Your "skin tone" is the specific color of your skin. This phrase is often used when talking about makeup or clothes. People try to match their makeup and clothes to their skin tone and hair color.

The word "tone" is interesting because it can be used for:

• a range of colors:

  I mostly wear neutral colors and earth tones.

  "Earth tones" are colors like brown, dark orange, and dark red.

• a sound:

  At the tone, please leave your name and a detailed message.

  (This is the automatic message that you hear on people's voice mail when they don't answer their phone.)

  I can tell by the tone of your voice that you're angry.

• the social atmosphere:

  The tone of their meeting was extremely tense.

  The tone of the conversation suddenly shifted.