How To Tell If You Have Olive Skin And The Makeup Products & Tricks That'll Flatter Your Undertone

By Karmen on 17 Jun 2026

Digital Editor

If your makeup often ends up somewhat clownish or corpse-like, it might not be a skill issue... you might just have olive skin!

Alas, the sizeable yet long-overlooked olive skin community will inevitably struggle to find flattering makeup. Most products on the market aren't made for olive complexions. Soft pink blushes appear as a garish shade, coral lipsticks turn orange, and even the closest foundation match looks a little off.

What is Olive Skin

First things first are the definitions:

Skin tone: the amount of pigment in your skin AKA skin colour e.g. fair, medium, deep
Skin undertone: warm (pink or blue), cool (golden or yellow), or neutral (a mix of both)

Olive complexions are traditionally associated with people who have medium skin tones, such as Middle Easterners and North Africans. But in reality, anyone with any skin tone and undertone can have olive skin. You could be as fair as Hunter Schafer or as dark like Anok Yai and be a fellow olive girlie. You could be warm, cool or neutral and also have an additional olive "filter".

Photo from JOOCYEE

Olive is basically a fancy term for green, because "green skin" doesn't quite have the same appeal. Human skin has a mix of red, yellow and blue pigments in varying ratios. And those with olive skin have a higher ratio of blue and yellow pigments which combine to appear green.

How To Tell If You Have Olive Skin?

It can be tricky to identify olive complexions. After all, it doesn't show up as a Shrek type of green but a subtle grey-green cast.

This cast can appear more obvious on some people and more subtle on others. For reference, Asian celebrities who likely have olive skin include Twice's Tzuyu, AOA's Seolhyun, Sistar's Bora, Jung Hoyeon, Priyanka Chopra and Olivia Rodrigo.

Photo from @thinkaboutzu via Instagram

Here are some signs that you have olive skin:

Most foundations look too yellow, too peachy or ashy. Neutral-toned foundations look best but are not a perfect match either.
Most lip products and blushers look too orange or too pink.
Your under eye circles look grey or green, as opposed to blue, purple or brown.
There is a greenish hue around your mouth.
You don't look good in most pastel colours.
You tend to look sickly in cold climates.

Photo from @hoooooyeony via Instagram

If you're still not sure if you have olive skin, do the compare and contrast method: take a photo with people who have the same skin tone as you and don't have olive skin. Make sure you're all in natural, soft daylight and not wearing foundation or mineral sunscreen. There will be a clear difference where your skin - especially on your chest, tummy and thighs - has a tinge of green in comparison to theirs.

Xiao Hong Shu user 江边圆舞曲 illustrates the difference best. These two ladies have the same skin tone, and the one wearing blue has olive skin. They demonstrate how the same lipstick looks completely different on them.

The Best Makeup For Olive Skin

Middle child syndrome is so real for olive skin peeps, where the neglectful 'parent' is the makeup industry. It's difficult to find a perfect foundation match, and many shades of lip, cheek and eye products can look crazy on green-tinged skin.

But it's not all that bad! Getting makeup to harmonise with an olive complexion just takes a teensy more discernment. There are shades out there that look gorgeous on olive skin, and ways to make your current makeup blend more seamlessly. Plus, some brands, especially Chinese makeup brands, do have shades specially tailored for olive skin.

Photo from VDL, Kosas, Espoir, Visée, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, JOOCYEE

Complexion Makeup Products for Olive Skin:

When it comes to base makeup, your best bet is to go for the ones labelled "neutral". Our favourite brands for neutral-toned foundations include Jungsaemmool Beauty, SHISEIDO, shu uemura, LANEIGE, Estée Lauder, NARS, and Fenty Beauty. To find your truest shade, test match the foundation on your your jawline, neck and chest.

You can also make any foundation blend seamlessly with olive skin by mixing it with or layering it over a colour corrector. Use a green colour corrector with your too-peach foundation, or a blue colour corrector with your too-yellow foundation.

Olive skin-friendly foundations, concealers and primers:

Photo from Judydoll, Glint, Peripera, INSBAHA, SEPHORA COLLECTION

Contour & Highlight for Olive Skin:

When it comes to sculpting the face, grey-based contour products and champagne, purple or beige-based highlighters will create the most flattering look.

Olive skin-friendly contours & highlighters:

Photo from House of Hur, Huda Beauty, FWEE, Haus Labs, Clinique, Rare Beauty

Blushers for Olive Skin:

If there's one makeup product that can make a dramatic difference to olive skin, it's a good blusher! A flush of colour can neutralise any sallowness and enliven your complexion.

Expect blush to show up more intensely on olive skin. If it looks like neon pink or orange in the pan, it will probably look radioactive on you. So, avoid overtly vibrant shades and go for desaturated colours.

A particularly flattering colour for Asians with olive skin is purple! On the colour wheel, purple is opposite yellow and green which makes them complementary. Fair cool olives look fantastic with pale lavender blushes, while warm olives would look lovely in soft plums.

Olive skin-friendly blushers:

Photo from JOOCYEE, Heart Percent, rom&nd, INTO YOU, Entropy, AMUSE

Lip Products for Olive Skin:

Similarly to blush, lip products tend to pull more pink or orange against olive skin, although the natural pigmentation on your lips may also affect the colour. Safe options for lippies include brownish pinks, mauves and milk tea-inspired hues. If you prefer bolder colours, try the more muted ones like wine, burgundy and chocolate brown, and steer clear of terracottas, Barbie pinks and neon reds.

Olive skin-friendly lipsticks, lip glosses & tints:

Photo from Kaleidos, rom&nd, Flower Knows, Canmake, CLIO, Natasha Denona

Eyeshadow for Olive Skin:

In the hands of skilled makeup pros, any eyeshadow can look amazing on olive skin. However, beginners who want a wearable, cohesive look can stick to the more desaturated eyeshadows with neutral undertones.

Olive skin-friendly eyeshadow palettes:

Photo from @priyankachopra via Instagram

Of course, there are no actual rules when it comes to makeup. This guide is for everyday makeup looks that fuse and harmonise with an olive complexion rather than create a strong contrast that makes the green or grey in the skin stand out. You could very well lean into that contrast for a striking or non-conventional aesthetic like goth.