Warm vs Cool Olive Skin - What's the Difference?

Not all olive skin tones are the same - we can be warm OR cool! Let's talk about the differences between warm vs cool olives, some indicators that can help you understand if you're a warm or a cool olive, and what having warm or cool olive skin means when it comes to finding your best colors!

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Interested in Facial Analysis? Check out my course & guides:

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Related videos for you to watch:

Video: "Do I Have Olive Skin?” You'll never have to wonder again.

Video: Here's Confused about SEASONAL COLOURS? Here's all you need to know.

Video: Confused about SKIN TONE? Here's all you need to know.

Video: Here's WHY you think RED LIPS look bad on you.

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Connect with me!

[chlomo]

Such a great video explaining why it's not easy being green 😂

[Filianyntix]

Learning about seasonal coloring was mindblowing for me. Since I'm really yellow on the surface, everyone around me were saying that i was warm toned. Back then i bought a lot of warm make-up items and clothes. I hated how they looked on me and couldn't figure it out for so long. At some point I thought make-up was not for me. Nowadays I'm living in peace with my cool toned muted make-up items and clothes. But I must say it was a long journey. It's extra complicated when you are olive because you are so in between. You are like a neutral person but not actually neutral. You have to be extra careful with colors because the line between looking like a clown and looking decent is really thin. Or at least I feel like that.

[maryam.m]

This is the most detailed guide I've seen to explain olive skin. Consider this my reminder that I'm probably a cool-olive, and why I look so "sickly" compared to other people.

[nancytipton]

It's taken me a virtual lifetime to finally understand that I have a neutral olive skintone that appears cooler during winter, but a cool rose-gold brown if I get a tan. More vibrant or saturated look best on me. Shades like: magenta, teal, turquoise, lime green and chartreuse, plum, red, emerald green, royal purple, even black. But. NO baby blue, light pink or most yellows, and other than a deep, warm charcoal, gray makes me look like a cadaver!

[RuffiRaggaMuff]

This dress is perfect for your olive skin! I need muddy colors because I’m so muted. I still can’t figure out if I’m neutral or olive. Next to someone that is cool I look green but next to true neutral I look warm!

[cora.ann.s]

In another video about olive skin, the creator talked about two types: "olive cool and bright" and "olive cool and delicate". I found this very helpful for me personally. Some with an olive skin tone tolerate bright colors very well (like Eva in your example) and then there are those who need to add a little softness (Gemma Chan looks better with a mauve lipstick than a pink one, for example).

[onyeenoma]

Thank you for using examples with brown skin. Was really helpful!

[Yolk]

Im very yellow with green (light skin) and I would say because of my yellowness, I thought more warm colors go on me but I was wrong. I have to be careful with both warm and cool colors; they both can make me look sick!

[Seoulsearch]

Your videos are second to none. I'm not even an olive skin tone, but you present such interesting information that no one else is covering that I just have to watch every video! 🌹🥰🌟 Shout out to all the beautiful olive sisters. ❤️

[TinaCSSSS]

Omg thank you for this video!!! You're literally first "color consultant" that actually makes sense to me, talks to the depth and don't put everyone into certain "boxes" or seasons... I've been racking my brain for the last few months about which season I belong to, only to realize that I have olive skin and it's just not that simple 😅 (it's very RELATIVE as you said). One thing that doesn't make sense to me in color theory is claim that everyone belongs constantly into one season. When summer arrives I can get so tanned and turn literally orange :D!!! I don't think it looks very good but at least I look radiant in lipsticks and makeup. And then winter comes and I'm stunned every year that same lipsticks I wore in summer are simply overpowering and neutral shades are absolutely the best choice (soft autumn colors are closes to what I'm talking about). The same goes with eyeshadows, best combo is when I mix cool with warm shades, but warm shades alone do always look better than cool shades alone, that's why it's obvious I lean more into warm side. I hope you and some other people with olive skin can agree on this with me, that summer and winter season literally change our color season and suitable colors for us... Btw the second I turned this video I was thinking that this girl MUST have olive skin, so my assumptions can't be that wrong 😁

[NayNayxoxo]

i’m a cool olive!! the best foundation match i ever found was fenty 150, it def has that almost grey cast to it, and i remember being so surprised when it matched me perfectly!!

[ririimari]

I'm a pale olive girly who is super muted & I'm so glad I found this channel! I live in cool tones and neutrals, usually I go for a monotone look with taupe as the main color lol!

[CJ_]

I'm not an olive, but I am so neutral I thought I was cool for decades and only recently realized I am warm. For me, clarity also matters most. I find your info here very helpful even though my skin is not olive.. very fair neutrals also have similar struggles. So thank you!

[mayas.asylum]

As a pale cool olive you described my struggles with finding colours that suit me perfectly! it's definitely a huge trial and error journey but seeing some things put into words definitely helped so thank you💚
ive been told my skin looks puke green irl LOL so i always knew i was somewhat olive despite how light i am 😂

[saharamcnamara]

This was so helpful because I look grey as hell. Especially in winter, I look like I've just risen from the dead and tend to get comments (mostly from my mom) about looking sick and "like I've been trapped in a basement my whole life". I don't like the feeling of makeup (foundation) on my skin, but I look like I should be playing in The Walking Dead without it. During the summer my skin shapeshifts and becomes this unhealthy green colour and since I am also extremely pale, the effect of looking like I'm on the brink of death gets maximalized. I was never able to find any colours that looked good on me, but this video made me scroll through some old photos and I found a picture of me in a true red dress, which surprisingly made my skin look less sickly. I guess clarity really is important for people with cool olive skin. This topic should be talked about more often. Great video!

Edit: One thing I noticed is that even though clear/bold colours look good on me when it comes to clothing, those same colours look absolutely horrible directly on my face in the form of lipstick. Ever since I switched to lip tint and simple lip oil, my complexion has been looking so much better. Not saying this will be true for everyone, but it might be worth a try.

[marig]

Winter me: Yellow Green
Spring, Summer, Fall me: deep with a hint of green.

I often think if you are warm olive: bright orange makes you look vibrant and light blue looks like it is wearing you.
I myself, when I do use concealer look for one with a hint of yellow in it. I don't have blue or darkness under my eyes but apply to brighten up a touch.

[chesiresays]

8:30 this is so true, I’ve bought so many concealers trying to find the right shade. It took me over 4 years bc I didn’t want to be wasteful. I kept noticing that any shade that claimed to be warm looked too orange on my skin, I knew I wasn’t cool toned bc I was too yellow (I’m almost pale so it’s easier to tell), so I gave neutral shades a chance and the shade match is almost perfect now

[kirjastotati]

This video was so helpful! I finally understand that the gray hue of my skin means i'm cool! People (me included) always assume I'm warm because I'm very pale and lack pink in my skin. Being also muted i can't wear bright or most pastel colours. Deep greens, blues, teals and burgundy suit me best.

[Maria.Aurelia]

Wow. I actually might be olive. Me and Rihanna are the same skin tone. I never understood what olive skin tone was but the way you described it bought clarity for me. I’ve always thought I was golden but wearing such yellow/orange foundations was never right for me. neutral foundations that still have that yellow tint works best for me. It also makes me wonder what seasonal palette I am now. I still don’t prefer such bright colors on me but I may have to experiment and see

[coconoir]

It’s so hard to find complexion products for dark skin with an olive undertones. It’s drives me insane having to correct the undertones of my foundation.