Olive undertone: how to spot it and which colours suit it

An olive undertone is a soft green or grey-green cast beneath the skin's surface, and it is easy to confuse with warm or neutral. If your skin looks slightly greyish-green next to white paper and gold flatters you, olive is worth considering.

It is often overlooked because a golden or pink layer on top can hide it. Once you know what to look for, it becomes much easier to choose colours that suit you.

What is an olive undertone?

Undertone is the subtle colour beneath your surface tone. Most people are described as warm (golden), cool (pink or bluish) or neutral (a mix). Olive adds a fourth option: a muted green or grey-green note that does not fit neatly into any of the other three.

Olive is about the cast, not the depth. It appears in light, medium and deep complexions alike, and it does not change with the seasons or a tan. For the wider picture of all four types, see the warm vs cool undertone guide.

How to tell if you have an olive undertone

No single check proves it, so look for several clues pointing the same way. Do all of them in daylight, on bare skin.

• The white paper test. Hold a bright white sheet beside your face. Warm skin looks yellow or peachy, cool skin looks pink, and olive often looks a little grey-green or ashy.
• Your wrist veins. They may look greenish rather than clearly blue or purple. This is hard to judge on deeper skin, so do not lean on it alone.
• Sun reaction. Many people with an olive undertone tan fairly easily. It is only a hint, and sun protection matters for everyone.
• Metals. Gold often flatters, but silver may look good too, so you might not be able to pick a winner.
• Colour draping. Some bright, very yellow shades look sallow, while deep earthy greens look rich.

If three or more of these line up, olive is a likely answer. The five undertone tests walk through each check step by step.

Why olive gets mistaken for neutral or warm

There are a few reasons. Olive skin often looks good in gold, so people assume warm. It may also suit both metals, so people assume neutral. Then there is the surface layer, which can be golden, beige or pink and so covers the green beneath.

Another trap is the word itself. Some people expect olive skin to look visibly green, but it is usually far more subtle. Often the only hint is how colours behave near the face, not the skin itself.

Colours that often suit an olive undertone

Rich, earthy and slightly deep colours tend to work well, because they echo the muted depth of the skin instead of fighting it.

• Forest green, which looks natural against olive skin
• Burgundy, a deep red with a touch of plum
• Earth brown and warm chestnut
• Teal and petrol blue
• Olive green, worn with care and best seen in daylight
• Terracotta and rust

Jewel tones such as emerald, sapphire and amethyst are often flattering too, and creamy off-whites usually sit better than stark white.

What to be careful with near your face

These are tendencies, not rules, and individual faces vary.

• Very pale pastels can wash out the face and make the green in the skin more obvious.
• Some yellow or mustard shades can echo the green and make you look tired.
• Stark optic white can look harsh against a muted complexion. Try ivory or cream.

The simplest safeguard is to try before you decide. Hold the colour under your chin in daylight and ask whether your skin looks clearer or duller.

Jewelry on olive skin

Yellow gold and rose gold are a common starting point, since their warmth often lifts the skin. Silver, white gold and platinum can look sharp and modern on some olive complexions, so test them too. If both work, you have freedom. Gold or silver jewelry for your skin has a fast three-step method for deciding.

Where Kittyfit fits in

Kittyfit recognises olive as its own result next to warm, cool and neutral, so you are not forced into a category that does not fit. A short quiz and optional face and wrist photos are analysed on your iPhone, and the app then scores clothes and jewelry against your undertone. See how it works.