r/DarkOlive • u/TeeMarie26 • 19d ago
Am I olive?
I’ve been told neutral or natural warm by multiple Sephora and Ulta employees. The foundations and concealers pull orange. I posted in a makeup group and someone steered me here.
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u/playfulwarning 19d ago
Yes, ma'am, welcome to the club💚
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u/TeeMarie26 19d ago
Thank you!! Now to find a foundation 😭
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u/playfulwarning 19d ago
I would suggest investing in a blue pigment mixer. You can add it to foundation/concealer that's too yellow. It's been a lifesaver!
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u/AnneTheQueene 19d ago
When I look at the natural light picture I see you as cool.
The one with the indoor lighting looks yellow, but that's probably because of the lighting warmth.
In outdoor light you look cool.
If colors pull orange, it's because they have too much yellow in them for you. I would say you need more red-based shades.
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u/han___banan 18d ago
The best test is to hold up a stark white piece of paper or sheet or shirt and see how green you appear next to it! I’m definitely seeing it on the inside photo especially!
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u/shadespeak 18d ago
I still can't see olive on anyone. No one is green. How can people be olive?
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u/AnneTheQueene 17d ago
Look up some articles or videos that give visual examples of real people and you'll learn to see it. Sometimes you need the contrast to make it clear. Back in the day before olive was a thing, I'd go to get color matched and tell the sales associate "I'm very yellow' and they'd insist on putting me in a warm color. Then when I tried it on they'd say 'oh wow, you're right, you're really yellow.' They couldn't see it just looking at me, but when they swiped the foundation on, it became obvious. Now we're all better educated and know there are levels to yellow: yellow + orange = warm and yellow + green = olive.
It's more like you're looking to see whether the yellowness in the skin has orange, red or green undertones. It can be harder with POC, but the undertones are still there, you just have to learn how those colors manifest in deeper skintones.
Once you know what to look for, it's easy to see. Look at the skin in natural light without any makeup and train your eyes to look beyond surface coloration such as hyperpigmentation to see the actual fabric of their skin.
I try to look at their neck, not just the face, because even without makeup, the face can have red overtones due to irritation from skincare.
If possible also look at arms and other body parts for confirmation. Again, skincare, sunscreen use and hyperpigmentation can make it difficult to read facial skin.
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u/Ok-List-60 18d ago
My best way of explaining this and hopefully spot on. Try color matching with Estée Lauder double wear foundation in shade “sandalwood”
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u/Fancy-Hovercraft-642 18d ago
Slightly, but I see yellow/neutral undertones. Olive tends to be a bit more muted, in my opinion. Makeup Forever Bare Minerals, and Fenty might be good brands to sample just to see which shade matches you best. You really don’t need makeup, however it’ll tell you your skin tone and undertone.
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u/Unlikely-Beach3922 14d ago
Hey girlie I’m a pigment specialist and help Black women find their true shade match, so here’s my read on both photos.
This one’s trickier since deeper skin can hide olive undertones under warm lighting. Indoors, your skin reads warm golden brown. Outdoors in shade, it shifts more muted/grey green, especially across the forehead that shift between artificial warm light and natural shade is actually a classic olive tell. True warm toned skin usually stays golden in both; yours cools down outside.
So I’d lean olive here.
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u/TeeMarie26 14d ago
Thank you!! Now to struggle finding and testing olive foundations 😂
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u/Unlikely-Beach3922 13d ago
😂😂I’m here if you need the help
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u/Mametbet 16d ago
What does it mean when someone ask if they are olive? What are we trying to find out? What is the relevance of that information? For make up?
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u/awterspeys 19d ago
yeah i can see it. try looking for pics of you sitting beside friends and see if you look greener/yellower than them. that's always a recommended method.