The Best Colors to Wear for Your Skin Tone

As far as we've been told, finding the right color for your skin tone is very difficult business. Articles ask us to examine the color of the veins on our wrist in order to find our undertones, but figuring out the most flattering colors to wear shouldn't have to be so complicated, right?

We wanted to cut through the nonsense and nail down the specific colors that will flatter each skin tone, so we broke things down by five general ones to make things as simple as possible. Below, you'll find our easy guide to wearing the most flattering colors for your skin tone so you'll never have to second-guess yourself again. (Of course, this shouldn't deter you from wearing whatever color you want on any given day.)

As an added bonus, it comes complete with shopping options to help you dress your best—totally hassle-free. Ready to check it all out? Read on for our guide to which colors are the most flattering for your skin tone.

Deep Skin: Cobalt

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(Image credit: @claire_most)

Bold colors like Claire Most's cobalt blue sweater look incredible against dark skin.

Deep Skin: Light Yellow

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(Image credit: @itsmekellieb)

Pastel colors like Kellie Brown's light yellow jacket stand out against a darker complexion.

 Deep Skin: Red

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(Image credit: @nnennaechem)

Ruby red has never looked better. Pair with deep red for extra style points. 

 Dark Skin: Olive Green

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(Image credit: @evemeetswest)

Khaki and olive green both look incredible on your skin tone, and considering utility styles are currently trending, this is just one more reason to opt for the color.

Dark Skin: Cream

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Don't hold back on the white, as the fresh color makes your skin literally glow.

Dark Skin: Magenta

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(Image credit: @slipintostyle)

Bright pink, though often a hard sell for some, couldn't look better against dark skin tones.

Medium Skin: Metallic

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(Image credit: @maria_bernad)

Medium skin tones can pull off most types of metallic—from silver to copper—like these standout gold pants.

Medium Skin: Dove Gray

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(Image credit: SZYMON BRZÓSKA/THE STYLE STALKER)

If your skin tone is in the medium range, consider wearing dove gray. If you've got lighter skin, opt for a charcoal gray, and if you've got darker skin, a very pale gray will look best.

Medium Skin: Neon

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(Image credit: @asos_lotte)

Not many can wear highlighter-worthy hues, but as Lotte proved in this skirt, medium-skinned ladies have got this look in the bag.

Light Skin: Baby Blue

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(Image credit: @hoskelsa)

Light Skin: Camel

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(Image credit: @carodaur)

The classic tan color on Caroline Daur's jacket creates an appealing contrast with her fair skin.

Fair Skin: Seafoam

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(Image credit: The Style Stalker)

This pale shade of green is just light enough to complement your fair skin well. Freshen up the look for spring by wearing a seafoam green piece with white ankle boots.

Fair Skin: Blush

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(Image credit: @himichelleli)

Millennial Pink is a term we've all come to use for this particular pale shade of blush. Thankfully, the color is easily found on so many stylish pieces and looks amazing on fair skin tones.

Fair Skin: Lavender

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(Image credit: The Style Stalker)

Yes, that's right. The It color of the season was tailor-made for fair skin, so feel free to shop all those pretty lavender pieces to your heart's content.

This post was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.

Next, The Summer 2022 Starter Pack: Every Cool Thing to Buy This Season

Editor in Chief

Kat Collings has over 15 years of experience in the editorial fashion space, largely in digital publishing. She currently leads the vision for editorial content at WhoWhatWear.com as the site's editor in chief, having risen through the editorial ranks after joining the company in 2012. Collings is a Digiday Future Leader Awards nominee, was named Buzzfeed's best fashion Instagram accounts of the year, and is a member of the CFDA Awards Fashion Guild. Prior to Who What Wear, Collings worked on styling projects for brands such as Vogue, Teen Vogue, Lucky, and Oliver Peoples. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in communications and calls Los Angeles home.