How to Choose the Right Jewelry for Your Skin Tone and Face Shape

Choosing the right jewelry to buy can be a confusing experience. Make it easier by using a tried and true method of success. Matching your jewelry to your face and skin tone will ensure that you will find pieces that look great on you.

1

Determine your skin tone. There are two reliable ways to determine what skin tone you have. The first is to look at the color of your veins. The second is to carefully look at your skin color and consider its behavior.

• You have a cool skin tone if your veins are blue. Your hair is probably blonde, dark brown, or black. Your eyes are most likely light blue or brown.
• You also fit into this category if you burn easily or if your skin is a pale shade or shows signs of redness.
• You have a warm skin tone if your veins are greener. Your hair is probably red or light blonde. Your eyes are most likely bright blue, green, or hazel.You can also tell you have a warm tone if you tan easily or your skin is ebony or espresso colored.
• You have a neutral skin tone if your skin has no obvious espresso, olive, or redness in color. Neutral skin tones tend to fit in with the cool skin tone category.

2

Match your skin tone with the right jewelry. Now that you know what your skin tone is, you can match your tone to the right gemstone and jewelry metal colors for a perfect personal collection that will look best on you.

• Cool skin tone looks best with red, purple, and blue gemstones. Red stones include the ruby, garnet, and tourmaline. Purple stones include the amethyst, fluorite, and sapphire. Blue stones include the blue sapphire, topaz, and aquamarine.
• Cool skin tone also matches best with white metals. Examples of this would be silver or white gold.
• Warm skin tone looks best with yellow, orange, and green. Yellow/gold stones include the yellow sapphire, citrine, and zircon. Orange stones include the spessartite garnet, imperial topaz, and moonstone. Green stones include the emerald, jade, and peridot.
• Warm skin tone also matches best with yellow metals. Examples of this would be yellow gold or copper.
• Diamonds look good with any skin tone.

3

Match your skin tone with the right pearls. Pearls generally come in three shades. Most people are familiar with the traditional white pearls but there are also rose tinted pearls and silver tinted pearls. Knowing this, you can match your skin tone to the proper tint of pearls.

• Cool skin tone looks best with the traditional white pearls and rose tinted pearls.
• Warm skin tone matches best with silver tinted pearls, but can also pull off white pearls.

Take measurements of your face. These measurements are going to tell you what shape of face you have so you can match your face to the best jewelry that complements that shape. You will need a flexible tape measure and something to pull back your hair (like hair clips or a hair tie). It helps to look in a mirror while you are taking measurements.^[12]

• Tie back your hair so that it is out of your face. If you are using clips you can clip your hair to the back or top of your head.
• Measure your hairline (in inches or centimeters). With your tape measure, place one end at your left front temple (just below the hairline), and the other end at your right temple. Write down that number.
• Measure your cheekbones (in inches or centimeters). With your tape measure, place one end at the top of your left cheekbone (just above the apple of your cheek), and the other end at the top of your right cheekbone. Write down that number.
• Measure your jawline (in inches or centimeters). With your tape measure, place one end at the left edge of your jawline (just below your earlobe), and the other edge of your right jawline. Write down that number.
• Measure the vertical length of your face (in inches or centimeters). With your tape measure, place one end at the bottom of your chin (at the very tip), and the other end at the very top of your forehead (right at your hairline or widows peak). Write down that number.