Tone vs. "shade"?

Question

- "Tone" and "shade" seem to refer to the darkness or brightness of a thing. So do they mean the same thing? Where is it proper to use each of them? - When describing a person's skin, what is the difference between light-toned (as opposed to dark-toned and medium-toned) and fair-complected?

Answer 1

I would say tone is referring to a more general quality - for instance, someone can have dark, warm-toned skin, or dark, cool-toned skin. It described the quality of the color in addition to the light or darkness, whereas shade is referring more to the dark or lightness exclusively.