No such thing as a neutral undertone!!

[@notaclue822]

I thought that of the cool seasons, summer was more muted than winter because winters can wear stronger, more vibrant versions of the cool colours. A lot of this video made good sense though. Too often they consider eye and hair colour when it's the complexion that matters. Sadly, even hair dressers and cosmetitcians can't be trusted to know this very well. It's no wonder people are confused.

[@SueRosalie]

yes. You can consider hair colour and eyes once you're determined undertone and the season, and are going through the palettes to determine if the correct season is a sub category.

[@CatsMood]

Summer is cool undertone!

[@FrostyFreya]

This video makes a lot of sense. Yes, always been told summer is cool and muted but in nature it’s the opposite - summer is bright and light. Winter is dark and muted. That’s why it makes more sense and it’s easier to understand.

[@MaireCeann]

For me, the problem is I never get to tell when something "looks better on me", even though I can with others. I think Im neutral just because some people around insists I'm warm, and I "feel more comfortable" with cool colors. For some people like me it's is really tough to understand..

[@merriamstyle]

Hi Maria, you could try watching my draping video. I feel like the hardest person to color/body type is always yourself! So you're definitely not the only one.

[@MaireCeann]

Merriam Style Thanks! I will :)

[@TheBaumcm]

I have found that draping works best for me.

[@zufaanek]

Same here! Its so frustrating

[@0nly.bhadbby40]

SAME .

[@pinkroses135]

I think she's using a different system for summer and winter than the other season system people are used to where summer is muted and winter is bright.

[@Kpower]

I'm trying to understand your point, but I don't. The way I see it, yes it's basically impossible for someone to be smack dead in the middle and thus neutral. However, at the same time, it's also nearly impossible for someone to fall smack dead in the warm or cool either. My theory has always been that it's about what your skin tone falls closer to. In retrospect, to the middle (neutral side) my skin leans slightly in the warm side, but overall, my skin tone is closer to the middle than the warm. If my skin tone was a ph (and the ph of 1 is warm. 7 is neutral and 14 is cool) I would fall into about a 6. That's why I personally consider myself neutral with a touch of warmth.

[@merriamstyle]

The ph thing is a good example. If something is pH 7, we call it neutral. If something is pH 1, we call it extremely acidic. But everything between 1 and 7 is acidic. pH of 3 is also acidic. So, anything between warmest and neutral is also warm, just a bit less warm. The way you describe your skin, "pH of 6", sure you can call it 'neutral with a touch of warmth', but that is still warm. It would be warm and muted in this case, so you'd look great in beiges, creams, and peaches.

[@Kpower]

On paper that works, but I always find myself looking more tired when I wear colors like that. I only have one picture of me wearing a muted color and I had to wear a lot of undereye concealor, color correctors and a make up look that was more muted just so I would not look dead. I usually get complimented on saturated colors. I don't understand why people automatically assume that skin has to be muted if it is not super warm or cool even though real life colors don't work like that.

[@merriamstyle]

Oh! No of course people can be bright undertones. Not everyone is muted that's not what I'm saying. You are probably a bright undertone if you look best in saturated colors. This is only the neutral skin tones. Do you look better in yellow or blue?

[@Kpower]

"Do you look better in yellow or blue". Tbh I don't know. My guess is yellow, but I look good in both. I've asked people what my undertone is and I've been called everything from warm to cool to neutral to olive to whatever. The only thing that makes me think I have a bit of warmth is because my skin under my eyes is clearly warm. The rest of my skin is ambiguous to me. That's why I think I might be a neutral.

[@burgermister7580]

A personal skin overtone and undertone makes us unique. There is no perfect neutral warm cool. This is my theory WE ARE LIKE THERMOMETERS HOW COOL OR WARM ARE WE?? YOU HAVE A UNIQUENESS ABOUT YOU THATS WHAT MAKES US ALL SPECIAL... THERE PROBABLY ARE ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES OF A PERSONAL PALLETT BUT SOME DAY WHEN THIS COLOR THEORY IS MORE ADVANCED THAT WILL HAPPEN. this Munsell theory has been known since the 1800s.The dinosaur age was the mid 1970s late 80s Beauty for all seasons was ahead of thier time. Then now 2018 it's more ahead. But still has more to go.. It's just getting these personal production of these unique palettes into existence. I'm 55 maybe when I'm 95 that will come about. Lol.. I have been doing color analysis for 35 years. They still have a long way to go. Think of your self like a thermometer.

[@angelrose9117]

I believe the girl below. If neutral green and red can exist so can neutral skin colour. I've seen people with neutral skin aswell. And yes I understand how colour works I'm an artist and a makeup artist.

[@humanormachine2936]

Interesting video. This topic gets tricky for people because many times, a person's skin tone doesn't lean very obviously warm or cool. As you approach a neutral skin tone, it gets more difficult to determine whether you learn warm or cool because these differences are so subtle. People also expect certain colors to look incredible on them and certain colors to look terrible, when many people can pull off a lot of colors. It's just a matter of which ones look the best, but that doesn't mean the ones that aren't your best automatically make you look dead.

[@amnbvcxz8650]

Except colours that don’t fit you do make you look dead

[@ontheturquoisetrail]

Love lots of your videos. As someone with blue/yellow eyes and both cool pink and warm yellow undertones as well as purple blue and green veins ... (constantly fluctuating between cool and warm based on the season aka how much sun I have seen) ... if I don't call myself neutral ... what do I call myself? :)

[@user-ud6uv6xm6w]

the hair and eye colour tests are super inaccurate considering it only works on caucasians. coloured people all have dark hair and eyes but there definitely are undertone differences..

[@ingridrodriguez3273]

Also non whites tend to have medium or dark skin and look good in more colors. Also I do think people are “neutral” if they can pull off both warm and cool colors,

[@DJFreeway-DJExit-DJClaritin]

There are dark black/brown skinned people with plenty of cold tones in the undertone and light/pale skinned people with plenty of hot tones in the undertone

[@toninot4293]

Do you agree that there is also a cold yellow? Like a pale lemon. I think I am a Winter. Corn yellow look terrible on me, but a cooler yellow is fine

[@suzannemoogan9675]

I know what your saying however I am the opposite, every other colour apart from lemon or brown looks great on me, lemon makes my skin seem sallow brown is the same but the rest of the palettes look amazing including black I have never understood this I can even wear mustard, rust etc, however never dark brown, tan or muted orange on the other hand neon orange and pillar box red looks spectacular on me or so people have commented.

[@julijakeit]

I think you're talking about lime yellow and yes, as a summer, I can wear this muted, cooled down yellow without looking sick.

[@katitadeb]

When we talk about color theory tea, it exists a "cool" yellow, but in personal color analysis that's not the case. In color theory yellow is the neutral, but here green is the neutral, so in personal color analysis there's not such a thing a school yellows, but warm greens And those colors look better in warm people, cool skin tones look grayish tbh But, if you're cool and you really want to wear yellow then of course eyou should pick the "coolest" yellow As you see the naming of the colors (in terms of temperature and "neutral") changes if we talk about color theory used in graphic design and personal coloring used by stylists Also consider that there will always exist colors from the opposite temperature that don't look bad at all, but its definitely not the bets of the best as your own colors

[@mariazoe6396]

I agree with you. I am winter and lemon yellow is good on me

[@paintedlady55]

I found this video interesting, but I have to disagree. I do have a neutral skin tone. I don't look good in either of the extremes of warm and cool colours but suit those that are 3 steps either side of the neutral colour and my best lipstick colour is a pinky bronze. Any thoughts?

[@merriamstyle]

I would say you're most likely warm and delicate. warm and delicate is often placed into cool even by color analysts simply because they tend to look good in cool and muted colors, but warm colors can become too much. another thing with being warm is that cool colors look ok, but vice versa isn't true--cool undertones really can't handle warm colors. forgive me if you already are aware of what I'm about to say--when warm wears cool, they can look more golden because of simultaneous contrast, but when cool wears warm, they look more gray or more blue, which is almost never desired. in this sense, WD can wear both cool and warm colors so long as they're muted, just like you're saying. Most people who think they're neutral are actually WD because of this. And I guess in practice, 'neutral' lends well to the colors that WD can wear. But technically, WD is still ever so slightly warm. In practice though, they can wear cool so they say they're neutral, which isn't an unfair assessment for practicality. I have a video called golden overtones with cool undertones that you could check out where I show examples of warm and delicate, and see if that resonates.

[@paintedlady55]

@@merriamstyle Thanks for your reply which I found most interesting. I will definitely check out the video you recommended. I have taken the Kibbe test which shows me to be a classic. This in itself doesn't surprise me as I tend to dress the recommended way anyway. However, what did surprise me is that Classics are supposed to have some height and I am only 61 inches tall.

[@kokolatte825]

@@merriamstyle you did SUCH a great job of explaining this. I'm going to watch the other video about golden overtones, cool undertones but I think you are right. I must be a warm delicate. That makes sense for the first time. You explained the gold jewelry and everything. I literally tan and burn easily. It has more to do with sun exposure for me. So I had a hard time figuring it out.. I really LOVE the way you explained the blue and yellow in our skin. The part about the red and green and the possibility of truly being neutral. This video is for every person who can't figure out their skin tone. You did phenomenal with this. Maybe make a video explaining the warm delicate. That might help more people figure out what they are.

[@rebelurthesun]

I know this comment is very old now, but in case you are still looking for input, I too thought I was neutral. Only neutral makeup ever worked for me, I've never had a preference for white or cream, and I had a hard time seeing which tones my skin looked "better" in with the naked eye. In the last few DAYS, I have discovered I'm warm and delicate. My advice would be to 1. Watch the video she recommended if you haven't yet. 2. Take a photo of yourself in natural light with a blue draped shirt, then a khaki green (in the same value if you can). Take it without makeup on if possible. My eyes couldn't see a major difference, but the camera was able to give me a direct contrast and confirmed that I'm warm and delicate.

[@KaliKali-hv9bt]

@@merriamstyle good explanation!!!

[@adriannep3547]

13:13 I thought she looked good in the Light Peach😅

[@anarchsnark]

She looks good but it brings out weird tones in her skin but she grows in the blue.

[@Adri-yc3tb]

I think what looks weird on her here is that the color of her lipstick is too bright and too warm for her. It looks separate.

[@ashleycnossen3157]

I learned that the neutral undertone isn't a specific color, but a mixture of both cool and warm undertones.

[@cringeproof100]

Exactly

[@leahalcantara5949]

Its so confusing!! Sometimes when i take a picture of myself i look rosy and then next thing i know im yellowish i don’t understand Q-Q

[@ririimari]

So every olive? No- There are warm or cool dominating undertones.

[@katitadeb]

@@leahalcantara5949 it's cause there's another balance: red and green You can be warm and have some red in your skin tone giving a peach skin color An dyou can be cool but be olive/green (no red in your skin) an dmaje you look "yellowish" but that's just the lack of redness on your skintone

[@0nly.bhadbby40]

@@AnHeC the thing is my am neutral . The thang with me if that my undertone can be warm & sometimes can appear cool . Also I’m Brown skin & I still look good with cooler color too .

[@JuliaKirsty]

I'm extremely interested in this whole topic. What makes the most sense to me is the ColorBreeze system. By that system, Angelina is a toasted soft summer (a deeper summer with a hint of warmth, but primarily cool, which means she'd look best in darker, muted and primarily cool colors) and I'm a sunlit soft summer (which is primarily cool with a bit of warmth, light and muted). There are muted types in each season. And usually it's hard to see which undertone those muted types have because it's not too obvious. That's also why muted colors (which are often called neutral) look better on them. I used to ditch the whole color typing thing for a long time because I look awful in typical summer colors, spring colors wash me out, autumn colors make me look sick and winter colors are simply just overpowering on me. Muted summer colors in the lighter spectrum look great on me. By your theory I would be a winter, right? My haircolor is medium ash blonde, skin (overtone) is yellowy but with a distinct blue undertone which, in certain lighting, makes it appear green, my eyecolor is grey-blue with yellow specs which can make it look like a mint green depending on lighting and what I wear. I prefer picking up the colors of my natural coloring and wearing variations of them. That's the easiest way for me to shop for my complexion. I look awful in true blue and true orange. I look washed out in true red and true green. I look awkward in yellow or turquoise (gives me an ugly "color-beard" if you know what I mean). Blues are a struggle (I know which ones suit me, but I can barely find them in store), soft pinks are easy, soft greens as well, purple shades work but not all of them. Some colors work only when I wear makeup others work amazingly without makeup (such as the soft pinks and greens). I don't want to say your theory is wrong because the colors you picked for those two examples where absolutely fine, it just doesn't suit my perception of the 4 seasons. You would probably also find the right colors for most other people. So actually it doesn't really matter as long as the result is alright. To me there's no such thing as going by "you're bright so you are this season - you're muted so you are that season" and also no such thing as a neutral undertone. Maybe when you pick a foundation color, but not when it's about deciding what season you are. There's light muted, light bright, dark muted and dark bright. It's all about contrast, clarity and depth. And this is so damn interesting, I could talk about it all day long xD

[@shlongusinterruptus]

Thanks for this information! the colorbreeze system definitely makes a lot of sense!

[@colourmequaint9690]

It's really hard to compare dresses, unless you take out other contributing factors. The cameo green dress is much darker than the "blush" one (honestly it looks even like a pastel icy pink on my screen, not muted either). Plus, some people are going for harmony, others for contrast... I'm just more confused than ever and have decided to try wearing stuff all day (instead of briefly holding them up against my face). I'll probably know instinctively if the color is working or not. It seems that there are no rules for olive tones and you have to assess each color individually. And I feel that eye and lip color DO play a role as well, which is why I look good in a muted petrol blue or a cooler dusty rose even though I am generally more warm...

[@arwenives]

This is helpful but it seems like in real life a 3% difference leaning cooler or warmer or even a 40/60 split would still make you appear more or less neutral and allow you a greater range of cooler/warmer you can pull off, perhaps leaning a bit more one way or the other. I tend to find that muted blues, pinks, greens and yellows, especially muted pastels, look good on me but also bright yellows and blues as well as pure black and white so I really don't know what that makes me!

[@SS-qg9jk]

interesting!

[@ingridrodriguez3273]

I can pull off cool AND warm colors. I think it’s more a matter of my style and preference because I look good in both. I have light/medium skin so look for medium saturated colors . Like true red , true blue even true orange look great. Also almost any bright color works even neons. So I’m pretty sure I’m close enough to neutral because people have told me I look great BOTH in orange and fuchsia

[@arwenives]

Update: I now realize that I am actually cool toned with some olive and that’s why I was confused. I think some yellows work for me probably because of my personal preference in that they soften y appearance by essentially making me look a bit dulled out. So sorry to those I confused with my own confusion 💖

[@annaandersson3907]

Both bright blue and bright yellow looks good on me. Muted blue isn't as good. But Muted pinks, purple and dark red tones does. Both warm and cool. I have a neutral foundation. Slightly warm make me look like a lemon and Slightly cool make me gray. I have been diagnosed as al 4 seasons by different experts. So I don't know

[@JuiceAtJulies]

I tried draping yellow and blue and I honestly can't tell what looks better. The blue made my skin look more olive, and the yellow made it more peachy. I prefer the color blue over yellow, so I'm biased to think it looks better even if that might not be true... The blue definitely made my eyes and hair pop more though! I have black hair and really dark eyes.

[@haleydropthemike]

The same happened for me!

[@jamesbriggs5740]

A Winter is bright and cool. Summer is cool and muted. Kathy B. That is how I always learned it.

[@merriamstyle]

Understandable--it was popularized that way. But I called winter cool and muted because the colors of winter are grays/cool, while the colors of summer are cool and bright (bright summer sky).

[@judithcooper8094]

The original naming of winter was for the high contrast of the shadows ie black and white. Nothing to do with colors since a winter landscape is ice and snow. This swiching is just confusing.

[@EM-vl6fu]

@@merriamstyle The old school colour analysis theory describes winter as cool and bright. It's all cool, jewel tones and high contrast. Summer colours are often more greyed and the summer person's appearance is more muted.

[@merriamstyle]

Sure. In my system I call winter cool and muted because of winter colors being gray and dreary. I think it makes way more sense this way.

[@sharonsamuel9987]

Absolutely correct! How in the world can a colour expert call a Winter muted??? I've seen a lot of inaccurate colour theories, but this definition is staggeringly wrong. Spring is warm and bright. Autumn is warm and muted. Winter is cool and bright. Summer is cool and muted. I agree with her that there are only 4 seasons, but she's really in error with 2 of them.

[@youmisheardme]

here's what i don't understand - i look best in the most vivid colors, but i can't tell if my undertones are warm or cool. blue looks better than yellow (though not by much), but orange and purple look equally good. muted versions of the colors are okay, but not as good. i feel like this goes against your theory!

[@sayuritube]

Same - I suit luminous colours, and the temperature matters less. I think this is called high chroma :)

[@YuukiHyouketsu]

Undertones aren't just about finding the colors that work for you; they're also about finding foundation tones that work. Foundation companies use the term 'neutral' for skin tones that are not close to either the warm or cool end of the spectrum. It helps create a more inclusive set of available colors. I was never able to find a foundation that worked until I explored neutrals. It's a way to describe the skin, and it works, as skin undertones are varied and need further analysis than just "cool" or "warm".

[@calamitchell1113]

5UNNYR4Y3 keep in mind that “ neutral”surface color does not mean neutral undertone! Surface color and undertone are two totally separate things. You can two women who exactly match the same foundation or skin surface color and yet one will have cool and the other warm undertones. Women at makeup counters rarely have a clue about undertones.

[@mesia2453]

Well I found my exact foundation shade out of sheer luck. I mean I just wanted to get the borjois foundation because the packaging was cute and now here I am buying only that shade of foundation

[@ingridrodriguez3273]

Yes neutral foundation always matches me

[@SueRosalie]

actually no. Foundation is the exception. For foundation you have to match your overtones e.g. olive skin, and consider things like ruddiness etc that need correction. For everything else you match undertones.

[@IsabelCurdes_photos]

I so like your approach to colour theory. This makes so much sense to me especially as I am coming from a background of painting and photography. I would have said that there is a theoretical possibility for a neutral undertone but the probability is infinitesimally small :-) I really don't need the seasonal reference, it is way easier with just sticking to warm and cool. Great job!

[@charlottelouise690]

I have very fair olive skin so blue and yellow both look awful on me 🤣 I really struggle with finding my colours because I think I sit in autumn but I cannot wear anything with too much yellow or blue because it brings out the green/grey in my skin. I'm baffled!!

[@RosyLife79]

So is neutral undertone green or olive skin tone?

[@josiekoerner5345]

That's what I got from it as well.

[@pryvacy1392]

What if you look best in muted strong colours? So basically brights that are slightly muted. Like you'd look best in mustard but not beige or bright yellow. I get your point on this but I don't know if it works for me. I still consider myself neutral because I can pull off cool and warm colours though I favour warm. The only colour I look ghostly in is bright blues, grey lilac and light greens. I look amazing in bright red, muted browns/ rust, dark grey, gold, copper, yellow, dark green, muted blues, bright pink, mauve, dark purple, midnight blue, black and cream.

[@pryvacy1392]

I missed out this but the reason I feel neutral is that I look my best in colours that are in betweens. That you can't tell if it's one or another colour and a mix of cool and warmth.

[@usezasedn]

@@pryvacy1392 this is just like met, you listed the same exact colours! i never know what i am, i also think i am neutral, maybe slightly warm. or slightly cool? it's so hard to find the right foundation because it's always looks too strong, too bright.i think i am slightly warm, but i do look great i muted blues. however, in very specific shades, it can quite easily get too blue or too green

[@humanormachine2936]

@@pryvacy1392 I'm a true autumn, and this describes me. It usually means that you have a lower chroma, or lower contrast between your skin and hair. I love muted, warmer toned colors. I can go for gray, but ideally a warm gray.

[@michellechouinard4958]

Is it possible you have an olive undertone? Sounds a lot like my issues, and I'm definitely olive (though of course olives have their own range of warm to cool).

[@katitadeb]

More than being neutral I think it's about skin's tolerance towards our "non colors". Generally warm skin is less affected by its worst colors than cool undertones (I mean a warm skin looks "better" I their worst colors than a cool skin in their own worst). Also dark skin has more tolerance. The same happens to me, I have a clearly warm underone, medium to soft in the spectrum (my skintone is medium to light) , however I look good in navy blue, bright lilac and black, are these my best colors like rich mustard/yellow, peach and olive green? No, but my skin can tolerate those cool colors. Does it mean I'm a neutral? Absolutely not It's a fact we all fall rather in one side or another in the spectrum, but some skins are more tolerant and flexible to some colors

[@CW-rx2js]

Thank you. I always thought I had warm undertones...but then I just found out I look neutral - and than I an olive. Although I look neutral, my overtone is yellow and undertones are cool - so they mix and overall I look neutral. So I agree that undertone itself isn't neutral.

[@JBeeShukrya]

Mistake !!! It s winter cool and bright/ summer cool and muted !! Simply because during summer Nature colors are...muted !!! Aň in winter they re more intense and bright like....the bright snow !!!

[@kiarawarner4130]

Okay. So a warm skin tone is yellow based skin tone, a cool is blue based, and red and green are the only neutrals. You say a neutral is impossible with that concept. Then in the next image you say that neutral is just equal parts red, yellow, and blue. I get that even the smallest amount more one way or the other tips the scale into being warm or cool, but if that amount is so tiny for some people, couldn't they still be classified as neutral even if it isn't computerized neutral? Those very small percentages one way or another could still make someone look terrible in both cool or warm traditional color palettes and need something that leans closer to the true reds and greens. Example: Someone does all the tests for undertone, it's inconclusive. They look terrible in most yellow based and blue based colors. The closer they get to true red or true green, the better stuff looks on them. So then they try muted vs bright versions of those colors and muted doesn't look good either. Like dusty pinks or soft yellows for example looking bad. That would throw out the whole autumn or winter theory wouldn't it?

[@dianamary6170]

I've always considered myself neutral because I think I almost any color is flattering on me, muted, bright or pastel. For example red is my favorite color, yellows look great on me except for that what I call 'Easter yellow', all blues look fine on me but my best blue is a soft powder blue. I understand the mathematical analysis of statistics of warm, cool, and neutral. I think from our human visual perspective if you are close to neutral than it just makes sense (to me) to just say you're neutral... even if technically it is most likely that you lean slightly either cool or warm. this is my view on the subject if you are extremely close to neutral. but hey maybe I'm wrong. I would be interested to know what you thought of my skin tone! Hope this somewhat makes sense what I'm trying to get across. Good video! Interesting subject! (also the veins in my wrist are purple)

[@marie.theartist]

I understand, I am close to neutral but slightly warm. And I can pull off bright, light or muted colors. I also can wear any metal color: gold, silver and rose gold. However, rose gold looks close to my skin color. So, I do believe there is such thing as neutral. Plus, skin color is not just one color. It’s composed of the primary colors, yet one will always be a little more dominante.

[@glithch]

This is so weird. Winter is a hella bright color! Overall I agree but claiming that winter is muted makes me flabberghasted? It feels like all of a sudden this person just made a foundational mistake and their overall knowledge gets canceled out

[@kokosnuss8666]

I feel like I am the exact 50:50 neutral person 😅🙈

[@angelamillikin3843]

I like your system and your explanations. Somehow, my mind can more easily follow this. I only get into trouble if I start thinking...Oh! I am a winter! and suddenly find myself thinking of the 12 color system, rather than focusing on cool and muted. If you keep making videos with all your awesome examples (love, love, love your focus on ethnicities) I think it will help. Your work is really important in this field. So keep emphasizing warm vs. cool and chroma... And then we will come to understand an AL winter is something different... Thank you!!

[@thetrillianaire]

This makes the most sense of any system I have seen for practical application in matching colors to skintones. I can tell you're actually thinking it through for logical consistency rather than taking someone else's word as gospel. A lot of people are super attached to whatever "rules" they read first, but I always felt the various ways of looking at color types I've seen on blogs and youtube have gaps or contradictions that this system does away with. Yes, primary red is a "warm" color in art, but it's clearly a neutral in terms of the skin color blue-yellow spectrum and what colors actually look good on existing skintones. Very good video

[@maayaamatera1315]

Well f*ck. This is very informative and I can hear the passion so thank you for that. Unfortunately, I still have no idea what I am aside from neutral even after this and seeing the colour chart. The gold or silver test doesn't work on me... but more importantly more blue leaning FACE makeup and clothes looks better on me while my EYE makeup can tolerate more warm rather than cool. So.. I warm eyelids and cool cheeks and lips. I'm still stumped. Also I'm OBVIOUSLY also not olive. After watching this, I still can't f*cking tell. I'm tanned so I used to think I'm warm and so I got a lot of coral-y colours for makeup... and they all look bad on me. On the flipside the cool colour eye palettes looks bad on me too. I know all this because at some point I've actually learned to add colour to my makeup manually. E.g. i add pure blue colour onto my red lipstick. Autumn and winter colours all look good on me and other ppl can't help tell me if one looks better than the other is better either. Neither is "best". Nothing wrong with the video; I can see the logic. I'm just STILL frustrated.

[@titemartiniquaise]

Sorry if I sound annoyingly know-it-all but your 2 VS infinity doesn't work that much. Why? Because all the color between the neutral red and perfect neutral green are neutral too. And it's a infinity of color too ^^ So the chance being neutral suddenly go higher, at least mathematically

[@merriamstyle]

I didn't consider that thank you! I should have formalized it better. But upon further thought, I'm still evaluating the chances of seeing a neutral color in real life to be zero, even if you include the infinite number of neutral colors between neutral green and neutral red. On every slice along the neutral green-neutral red axis, there will be an infinite number of cool and warm renditions of each of those colors. For example, let's say there's a color that's 0.01% neutral red, and 99.99% neutral green--this color is neutral. However, to the left and right of it will also be an infinite number of cooler renditions of it, and an infinite number of warmer renditions just along that slice. So, that probability will also be 1/inf, just as it is for the neutral green alone, and the neutral red alone. You can then take the next slice of 0.02% neutral red, and 99.98% neutral green, and evaluate that probability to also be 1/inf, so you will sum these probabilities along the infinite number of slices, but then you're really only summing a bunch of zeros. There's something very weird about infinity as you must know. I was a physics major myself, though I'm not sure I was ever any good at it. :P

[@titemartiniquaise]

@@merriamstyle I'm not good at it too 😅😅😅 Now I know why when I look at your videos, I feel like talking to a friend in college XDDD

[@merriamstyle]

lol!! it's still fun to think about sometimes. There's this one numberphile episode (it's a youtube channel) on the different types of infinity, talking about how there is infinity between 0 and 0.1 for example, but there's also infinity between 0 and 10--which one is larger, they're both infinity after all? infinity is so weird. your comment reminded me of that numberphile episode.

[@vivie5995]

i agree that the possibility of being completely neutral is very small, but as for the season system, i would argue that hair and eye color is VERY important.Skin tone can determine which hair/eye color looks best on someone, but the color which one wears should take their current hair/eye color into account. For example, personally, spring colors look better when I have black hair, and when I dye my hair a light brown/ginger color, Im autumn all the way.

[@TheBaumcm]

I have to agree that there is no neutral really according to your definition. However, for those of us that fall more clearly into the tonal groups, light vs deep and bright vs muted, we can often wear colors in both temperatures. For example, myself I am most obviously deep but neutral leaning because my eye and hair color are so dark and my skin had a green undertone. I can wear rust and cool burgundy, all shades of blue, orange and purple but it depends on saturation and contrast. For me warm vs cool matters less.

[@petruskafranova]

Still no idea what I am

[@carlakowalik9049]

I think the muted seasons are summer and autumn, not winter and autumn. Winter and spring are bright colors.

[@khxliakhxlia3605]

That's what I thought. This made me even more confused..

[@annap274]

Im not sick but i feel like i look green

[@isabellas4120]

Isn't that an olive skin tone? It isn't uncommon. It's natural. People sometimes don't know olive skin tones are a thing.

[@michellechouinard4958]

Then you're olive, which is a whole different animal... lol.

[@KimberlyJ424]

Same. In pictures I’m the only one who is clearly green.

[@TheeScarletRose]

This helps so much! I've been very confused, because my hair is a very dark cool brown. My eyebrows are almost black. However, I have warm olive eyes and light warm skin. Taking the hair and eye factor out, I now know that I am warm and muted. I think a huge problem with a lot of autumn palettes you see on the internet is that the colors can sometimes be represented as very bright, which is ok sometimes, but if I'm wearing a yellow for example- I can't pull that super bright mustard. It has to be more of a pale golden. Copper and rose gold look better on me than yellow gold. I'm still not 100% at ease with my natural hair color, but this absolutely helps me understand where I was having the trouble.

[@da504ever]

ooof. I legit think I'm neutral, even after this video. Actually, ESPECIALLY, after this video. Because I don't like to wear blue, and I also don't like to wear yellow. My BEST colors are greens and reds (except bright red and like a highlighter green). My FAVORITE non neutral colors to wear are a muted chartreuse/ pear green, and deep magenta. is green with a bit of yellow, and magenta is red with a bit of blue... If BOTH of these are my best non netural colors... does this make me neutral?? I can wear black, brown, and navy... White tends to be too bright though. I SWEAR. I am one of the 2 in infinity neutrals. The true blue test made my skin look ashy... The true yellow made my skin look ashy also. The pale blue and pale yellow both look fine.... I tried BRIGHT red, like (when you think of a bold red lip) just to check, and my skin looks sickly green when I put it on. I unfortunately don't have any true green to try... Maybe looking sickly green in bright red means something?? nothing else gave me any drastically bad or drastically good result.

[@ritachoung8622]

When you rearranged the muted colors my mind was blown. Love your work!

[@Malin0908]

My skin is yellow, but my veins are both blue and green. My hair appear medium ash blonde (muted) but when The sun shines on it, it has a golden sparkle to it. My eyes are grey/light blue, with rusty jewels. I look bad in earthy colors, and very warm colors look bad. Im confused!

[@amyv.]

I personally preferred Rachel MacAdams in the soft rose, cause she looked vibrant. The cameo green kind of made her look too muted.

[@staceykersting705]

I def' did not think her skin looked good in the pink. Look how glowing she is in the green.

[@julijakeit]

sadly, the pink dress looks separate from her, even with iced hair to make her appear cooler but her skin is not looking as good in pink as in green. It's difficult for people to see how good or bad they or others look in different colors, especially when talking about different skin type people. For example, I am summer, mu husband is autumn, he loves my blue but it makes him look sick and his skin sallow, accentuating all imperfections. When I directed him to aqua blue, petrol blue and any warm toned blue, he finally admitted that he looks better in those. Just because you see someone dressed well in specific colors doesn't mean that you will look good in them too. If you like the pink dress, I am guessing you are cool yourself.

[@appel_sin]

Totally agree) she looks dull in warm green(

[@gigglypuff3589]

Same

[@committed_to_sparkle_motion]

I'm still trying to learn, but the idea that every infinitesimal increment away from center makes you warm or cool doesn't take into consideration that our eyes literally cannot process every single "step" of color variance, so there could be a large swath of color near the center that our eyes/brains just process as "neutral".

[@Parmesito]

But what about the infinite number of course between red and green? Aren't those all neutral? Adding the same amount of pure green to pure red?

[@Adri-yc3tb]

Thanks to you I was able to find out that I am a cool and bright undertone even though every single color analyst said that I was neutral and olive skin. Yeah, I have bright olive skin but I always found super weird that color analysis states that neutral undertones can wear gold and silver but I always thought that gold jewelry wasn't doing me justice. And that's why, it's not about being neutral, but the fact that I have very bright skin and really dark hair as I'm Asian, warm colors never look good on me, so why does gold jewelry needs to look good on me? No, it doesn't look that good. That's why I donated all my gold jewelry to my mom, who is warm and muted. At least she looks better in gold than me XD when I was buying clothes based on the neutral olive skin pallette, my fashion was all over the place, so now I'm trying to pay more attention to contrast and cool colors that make me look better.

[@swdshchck]

I don't think I'll ever figure this out. I always thought I was warm, but just recently I switched to cool, then neutral. But even if neutral does exist, I can't possibly be neutral since I look terrible in both that bright green and purest red you showed on your chart. And I can't tell if my veins are blue or green, but I do have a few smaller veins that are definitely purple, if that means anything. I don't tan easily and will burn if I'm not careful, but I can acquire a nice tan if I just take it slow. And I feel like I look good in different colors if I have a tan compared to when I don't. I just don't know...

[@ANGslave]

A lot of this relies on where you live, your culture and your personality. Why? These color preference (subjective) systems (objective) are applied within a context. The context (latitude, culture, personality) bend the desire and needs of color use. High or low color contrast may be preferred dependent upon the wearer or intended audience acceptence / rejection of color combinations (harmonious, opposite). In a fusion culture seeing the person and clothes as 'one' via color choice is preferred, the person is identified as responsible, belonging to the culture. In a culture of differentiating a person who is wears colors with higher tension (colors stand apart from their skin) is accepted due to the societal preference for people who are bolder extroverted. In most of the USA wearing colors that closely match a person's tones is identified as 'invisible', 'passive', indeterminate. That same style of color use in Japan would be expected and welcome.

[@candicedoss1112]

This is so helpful! Thank you💖 I can wear pretty much any color, gold or silver jewelry both look fine. I've had bright blue hair for a while now and I keep wondering why I always look tired. I'm warm and delicate!

[@jamesbriggs5740]

The best test is lipstick. Do you look better in warmer or cooler ? pink or orange? Kathy B.

[@merriamstyle]

This is a good idea. But I disagree that it's the best test--pink and orange lipstick are cool and warm but they have red mixed into them. Why not skip the middle man and test directly--blue or yellow draping. Not to mention that some people may grab a slightly warm pink lipstick vs an orange lipstick and the whole thing would be a waste of time. But most people, no matter how inexperienced, can find a blue and a yellow somewhere around the house--much easier.

[@captain_starblossom]

Nice work and approach. I just have to ask how come you started talking about primary colors and then used a non primary red. I would like to see somebody manage to use magenta red (which is the primary red, the red shown contains a lot of yellow already) to explain skin tones and seasonal color analysis

[@nostalgiaxx-fc38]

I thought winter is bright and summer is muted...?

[@6361kris]

With this system I would be a winter. Yet grey totally washes me out (if winters are suppossed to wear greys well). Blue grey, however is one of my best colors and the only grey I can wear well. Mistake to say winters can wear grey?

[@WithMyOwnEars]

Isn't winter bright and summer muted? 🤔

[@frankie5779]

Thank you for this video! I thought I was a neutral-cool undertone. I have both blue and green veins. I am fair-light with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. I burn easily but can also tan. I think I look better in yellow gold jewelry than silver or white gold even though I think I’m more cool than warm. Is it possible that I’m a fair-light olive undertone? I am Sicilian and was born in Sicily but previously thought I was too light to be an olive undertone.

[@josiekoerner5345]

My grandpa is from Sicily too. I thought I was neutral because I have a light olive skin I can see both green and blue veins and burn a little but tan pretty good . My hair is medium brown and my eyes are medium brown too. I think Mediterranean people do tend to be more olive tones. My ancestors are from Italy and Spain mostly. I don't look good in bright colors except true red.

[@rosyblooms3352]

🤯 I have been trying to figure out my skin undertone for a loooong time now. The more research I did, the more confused I became 😅 your no such thing as neutral video and your color draping video gave me the right tools to finally figure out what works best for me. Cool muted colors for the win!!! I know it sounds silly to want to live by a personlized set of fashion rules. But for me, I am the kind of girl who wants a simple life. One less decision I have to make during the day with a curated capsule wardrobe. 💟Love all your videos. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.

[@abbieclement]

I'm so confused. I have an olive undertone, bright cold colours look good on me and I get lots of compliments but my skin also really glows in warm muted colours like peach and I get lots of compliments when I wear those as well. I literally CANNOT wear bright warm colours without looking sallow and sick, and soft cold coluors are ok-ish but wash me out. *Basically, summer, autumn= fantastic, winter= underwhelming and meh, spring= horrible.* I've watched so many of these videos but I still can't figure it out :/

[@VanCrane]

Lexie Clement Do you know Audrey Coyne on KZbin? She is a cool olive skin tone. I think olive skin can be cool or warm. It’s a mix of blue and yellow, but sometimes more yellow, sometimes more blue. And that’s why you can wear a little warm colors, but look better in cool tones. You have a both colors in your skin, but not really neutral, just a good mix 😉 I hope you understand what I mean, English is not my mother tongue 🙈

[@Frey0Skule]

You have No idea what you talking about.... The undertone is not the "chance" you talk about.... But any person looking amazing in both purest blue and yellow and such people do exists.... The rest is just personal prefference

[@merriamstyle]

You're welcome to disagree. For the people who look good in both yellow and blue, they might be warm and delicate. I hope you check out my video titled Warm Overtones with Cool Undertones where I discuss this effect in detail. In the future, I'd really appreciate it if you were more polite so we can have better conversations, and I, as well as my audience have come to value real examples to support points of discussion (like celebrity examples or anything like that would help, or supporting arguments that we can discuss in a way that's constructive). If you're simply looking to be rude, then that's one thing, but it won't convince anyone. I do hope you stick around and see more of what I have to say about colors and consider it!

[@susangolden4474]

I am still confused....i thought all colors but black could turn into warm or cool, depending on the shade...I have seen red hair people looking amazing in a particular shade of blue, i have have seen Kate Midlenton look great in yellow and she is Summer...

[@merriamstyle]

You could take a look at my redhead video! Redheads can sometimes be cool too. Could you link a photo of where Kate looks good in yellow? I'd be curious to take a look.

[@susangolden4474]

@@merriamstyle there are 2 dresses....one litter and the other one more pastel...i like the paster better...type : Kate Middlenton Shows off Her Yellow Dress...on youtube

[@jojorey6886]

I’m guessing when they say neutral they mean you are further away from blue or yellow. Makeup foundation have shades such as neutral w/warm, neutral w/cool much like warm delicate or cool delicate. I can wear jewel tone colors but I can also wear some cool delicate colors. It’s very difficult for me to find foundation because I’m olive skin, when I wear cool foundation it looks dull because there’s not enough yellow and with warm it’s too yellow although I think a little yellow brightens my skin. I find it confusing to be able to wear cool colors but want some yellow in my face. If I buy foundation for olive skin it usually looks a little too dark and too green.

[@josiekoerner5345]

Most people tend to think of olive skin as a darker skin tones. I have light olive so I also have a hard time finding the right foundation, I got color matched at a Estee Lauder counter and she put me at a neutral color 2N1 Desert Beige , I noticed yellow /warm foundation looks dull on me or turns orange and cool toned foundation doesn't hide my redness I have in my face or turns orange. But neutral seems to be the perfect match. That's why I always thought I a neutral. Plus I been told I'm warm Fall & I also heard that I am a cool Winter.

[@jojorey6886]

@@josiekoerner5345 I use Mac C 3.5 but just lightly in the center of my face or Dr Jart+ BB cream in medium.

[@josiekoerner5345]

@@jojorey6886 It helps going to the cosmetic store and having someone help you.

[@Sophia-yx5uz]

I totally agree that Angelina looked amazing in the placid blue but I'm not convinced about the camo green I actually preferred the soft pink on her skin.

[@MileydisH]

Wow what an amazing well detailed video this is. I was 31 years old today when I finally figured out my actual under and over tone. Lol. I think we I subconsciously “Know” what we are without even realizing. For example you asked to place a bright yellow and a bright blue piece of clothing/cloth against us to try to figure things out. I kid you not I have “ZERO” piece of clothes in those colors 😆 I had to go to my daughter’s closet to find those two bright colors. I am 100% a muted Autumn, and my closet reflects that.

[@Marsolan]

Recently discovered you. Love it. You are so smart!!!

[@Barbaramamato]

Your presentation is a bit rigid when it comes to disallowing neutral skin tones. I have a skin tone that goes from an almost translucent pale without sun to a light tan or reddish if I recently tanned. Here is where we can both be accurate. One can have a more neutral zone skin undertone where others are clearly warm or cool. For the neutral zone skinned, it is possible to be able to wear both warms and cools (yet not together) and it's a flattering look.

[@merriamstyle]

It's definitely more difficult to tell the difference between warm and cool for people who are in this 'neutral zone'--I talk exactly about that in my 'What is Chroma' video! But still, the 'neutral zone' is actually a 'muted zone', and one would either be warm muted or cool muted. You may find that these people do look better in either warm muted colors or cool muted colors.

[@Demi.d3mi]

Im an Autumn so this makes more sense lol. I really am a muted warm tone, but purples and muted blues look nice on me 😂

[@nikkitraver7092]

squishy booty same lol

[@colourmequaint9690]

Same

[@josiekoerner5345]

I'm still confused I wished you would have shown more examples. I always thought I was neutral, I'm a light olive like Lady Gaga. My ancestors are from Italy and Spain mostly. I been told i'm a warm fall than I been told I am a cool winter. I have a hard time finding the right color of foundation the yellow makes me look dull or even orange because my face has a lot of redness to it. And cool tone either washes me out or makes it look even more red. Then one lady did a color match at the Estee Lauder counter and matched me at 2N1 Desert Beige which was perfect , it toned down the redness and you can't see it on my neck and with a rose toned blush it gives me a nice healthy glow. I'm not sure if rose colors are cool or warm though. Gold jewelry blends in to my skin but silver stands out on me . So I was wondering what you think .

[@penelopelambson9128]

Your presentation is lovely and I enjoy listening to your ideas. However, I must tell you that this is an inaccurate and simplistic analysis of color. Every hue /color has both warm and cool shades. Just adding "green" to a "blue" does not necessarily create a "cool" blue. There are cool blues and warm blues as with all colors. Color is much more complex than this. If I missed a more in depth video addressing this ,my apologies. I just see many individuals in fashion and color typing making this huge mistake, which throws everything off.

[@merriamstyle]

Thank you for your comment. Actually, I think the mistake is precisely thinking that there is such a thing as a warm blue or a warm purple. I have a video coming up discussing this (a lot of people come to me saying there are warm purples, not true at all, not technically, and not in terms of color analysis)! I hope you'll see what I mean. :) Adding blue to a *neutral* green does absolutely create a cool green. Adding blue to a warm green--that's a different story, if that green has more yellow even after you added the blue, it will remain warm. At the end of the day, cool/warm is nothing more than how much yellow vs how much blue a color has in total. The complications come from deeply misunderstanding that. And that led to a lot of confusion down the line that propagated all throughout color analysis.

[@FrostyFreya]

Ok, I am a winter. Makes sense when you look at the actual seasons. Spring and summer are bright undeniably. Autumn and winter are muted and a little one dimensional. Autumn is golden / brownish, winter is very grey and often dark.

[@lolaloves6574]

For makeup, I wear neutral foundation but upon doing more research I have found I do have cool undertones. I think some people are just more cool or warm than others and redness or dark spots can make it harder to tell your undertone.

[@marie.theartist]

I find that I look better with dark but slightly bright colors: classic red, white, black, royal blue, etc. And I also look in muted colors. I struggle with finding what undertone I am. I can pull off silver, gold and rose gold metals. I have blue grey eyes, with a flick of amber in one eye, dark hair and my skin tone is light, but not fair. I am not sure if I am winter or autumn because the colors you mention look nice on me.

[@shinobipanda2331]

Great video-- helped me understand my undertone so much! I was always confused because the gold / silver test, the daylight wrist vein test, and the white / off white test were always so indefinite. I realized recently that I'm just an autumn. Browns, muted greens, and oranges really make me look so healthy and bright, I was always so thrown off by the fact that bright colors threw off my complexion and made me look kind of sickly. This video really helped me understand why that is. Thank you!

[@meriemmimi104]

i totally understand you . great video

[@insights3140]

I’m very neutral. Maybe slightly cool, but I can wear colors from all of the palettes. Not all of them, but it’s been very frustrating trying to determine because there’s so much mid in my color, contrast, and chroma.

[@1010divajap]

With practically everything there is a degree to which something is true. I don't look good in very warm colors or very cool colors. I am more in the middle. I think this makes perfect sense. It's like being an introvert vs. being an extrovert - everyone sits somewhere on that range and most are not at the extreme. Anyway, I do think there is a neutral skin tone.

[@RuthRandoms]

Merriam, in your opinion, am I winter or summer? (Definitely blue and grey are better than yellow and brown, but I'm not sure which cool I am!): kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKTImKJ7araWbc0

[@keshiadevynfeldes]

I have a question. I looked better in the bright blue than the bright yellow. But! I looked awful in a muted blue and better in a burnt yellow.. so now I’m confused... I also have green AND purple veins in my wrist. What is my skin tone!!!!

[@merriamstyle]

Is that you in the photo? Maybe you are warm and muted. :)

[@keshiadevynfeldes]

Oh! Okay thank you. 🙂 so which colors would be best for me then?

[@merriamstyle]

Well, since you're warm and quite tan, no color will look too bad on you. But, your best colors would be terracotta, cream, peach, a warm brown, a warm olive green, brick red, and a burnt yellow/burnt orange. :) Do you find that's consistent? I was guessing based on what you told me and on one photo so take it all with a grain of salt!!

[@keshiadevynfeldes]

Thank you. I do agree with those colors. Very nice of you to help me out lol. It’s been driving me crazy. Have a blessed day!

[@nataschasoufi5147]

Summer IS muted! Winter IS bright. Since Always. Regards

[@smartypantswastaken]

I think it would be helpful to familiarize yourself with the seasons before attempting to break them down or dispel any "bs" of the 12 seasons. - Winter is not muted; Summer is. If you don't get the basics correct at the start (and throughout, and even after 4 years uncorrected), none of what you claim afterwards is credible. But hey, clicks. Am I right?

[@gracie_5]

Olive skin is greenish. Yellow warm Blue cool. My best shirt is lagoon blue, a greenish blue.

[@jennacoffey4845]

Silver and copper both look awesome on me. Blue and yellow both look the same amount of good on my bare skin. I disagree that there’s no such thing as a true neutral. I think they’re just exceedingly rare. Also bright colors look better than muted ones on me, so there goes your theory. 🤷🏻‍♀️ This lady used practical application rather than theory and came to many of the same conclusions as I did: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGe9YYt4f9Z7htksi=TAS9u4dbqc7ae_6B

[@victoriaryan1509]

I'm only just discovering all of this because I'm looking for my undertone. I've always thou how can you have neutral foundation when really makeup companies are just mixing their warm and cool foundations? Surely they need to take colour out? Because I'm so pale (and have rosacea) I've always been told I have a rosy undertone, because foundations were so limited. If I looked for neutral undertones they were always too warm for me, and even the cool ones are too pink. I always felt my skin had a lot of cool grey in it, and not much "colour" at all, just lots of discolouration. I've been wearing a pale "neutral" foundation which isn't bad when blended out although it's still orangey, but recently I tried a sample of a foundation which had a lovely grey desaturated look, and when it was finally released it was described as olive! I love that I've finally found a foundation that suits me, so now it's time to check out more of your videos.

[@sophierosebisou8420]

Sorry, I just got lost again. From the four color draping test, using bright blue, yellow, brown and gray, I thought the bright blue was an indicator for Summer? Grey was Winter? No brights in Winter, only muted?

[@JoanKSX]

Ermmm actually I'm confused... When my exposure to sunlight is very low, I can possibly wear bright yellow but not when I tanned... when I tanned, bright yellow looks horrible on me. When my exposure to sunlight is very low, bright blue looks amazing on me. When I'm tanned, I still could possibly wear bright blue but of course not when I'm at my lightest shade and at least it's not like horrible. But overall most of my hairstylist and the staffs at the cosmetic counters thought I'm warm yellow... I'm really confused...

[@vivcatmickymaus4482]

I really hoped to find an answer, but I still don't know if I'm a warm or cool type. All colors look good on me as long, as they're bright and strong. All pastell and nude colors let me look very sick. I can wear gold and silver, only rosegold is not very flattering. So ok I'm not a autumn or winter type, but what am I?🤷‍♀️

[@Minimeowzilla]

I'm sorry but this argument makes no logical sense. Yes, the probability of being 100% neutral is very low, but it is not 0 as you claimed. It is like saying being any other point on the continuum is also 0, and that is just not true. Being 100% neutral has no greater or lower probability than any other point on the spectrum. And if you're close to neutral, does it really matter if you're marginally warm or cool? You're still pretty much neutral and not really either warm or cool and can probably pull off all the colours In Style magazine recommended in their palette.

[@amarayoga]

But what if you think you're a neutral but look great in bright colors??? Every video of yours makes me even more confused. I'm not complaining, just annoyed with myself for not comprehending :D

[@Dragking38]

I dont know. I See it a Lot like you, but i think summer is cool and muted ( i am a summer myself) and Winter is cool and bright. In your other Video you said you may wear muted warm ( though Not ideal) over clear colours - i Really think that does Not Apply to Winters. A Winter needs clear pure colours more than that the have to be cool , Winters can borough some bright colours from Spring. Summer is cool in the first place, we need cool tones, muted is Second important. I hope sou hab look it up again, its true. You have a new subscriber with me 😊 i like your Content.

[@merriamstyle]

Hi Jack, thanks for your comment and welcome! I don't think anyone with cool undertones should wear warm colors, or vice versa (but yes I think warm and muted don't look horrible in cool and muted, which is why they go for it when they're confused, but they aren't their best colors). I'm using only the four season system where I call summer: clear cool undertone, looks good in clear bright colors. Winter: cool and muted undertone, looks good in cool and muted colors. Autumn: warm and muted undertone, looks good in warm and muted colors. And spring: warm and clear undertone, looks good in warm and muted colors. This is different from the 12 season system and a lot of people come from the 12 season system and take the definitions for summer/winter/autumn/spring from there. I was thinking to call them differently, but not sure I think that would make it more confusing!! If you haven't already watched them, maybe you could take a look at my skin tones series (especially what is chroma, and does contrast matter). I feel like my comment will get super long if I discuss everything here that I said in those videos. Let me know what you think!

[@Dragking38]

I allready watched that video, but I think, I'm gonna watch ist again. But I understood, that you don't work with the 12 colour system -neither do I. I only know 4 seasons, and those are spring : warm, bright, clear, summer: cool, muted, autumn: warm. muted and winter: cool, clear, bright -black and white for example are perfect colours for winter, as I know it, also neon colours and so on -I myself am a summer and wear pastells, greyish colours, but always cool. I hope I can make clear, what I want to say, as I am from germany and my english might be not the best -I see it like you also, that spring/autumn should stick with warm tones and winter/summer should wear cool tones all the time - I wanted to make the example... its funny, it seems we know two euqal systems, with only the recomandations for the both cool types switched :)

[@merriamstyle]

Ohhh yes, we see it exactly the same way then. :) for some reason, our seasons summer/winter are switched, but yes, if you are a cool muted undertone, (you call it summer), then you simply wear cool muted colors, it should be super simple, no 12 season system necessary! But yes, I learned that cool and bright are summer colors like the bright blue summer sky, and bright green trees or something I don't know haha! And winter is grey because it's gloomy and cold. Anyway the most important thing is that we agree on the concept! Happy to find someone else in the world who uses the four season system omg!!

[@Dragking38]

Merriam Style where i live the colours in summer are more suitable for muted: the pastell sky at dawn and sunrise , more washed out light blue sky during daytime, lavender fields, Dusty colours, faded, cool, even some trees/leaves have a kind of greyish Dark green colour, whereas my associations with winter are cool and bright white and slightly yellowish sunlight, bright white snow, dark ( sometimes actually black) leaveless trees, except for conifers, every pop of colour shines far ( I confess, that I have to think of snow white right now)the Sky is of a clear bright blue. Where I live, in Winter, the Dawn and Sunrise are really much more colourful than in summer - I guess that's why the seasons are switched here in europe? Though i would love those colours ( and the weather ^^)for summer, but I love my muted, greyish, pastell, cool colours as well, so everything's allright

[@Dragking38]

70aimhi are you from europe, too?

[@lonesoul17]

Thankyou soo much. I'm finally around 90% sure I'm a winter. I look like a zombie died and came back to life (or undeath?) when I draped yellow so

[@manondefeijter9576]

I am a gril from the netherlands and I have a neutral undertone, however I look very yellow/warm and gold suit me better. My hair is natural dark blonde and I have dark brown eyes. I always struggle between dark autum, dark winter and true autumn. Orange and green are my best colors but I can also wear some shades of pink. Can someone help me out?

[@pmw3839]

I have a Colour Me Beautiful swatch wallet from the1980s for winter, and it includes a clear primary lemon and an icy lemon. Is that wrong? You seem to be saying that winter should not include any yellow at all.

[@saminashakeel8029]

She is too good 😀finally I understood how to figure out how to find your undertone😁

[@lockwie9176]

Thank you so much for this ❤️ I love your approach it makes total sense to me. However sometimes the way you explain it makes it slightly confusing to my colour loving, CMYK thinking mind 🤔 Whether you work in light or in pigment your method makes sense, but sometimes you end up mixing the two when explaining and it gets a bit weird for me. First, across the board, yellow is the natural colour of light (when it's not white, which it rarely is) therefore warm, the corresponding shadow is blue which therefore is cold. Pigments colour mixing (substractive): Primaries : Cyan, Magenta, Yellow Cyan + Magenta = Blue (if more cyan) and purple (if more magenta) Yellow + Magenta = Red (if more magenta) and orange (if more yellow) Yellow + Cyan = Green (if more yellow) and turquoise or teal (if more cyan) Note that yellow exist withing green and red. And blue is made of magenta and cyan. So it makes sense these two systems would exist, like you describe. Light colour mixing (additive) Primaries : red, green and blue Red + Green = Yellow Blue + Red = Magenta Blue + Green = Cyan We can see the 2 systems once again! So there you go, your method is actually pretty scientific! ☺️

[@JoanKSX]

Wow, colour definitely a complex topic! Doing portrait drawing on plain paper or canvas is fine, but light reflecting or painting on a non-white based surfaces e.g. human skin really make me headache XD

[@pilotjones9866]

In terms of foundation, olive is too sallow on me, golden is too yellow on me, that’s why I think I’m neutral warm

[@Froggywitchmama]

Merriam, I legit can't tell if I'm warm or cool! I know I'm light olive and muted but I can't tell which direction! It must legitimately be so subtle a difference because I cannot tell.

[@serinaadalenamielaelverlv7465]

Is a pure color ex orange muted if white is added or black i added. Is a color only muted if both black and white is added. I think pure colors on me is too bright but if the color is dark then I can wear it. If white is added it is not as great compared to darkend colors (I have high contrast. Dark hair and quite light skin and medium to dark eyes and warm undertone). Very grayed colors are too muted. Light and muted colors are like a death sentence. Orange is one of my best colors if it is not bright. I can go as far as an orange yellow. Pure yellow is not good. Do you think brightness is a gradient a kind of a degree of neutral to yellow or muted to bright?

[@Sarah-zg2iq]

So there is no bright winter? This is so confusing..because I was told by a pro that I’m a bright winter, I do have an olive skin tho, some bright spring colors match me too.

[@nostalgiaxx-fc38]

Why deny the existence of "neutral" if it does help people to find their best colours? I do understand that something cool/warm must the dominating in a colour but if it is not obvious and people do look better in true green than yellowish green or bluish green for example then I see no harm in them saying they are neutral... :/

[@frankietower6753]

If I am cool (although I have blue and green veins) then why do I have to wear warm/neutral undertone foundations? Anything even remotely cool makes me turn pink and almost grey (and like I have a bruise) no matter what ‘cool’ shade I wear? I’m definitely cool as far as what looks good on me and the jewelry method- but even on your 3 circles of skin tones I lean way more toward the top circle than the others- how can this be if I’m cool? Also- I’m so white that my skin looks see through all over my body but at the same time I am not pale whatsoever if you think of pale as in Snow White or Ann Hathaway - they are white skin and super opaque white skin, I’m nowhere near that type of pale but I’m so “white”, and at the same time I don’t burn but can’t tan and I have German, Sicilian, and native Indian genes with - blue green (although dark and almost grey ish with gold yellow specks) eyes and tons of moles. I don’t know how to find what I should wear cuz everything lately makes me look dead with pale dark under eyes and the only time I like anything I wear is with a fake tan. I look sick and dead otherwise. I do believe I’m a winter and look best in navy blue, marrooon , greys, but also black and bright reds. And I can not wear browns or yellows/oranges/greens so it makes sense I think(?) but it doesn’t at all when I try to find foundations ... help

[@michellechouinard4958]

You could be olive. It sure sounds that way to me. I would check out Merriam's videos about olive undertones. I'm olive as well and for a long time I chose neutral foundations because warm and cool foundations just didn't suit. Basically the difficulty comes from having a sort of greenish undertone so you have a mix of blue and yellow always at war with each other. But even if you're olive, you will likely be a cool or a warm olive.

[@crazeechick81]

I don't understand i thought cool and muted would be summer?