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What is NC Skin?

Published in Makeup Undertones 2 mins read

NC skin refers to a specific undertone used primarily in makeup, particularly foundation. The term "NC" stands for "Neutral Cool." However, despite the name, it's crucial to understand that NC is designed to neutralize warm skin tones. This might seem counterintuitive but is a key part of understanding how makeup undertones work.

Understanding Undertones

Before diving deeper into NC skin, it's important to grasp the concept of skin undertones, which are distinct from your surface skin color (light, medium, dark, etc.). Undertones are the underlying hues that affect how your skin looks:

  • Warm: Yellow, golden, or peachy undertones.
  • Cool: Pink, red, or bluish undertones.
  • Neutral: A mix of warm and cool undertones, or where neither is dominant.

NC Skin Explained

As mentioned, NC is used to neutralize warmer skin tones. This is because:

  • NC Foundations have cooler, more neutral pigments. This is often achieved with beige or golden-beige tones.
  • The goal is to balance out yellow and gold hues in warm-toned skin, creating a more balanced appearance.

Why Use NC for Warm Skin?

The reason why NC is used to neutralize warm skin is because:

  • It combats excess yellow or gold tones: By adding subtle cooler tones through foundation, it ensures the makeup doesn't enhance the underlying yellowness but provides a balance.
  • It allows the true skin color to show through in a harmonious way, without leaning too warm or too cool.

NC vs NW

It’s common to see NC paired with NW, which stands for Neutral Warm:

Feature NC (Neutral Cool) NW (Neutral Warm)
Intended For Warmer skin tones (yellow, golden) Cooler skin tones (pinkish)
Pigments Cooler, neutral (beige, golden-beige) Warmer, peachy tones
Purpose Neutralize warm hues Neutralize cool hues

In Summary

NC skin does not actually refer to "cool" skin. Rather, it is a makeup designation for foundations designed to balance and neutralize warm undertones (yellow or gold) in skin. This results in a more balanced appearance instead of amplifying the yellowness.