.
1. What’s your skin tone?
Ever heard the make-up gurus throwing around words like “ivory”, “beige” or “ebony”? Those are some words that refer to the shade of your skin, also known as your skin tone. There are thousands of skin tones in the world. Within the range of deep to fair, where do you fall?
2. What’s your undertone?
Knowing your undertone is crucial as it reflects how your natural skin reacts to certain colours. Your skin tone can change with time, but your undertones don’t. A simple way to describe it – your skin tone is like paint, and your undertone the canvas.
So, instead of going nuts for spray tans or whitening creams, knowing your undertone will help you bring out the natural glow you already have.
It’s a common misconception that fair skin is cool and dark skin is warm. However, there are whole spectrums of shades for cool and warm undertones. Here are some methods to find your undertones.
Observe your veins
Are they blue or green? If they are blue, you have cool undertones. If they are green, you have warm undertones. If you have a mix of both, you have neutral undertones.
Go under the sun
How does your skin react to the sun? If you burn and get rosy quickly, you have warm undertones. If you burn, and get tanned after, you have neutral undertones. If you tan immediately, you have cool undertones.
Take a cue from jewelry
Do you look better in gold or silver? If gold brings out the warmth in you, you have warm undertones. If silver looks better, you have cool undertones.
3. What’s your combination?
Based on your undertone and skin tone, you can determine your combination. Here’s a quick and nifty chart to help you figure out.
4. What works best for your combination?
Once you know your combination, it’s time to see which colours work best for you!
The basic rule of thumb – choose colours that complement your undertone and colours that contrast your skin tone.
Knowing your undertones helps you choose from the right colour spectrum. For example, if you have warm undertones, you should choose colours on the warmer side of the colour wheel. On the other hand, knowing your skin tone addresses the shade you should be wearing.
Imagine this: a girl with warm undertones and dark skin would look great in light yellow. However, the same colour might look pale on someone with warm undertones and light skin.
Get the idea?
Here are some recommended shades for different combinations.
If you have a cool undertones and dark skin:
Candy colours on the cool side of the colour specturm like aquamarine, mint and lilac would bring out the glow in you. To enhance your skintone, you can even try a frosty off-white number.
If you have a cool undertones and fair skin:
Deep jewel tones like emerald, sapphire and magenta would make you look like a royal. Try to avoid warm shades as the stark contrast against your skin may be overwhelming.
If you have a warm undertones and dark skin:
Your skin is the perfect canvas for light colours like baby pink, cream and peach. They bring out your warm glow, and provide the right amount of contrast that pops against your skin. Best of all, such a unique swimsuit is sure to catch attention because of its distinctive colour!
If you have a warm undertones and fair skin:
Given your fair skin tone, you should steer clear of lighter colours as they tend to blend into you skin. To highlight your warm undertones, choose saturated fall colours like coral, auburn, mango, or even earthy greens. If you’re going for a classic fail-safe look? A black swimsuit would be perfect to bring out that sun-kissed tan.
If you have neutral tones:
You’re a lucky one. Getting the best of both worlds means you have a versatile style to explore. Go on, knock yourself out with all the colours of the rack.
If you managed to answer the four questions above, you’re all set to prepare for your next beach trip. Whether it's a colourful bikini, sexy one piece, or a bandeau bikini top, we're excited to see what you end up trying!
Travel on,
