Best Nail Color for Asian Skin

With so many colours and varieties of nail polish available, finding the best nail colour for Asian skin can be challenging. 

One of the more common questions we receive from the Body Bedazzle community is “How to determine what is the best nail colour for your skin?”

So to help you out we have compiled a step-by-step guide to discovering the Best Nail Polish Color for Asian skin.  In this guide, we will cover:

Don’t have Asian skin?  Check out our other skin tone guides for nail polish:

We have also tried to include pictures of nail colours for Asian skin throughout the article for your inspiration.  They are perfect examples of how different shades and tones of nail polish can really be the difference from your skin looking flat to glowing!

Unfortunately, choosing the right nail colour for Asian skin isn’t as easy as listing out a few colours and off you go. 

There are a couple of steps you will need to complete to pave the way to discovering that perfect nail polish colour. 

Luckily for you, the first step is discussed in our next section…determining your skin tone. 

How to tell if your skin tone is warm, cool, neutral or olive

This step is probably the most important in your quest to find those complementing nail polish colours for your Asian skin. 

Identifying if you have warm, cool, neutral, or olive skin tones will point you in the direction of which colours will bring out the best in your skin. 

So how exactly do you tell what type of skin tone you have? Fortunately, there are a few well-known tests you can perform at home in front of a mirror to help you identify your skin tone properties.  

However, before we jump into those tests, we think it is important to point out that skin tone is NOT the same as skin colour.  Many people think that the colour of your skin will determine your tone – this is incorrect. Skin tone refers to the different properties that your skin exudes.  For example, yellows and colours with golden hues will complement the warm tones of your skin.  Whereas bold colours like reds and blues will highlight the skin with cooler tones. 

To help you identify the tones in your skin, you can try these tests…

The Lipstick Test for Asian Skin Tones

Firstly, you will need some Hot Pink and Bright Orange Lipstick on hand.  Okay, so this may not be the first colors you think of when go out and purchase lipstick.  However, you will only need to perform this test once, so it is well worth the investment.  Especially considering it will save you from making future mistakes on wrong colour choices for your make-up and outfits. 

This test was actually recommended by our friends over at klog.co.  They have great articles on all things beauty. 

To continue the lipstick test, apply the pink lipstick to the left half of your lips, and the orange to the right side.

Look in a mirror and determine which colour is more flattering for your skin.  If you think pink is the better-looking colour, then you have cooler skin tones.    If orange makes your skin stand out, then you have warm tones to your skin.  If you are having trouble deciding which looks better, then you may have neutral tones. 

The Vein Test for Finding the Best Color for Asian Skin

If you don’t have access to hot pink or orange lipstick, don’t worry!  There is another test that you can use to identify the tone of your skin.  

Begin by rolling up your sleeves and exposing the underside of your wrist.  You should be able to see the colour of your veins. 

Individuals with cool skin tones tend to show purple or blue veins.  Whereas individuals with warmer skin tones show green-coloured veins.  

This test is less conclusive than the lipstick test, especially if you happen to have veins that are hard to see. 

Hopefully, by now, you have identified the type of skin tone you have.  Now let’s get into what you have been itching to find out.  What is the Best Nail Polish Color for Asian skin?   

How to Pick Nail Polish Colors for Tan Asian Skin Tones

Okay so now we are getting to the good stuff. 

In this section, we are going to break down the best types of Nail Colors for Asian Skin by the different skin tones. 

Best Nail Polish Colors for Warmer Asian Skin Tones

If you have determined your skin to contain warmer undertones, the best nail polish colours will be the ones that reflect strong natural colours.  For example, colours from an ORANGE pallet, like PEACH, AMBER, and GOLDEN hues will bring out the best in your skin. You can also experiment with colours that have RED elements, like CORAL and ORCHID. 

However, just because you have warm undertones, doesn’t exclude you from cooler colours like olive, taupe, or even teals and periwinkle colours.  To be able to pull these types of normally cooling colours, you will want to find the warmer versions.  This means it will have warm aspects to the colour pallet (such as yellow). 

Best Nail Polish Colors for Cool Asian Skin Tones

When it comes to cool Asian skin tones, you will want to think about painting your nails with sky BLUES, frosty PURPLES, and strong GREENS.  These cooler colours will complement your skin and bring out your best. 

You can also try out PASTEL colours, as they tend to accentuate cooler skin tones and pair very nicely. 

Strong colors like strong LIPSTICK REDs will also make a bold, but complementary, statement with your nails. 

Still Can’t Decide? Go for Neutral Colors

If you are still struggling to find your colour, it is possible that you have a more neutral skin tone.  This means that any nail polish colour will look good on you.  However, there are still some elements in your nail polish that you should look for.  Generally speaking, you should be looking for softer or muted versions of the colours, like DUSTY PINK, LAGOON BLUES, or JADE GREEN.  

Bold colours will tend to make your skin look washed out and won’t have the intended effect you may be going for. 

Key Takeaways from Best Nail Color for Asian Skin Tones

At first, choosing Nail Colors for Asian Tones is a daunting, almost confronting, task. 

However, with the step-by-step instructions detailed in our Complete Guide for choosing the Best Nail Color for Asian Skin you can be confident that you will be on the right path to choosing those perfect colors that will bring out the very best in your Asian skin tones. 

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