Many people think "olive" is a skin color like white, black or brown and refers to a separate or "mixed" ethnicity with some kind of "tan" complexion, usually in the Mediterranean region. But it's actually just
one of several skin undertones that are found in all races, light and dark. The 4 undertones are:
Cool (blue/pink),
Neutral (yellow/beige),
Olive (green/gray) and
Warm (red/gold). And Southern Europe, including Italy, has the same variation as anywhere else in Europe or the world.
Here's what an untanned Italian woman would look like with each undertone:
And here are some other examples of Italians with different undertones:
You can see more, including some very tanned individuals, in these random samples of
Big Brother and
talent show contestants.
