Understanding Olive Skin Tone

Olive skin tone is one of the most misunderstood undertones in color analysis — often labeled “neutral,” when in fact, it has its own unique personality.
If you’ve ever felt that traditional warm or cool palettes don’t quite fit, or if both gold and silver seem to work for you, you might have olive undertones.
Let’s explore what makes olive skin special, how to identify it, and which colors bring it to life.

What is olive skin tone?

Olive skin tone refers to a complexion characterized by a subtle greenish or yellowish undertone, reminiscent of the color of olives. Individuals with olive skin typically tan easily and rarely burn under the sun. This skin tone can either have a dominant greenish hue or appear to have a natural, warm glow... and may vary in depth from light olive to medium or deep olive. Olive toned skin is common among people with Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and South Asian ancestry, though it can be found in diverse populations worldwide.

How to Tell If You Have Olive Skin Tone

You might have olive undertones if:

Both gold and silver jewelry look good on you.
Foundation shades often look “too pink” or “too yellow” — nothing seems perfect.
Some warm colors can look and feel muddy, and some cool tones can look dull — until you find the right balance.
You have a greenish tint to your skin.
You have been typed as a warm undertone color type in the past, but it has never felt exactly right.

If these sound familiar, you’re not neutral — you’re olive.

Colors That Flatter Olive Skin Tone

Best Colors for Olive Undertones

Olive undertones glow in colors that balance warmth and coolness — hues that are slightly softened, clear but not harsh.

Persimmon, reds, deep magenta, purples, and teal are colors that are harmonious with olive skin tone. The warm colors shown on the right side of the color wheel harmonize with the warm tones of your skin. While the cool colors on the left side of the color wheel balance the green tones.

Colors to Avoid for Olive Skin Tone

The colors removed from the color wheel are colors that will exaggerate the greenish tone in your skin.

These are colors like yellow-orange, mustard, yellow, and yellow greens.

The color wheel also has it's lighted ring removed because pale or icy colors will drain you. You need some presence with the colors you are wearing.

All of the colors in the color wheel may not suit you. If you are very light, then the dark colors will be too strong on you. If you have dark tones, the lighter colors may wash you out.

Your Next Step — The Olive Skin Tone Color Guide

Discover Your Best Colors Instantly

Understanding undertones is powerful — but seeing your exact colors changes everything.

💚 The Olive Skin Tone Color Guide gives you:

What Olive Skin Tone Really Means
The Science of Undertones
The 3 Steps to Discovering Your Most Flattering Colors
Colors to Avoid (and Why)
Mini Color Palettes for Every Olive Type

🛍️ Get the Olive Skin Tone Color Guide →

How Olive Fits Into the 3 Steps

In the Your Color Style® method, every person is defined by three characteristics:

Depth, Undertone, and Chroma.

Olive undertones can appear in all depths — light, medium, or deep.

That means your perfect palette depends not just on your undertone, but also how light or dark your features are.

👉 Learn how these three steps define your full palette in our 3 Steps to Discovering Your Best Colors →

Not sure which color family fits you best?

Try our Signature Color Analysis for expert guidance and a personalized palette.

Discover My Best Colors

🌈 Next Steps: Discover Your Exact Colors

You’ve learned the WHAT — now experience the HOW.

Get your personalized Signature Color Analysis for a custom palette designed just for you,
or shop digital color palettes to start using your best shades today.

or

Get your digital color palette or order a signature color analysis below:

Signature Color Analysis

$297.00

Olive Skin Tone Digital Color Palette

$24.97

Olive Skin Tone Color Guide

$27.00

Frequently Asked Questions

Olive skin tone is characterized by a subtle green or golden undertone that balances warmth and coolness. It often looks neutral at first glance but has a muted, earthy quality that sets it apart from true warm or cool undertones.

You may have olive undertones if foundation shades often look too pink or too yellow, your veins appear greenish, or both gold and silver jewelry seem flattering. Olive skin can appear slightly golden in sunlight and cooler or muted in shade.

Olive undertones are a blend of both — they have muted warmth with a greenish cast that can shift in lighting. In Your Color Style, we treat olive skin tone as its own undertone.

Olive undertones glow in balanced hues like teal, coral, berry pink, true red, persimmon, and muted plum. These colors share the same harmony of warmth and coolness that exists in your natural coloring — not too icy, not too golden.

Avoid extremes — overly warm colors like mustard or orange can exaggerate the green in your complexion, while icy blue or gray tones may wash you out. Instead, reach for clear yet slightly softened colors that balance both sides of the spectrum.

Yes! Olive undertones appear in all depths. You can be light olive with fair skin, medium olive with golden tones, or deep olive with rich bronze or espresso coloring. Depth simply affects how dark or light your most flattering shades should be.

Those colors balance the warmth and coolness of your undertone without exaggerating the green tones. Golden yellow will exaggerate the yellow and green in your skin. Icy pink is too light and will make your olive skin appear grey.

No — undertones remain the same. But your depth and contrast may change as your hair grays or your skin lightens.

In Your Color Style, we have 3 undertones. Warm, Cool and Olive. Your skin may appear neutral but you will still favor the warm color palette or the cool color palette, not both. Olive undertones are sometimes referred to as neutral because of the blend of warm and cool tones and that they seem to be able to wear a range of warm and cool colors.

Choose makeup that mirrors your balance of warmth and coolness — coral rose or berry lips, peachy blush, neutral pinks, bronze or plum eyeshadow, and both gold or mixed-metal jewelry work beautifully on olive undertones.

In the Your Color Style® method, olive undertones can appear in any depth (light, medium, or deep) and in the bright chroma family. Your exact color palette is determined by how your depth, undertone, and chroma interact — revealing your most flattering colors.