I’ve had a lot of questions lately about colour! I think it’s because we’ve got Spring in the air and we’re wanting to rid ourselves of the black and grey “winter uniform!!”
Colour is SO important when it comes to your mood and how others interact and connect with you.
“The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you” ~ Coco Chanel
The Institute of Colour Research says that “people make a subconscious judgement about a person, environment, or product with 90 seconds of inital viewing, and somewhere between 62% and 90% of this assessment is based on colour alone.”
There are many ways to determine what ‘colour type’ you are and then you can look to purchase and wear things accordingly.
The first principle is to hold a piece of fabric up towards your face and see if it is washing you out or if it’s making your skin glow. If it’s not making your skin look like it’s glowing or if it’s ‘drawing’ your skin of colour then it’s not a good colour for you.
If the fabric that you’re holding up towards your face is bringing out the natural colour in your cheeks, lips and eyes then it’s working!
The second idea is that you are either ‘warm’ or ‘cool’ colouring, which is the terminology used a lot by fashion designers, makeup artists, hairdressers and colour experts.
According to ‘Life in Color’ by Jesse Garza and Joe Lupo, there is a few simple way to determine if you’re warm or cool. One of them is to look at the veins on your inner wrist. If they’re yellow/green then you’re a ‘warm’ person. If they’re blue/grey then you’re a ‘cool’ person.
If you’re a warm person, generally speaking, you tend to have yellow undertones to your skin. Cool people tend to have blue undertones. These undertones are very subtle and often difficult to see but if you have quite golden skin or appear sallow then you are warm. Blue undertones can often be seen as red cheeks or slight ruddiness.
Do you have a colour you like to wear most of the time? Great! But don’t wear it all of the time. Don’t wear all purple if you love it, but add purple accents. If you do have a signature color, avoid making it black or brown–these colors easily blend in. The point of a signature color is for people to know that it’s YOU without having to think about it! Wear a color you think represents you and makes you stand out for all the right reasons!
These are the very basics.
Once you’ve determined if you’re warm or cool, the theory is that you go towards the seasonal colours as follows:
Summer and Winter are people fall into the cool category whereas Spring and Autumn fall into the warm category.
WINTER – cool
People with winter complexions have pink/rosy undertones to their skin. Their skin may be pale white, yellowish-olive or even dark skinned. They may have a lot of depth to their colouring and a lot of contrast between their hair, eyes and skin tones.
These people would generally have brown hair and deep coloured eyes.
These women should wear colours that are clear, sharp and stark eg. white, black, navy blue, red, hot pink. If you’re wanting to wear lighter colours wear bright white and cool pastels and yellows.
A celebrity with this colouring as an example is Kim Kardashian.
SUMMER – cool
People with summer complexions have pink/blue undertones to their skin. Their skin may be pale and pink. They don’t have a lot of contrast between their hair, skin and eyes.
These people would generally have blonde or brown hair and pale eyes.
These women should wear colours that are soft – neutrals and pastels are good as well as muted colours with cooler undertones. If you’re wanting to wear lighter colours wear powder blue, dusty pink, plum and pale yellow.
A celebrity with this colouring as an example is Naomi Watts.
AUTUMN – warm
People with autumn complexions have golden undertones to their skin. Their skin may be pale peachy, golden beige or golden brown. They may have brown, red or golden brown hair. (Some however, may have golden blonde or black hair!)
They have a lot of depth to their colouring.
These women should wear colours that are rich or muted warm colours. Colours that you notice in autumn 0 like rusty colours, camel, beige, olive, orange, warm greys and dark browns.
A celebrity with this colouring as an example is Beyonce Knowles.
SPRING – warm
People with spring complexions have golden undertones to their skin – usually peachy, ivory or creamy white skin. Most of the time they’re natural golden blondes, auburn or have strawberry blonde hair.
They generally have clear, light blue and green coloured eyes. They may have rosy cheeks and freckles!
These women can wear very pale, soft colours such as peach, camel, aqua’s and browns. They also look great in ivory, coral, clear blues and bright greens.
A celebrity with this colouring as an example is Nicole Kidman.
BEWARE
This is a very basic introduction to colour and is general in nature.
Make sure that you’re shopping for you SHAPE first and THEN colour! It’s incredibly imporant! Just because I’ve mentioned that some colours make look great on you, you must ensure it’s highlighting those gorgeous parts of your body that you want to highlight! I could tell you that sunburnt orange is your perfect colour, you could find a piece just in this colour…but if it makes you look bigger than what you are, you should GET IT OFF!!!
Nicola x