While we are all aware of the basic skin colors, olive skin is something most of us are not familiar with! There is so much about skin tones that everyone should know after all, it is always good to learn the ropes.
Generally, we confuse golden tan with olive but there is a fine line that make a distinction between these two. Knowing your skin, its color and undertone can help you make better skincare and makeup choices.
What Exactly is Olive Skin?
Your skin’s complexion depends on the undertone of your skin. Olive color is the perfect blend of neutral undertones with a green-tinted skin pigment, which gives a beautiful olive tint to your skin. Light olive skin usually has cream to beige undertones whereas dark olive skin is moderately brown. Olive skin is uncommon and hence, not many of us are aware of the existence of this shade in the skin color palette. But hey, if you have this olive skin, you are special.
The Fitzpatrick Scale
Our body produces color-enhancing melanin whose amount decides the color of our skin. There is a notion that olive skin has bronze complexion, which is not at all true! There are as many shades of olive as any other color has! To determine the actual skin color, there is a Fitzpatrick Scale. This classifies human skin color numerically after exposure to the sun. Olive skin fall in the type IV and type V of the Fitzpatrick Scale. If you want to know your real color, get a Fitzpatrick Scale test done by your dermatologist. This would help you to take proper care for your skin.
Olive skin problems
Olive skin is unique with a neutral undertone which is very rare and special but this doesn’t mean that there are no downsides! Some of the common problems that people with olive skin suffer are:
• Easy tanning
• Hyper-pigmentation
• Skin discoloration
• Oily skin
Finding the Right Cosmetic Products for Olive Skin
Amidst a sea of makeup products, it becomes tough to find the right product for your skin. And things become tougher for olive skin people. So, how do you get the right product? We have explained them for you here. Read ahead.
Choosing the Right Foundation
The best thing about olive skin is the natural glow. You do not need to put on concealer as a mere foundation is enough to give the base to your makeup. Find a shade of your skin color, also, which is suitable for neutral undertones. However, do not hesitate to experiment with warm and cool-toned foundations, they may work out too!
Blushes for Olive Skin
Due to the neutral tone, you can go for pink and peach-colored blush palette. If you want to give a slightly edgy look to your face, you can also opt for a bronze shade. It would do the work of a blusher and highlighter both.
Eyeshadow for Olive Skin
While you may want to play with colors on your eyelids, not all of them might suit you due to the olive tone! The apt and go-to eyeshadow colors for olive-skinned people are the shades of bronze and gold. In addition to this, you can also try dark eye-popping colors like dark blue, purple, emerald green etc.
Experiment with Lipsticks
Olive skin people are blessed when it comes to coloring their lips as they can try as many shades as they want owing to the neutral undertone. From subtle mattes to glossy brights, you can actually try them all as per your wish. If there is something that you need to avoid, it is a ‘nude’ shade. Since you already have a neutral base, getting nude lips can bring down the whole look!
Highlighter and Contours
While you are blessed with naturally-highlighted olive skin, sometimes a little extra won’t hurt! Contour your face and highlight the high points using a subtle highlighter. Do not overdo these or else your face will look like plastic!
