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My result changes every time I test.
Compare against your own skin, on paper.
My result changes every time I test.
- Pink
- Coral
- Cool white
- Warm ivory
The Printable Kit
Free nine grays and four color cards
Print at 100 percent on matte white paper. The sheet is further down, ready to print.
Inside, the sheet
Print one sheet
The sheetStrip and cards, whole The stripNine grays, light to deep The cardsPink, coral, cool white, warm ivory
Before and with the guide
The same test, on paper
I can't tell which of two colors is mine.
Hold two cards, one at a time.
02 Before you start
Three rules for a good print
Print at 100 percent
Actual size, on matte white paper. Not fit to page.
Why, and how solid
Why: each step is made to be about 25 by 40 mm, big enough to hold beside your cheek or a lip, and fit to page shrinks it. Glossy paper adds glare, and glare changes how a gray reads.
Tradition Printing advice is practice, not a studied rule.
Strip in gray, cards in color
Print the page twice: once in grayscale, once in color.
Why, and how solid
The rule: Print the strip in black ink only or in grayscale if your printer offers it. Print the cards in color, on a second copy of the page.
Why: color printing can mix colored inks into the grays and tint them, and the steps only work if they stay neutral. The cards need color to be cards.
Tradition Printing advice is practice, not a studied rule.
Hold it by a window
Hold one card of a pair at your jaw, then the other, by a window.
Why, and how solid
The rule: Hold one card of a pair at your jaw, then the other, by a window. Pink goes against coral, and cool white against warm ivory. Pick the one that looks less off against your skin.
Why: a blue-based pink and an orange-based coral push your skin in opposite directions, and a white that matches your temperature fades next to your skin. Home printing changes these colors, so each question compares the two cards of a pair with each other and not with a standard. Each card carries its name in text, so you don't depend on color alone.
Tradition Matching color to temperature is color consultants' advice. It is the hardest part to read at home, so the test counts your answers for less when they disagree.
More on printing, and on a screen
Turn off ink saver mode, and print at standard or high quality.
Why: ink saver prints lighter, and the lightest steps can merge into their neighbors.
Tradition Printing advice is practice, not a studied rule.
Check the print: you should be able to tell each step from its neighbors. If steps 1 and 2, or steps 8 and 9, look the same, raise the print quality or use the strip on screen.
Why: home printers shift grays a little. The test only needs you to tell neighbors apart, because you compare your face with the strip and not with a number.
Tradition Printing advice is practice, not a studied rule.
Don't worry if step 1 looks like the paper.
Why: step 1 is a very light gray on purpose, close to the white of the paper, so that the white of the paper and the black of a printer sit outside the scale.
Tradition This is my design choice, and the strip has not been validated yet.
If you use it on screen
Set your screen brightness to about 70 percent or more. Turn off night mode, dark mode and automatic color adjustment. Tilt the screen to avoid glare, and hold it next to your face, facing the same way you are. If your device has a high contrast mode, turn it off for this page, or use the printed strip.
Why: bright, tinted or glaring screens change how the grays look, and the steps only work if you can tell neighbors apart. A screen also gives off light while your face reflects it, which puts two light sources in the comparison. That is why I recommend the printed strip.
Strong for how lightness reads. The strip is my own tool and has not been validated yet.
03 The sheet
The sheet
Made to print on one page.
Why a white frame
The strip and the cards sit on a white frame, because a cream background changes how grays look.
Gray strip
- 1Near white
- 2Very light
- 3Light
- 4Light-mid
- 5Mid
- 6Mid-deep
- 7Deep
- 8Very deep
- 9Near black
Color cards
- Pink card
- Coral card
- Cool white card
- Warm ivory card
Palette Girlies. Print at 100 percent, actual size. Free test: palettegirlies.com/test
The spec sheet
One sheet, counted
- 9grays
- 4color cards
- 1sheet to print
- 0emails asked
- The strip
- Nine grays, from near white to near black. It reads your depth and your contrast against your own skin.
- The cards
- Four color cards: pink against coral, cool white against warm ivory. Print them in color.
- US Letter, at 100 percent, on matte white paper. The sheet is on this page, ready to print.
- Price
- Free. No email, no photo, no account. The free test it leads to does not ask for an email either.
- Honest
- A home check can't control your light, printer or screen. This system has not been validated yet.
Included
What you do not pay for
- $0A photo upload
- $0An email to see the sheet
- $0An app to install
- $0A score on your face
The strip and the cards are free, and the free test they lead to is too.
Asked often
Questions that are hard to ask
- Do I need a color printer?
- The cards need color, the strip does not. Print the cards in color on a second copy.
- What does the strip tell me?
- Your depth and your contrast. Hold it beside your face by a window and compare.
- Is it accurate?
- A home check can't control your light, printer or screen. This system has not been validated yet.
- Does it work on a screen?
- Print is better: a screen gives off light, your face reflects it. If you use one, raise the brightness.
Ready with your strip?
Take the free test next: about six minutes, no photo, no email.
Take the free testWant this check made for your own season? The Palette Check comes in the Makeup Kit, $12, and in the Complete Guide, $29.
