Still struggling to decide your undertone? Part 3 of the discovering your personal colors.
In part 1 and part 2 of this series of blog posts I have introduced you to the idea that the color choices you decide to wear can have an impact on your overall appearance and I also started to teach you about warm colors and undertones vs cool. Hopefully by this point you have an inkling as to where you land in the sense of the color spectrum. I will say, if you are like me, I was still pretty confused. This usually indicates that you have a neutral undertone and that can be tricky because you might mark yourself yes in some “warm” indicators AND “cool” indicators. I had looked at the inside of my wrist and could see both bluish and greenish veins, I own both gold and silver jewelry, and my skin appears more olive. Don’t let this frustrate you, even though you have a neutral tone there will be a season that is a better fit. So, what’s a girl to do? Well, there are a few things, you can A) throw in the towel on this DIY and get a professional analysis or you can B) double down and do what I did. And what I did was this, I decided to try the clothes in my closet.
Smile for a selfie and try your own clothes on:
Just be prepared that this might be awkward and might take a moment, but it really helped me
I recommend that you find a “rainbow assortment of colors from your own closet”. (I had just a shit ton of coral for some reason) Grab reds, oranges, yellows, greens, blues, browns, purples, creams, whites, and black. Get a variety.
Here you might notice you are missing colors. I’d take this as a hint about your color season right here. . . No oranges? This is suspicious that you are a cool color season and you innately know this.
Next, go without makeup and pull your hair back
Then drape one piece of clothing over your shoulders at a time
Position yourself in a place with bright natural light and snap that selfie. I tried to keep the same expression each time.
Lastly, look at the pictures and search for colors that make you notice how pretty your eyes look, or where your skin looks clearer, or where there aren’t shadows.
Here are pictures of me, no makeup, hair back, positioned in front on a bright window. I brought out different colors from my closet and draped them over my shoulders. It’s super subtle but I think my eyes look clearer, my lips a prettier pink, and my skin has less shadows in the cool colors.
Okay, so you have done the tests, you’ve looked through pictures, and you’ve poured through the colors in your own closet. Now what? I think the best analogy I read about cool colors vs warm colors came from the book Color ME Beautiful by JoAnne Richmond. I’m paraphrasing but she says to think in terms of landscapes. . .
Warm=Desert
When you envision the warm color palette think of a desert panorama. Imagine the brown sand, the burnt orange stones, and the green cactus, the tawny jackrabbit. A desert sky might bring to mind turquoise with a golden orange sunset.
Cool=Arctic
In contrast, cool should conjure up a visit to the arctic circle. Picture bluish white caps of a glacier, a flock of black and white penguins, the soft blue colors of the sky and sea, a team of gray huskies sniffing cranberry bushes, or midnight blue sky splashed with northern lights.
This might be controversial in some circles but I am of the opinion that the 1980’s version of Color Season Theory with just 4 seasons is the easiest to understand and apply to real life. There is a lot out there about seasons within the seasons (deep autumn or bright winter) but I think that just makes it even harder to choose colors. Once you decide if warm or cool colors suit you best, now it is time to decide if a more muted or vibrant version of those colors is best. This helps you find if you are a winter, summer, spring, or autumn. Go back to your previous steps and look at the colors you liked yourself in best; were they bold and bright or more muted and gray? Okay, let’s talk about what that means?
There are 4 color seasons, 2 of which are cool and 2 of which are warm
The cool seasons are winter (makes sense) and summer (what the hell?). I know the “summer” label really throws people because it is warm in the summer. But instead of the weather, think back to the landscapes. When you think cool seasons think “water”, either wintery frozen water or sitting by the ocean on a summer day. Winter colors are bold, cool colors and the summer colors are like those bold cool colors got bleached in the sun and became less vibrant.
The warm seasons are spring and fall. Again, people get wrapped up in the weather of these “seasons” but I like to think plants and earth when I conjure up warm colors. Spring colors in my mind are found in tropical environments like Costa Rica or Kauai. I think of the rust orange dirt, vibrant birds, yellow green banana leaves, and peachy orange hibiscus flowers. The fall season is similar to the summer season in regard to how the colors are just tamed down a bit from the brightness of the spring palette. Think of how the leaves on a tree in autumn are much less bright than it was in the spring.
I highly recommend a google search of each kind of palette. You will inevitably find different labels like “soft summer” or “bright winter” for example. I would just ignore these. Don’t get caught up finding seasons within the seasons. Instead, look at the colors and try to differentiate between cool and warm colors. What do they have in common? Do you think you could spot them in real life? Because that’s the challenge right? You know you look better in cool colors but if you can’t spot them when you are buying clothing or reaching for something in your closet than it doesn’t matter.
Winter=bold cool
Summer=muted cool
Spring= bold warm
Autumn=muted warm
The Rules (That I do and don’t follow):
I have decided that I look better in cool bold colors. I’m a winter y’all! Now that I have this information what do I do with it?
I try to wear these colors near my face where they have the most impact. So, even though cream is not in my color palette I will still wear the adorable cream pants I got at Target paired with a top that is in my color palette. Or I will accessorize with pops of color that are outside my season.
If I purchase something and I can’t find my bold winter colors, but I have a choice between muted summer colors and the warmer palettes, I’m going to pick the cooler summer colors. Stay with colors that don’t fight your undertone.
Cool seasons (winter and summer) look fantastic in black and white as neutrals
Warm seasons (spring and fall), black and white, look harsh against your complexion. Mocha, navy, and creams: these are neutrals that can look beautiful and sophisticated on you.
If you like wearing colors that are not in your color season, then wear those colors! I have a caramel-colored sweater I love, and I still wear it even though it’s not my “color”. I don’t want you to feel trapped in a season. I just want to spread the knowledge that there are colors that make it easier to get dressed because they enhance your natural beauty.
Are you still here? Congrats! You made it through this very long blog about, I’ll admit, a very overwhelming topic. Even as someone who knows a lot about color and has an eye for little details, this was a lot for me to tease out. If you are feeling deflated, don’t be. This is meant to be fun and helpful. It is meant to teach you some awareness about the power of the colors you choose to wear. I want you to find colors that make you shine so you feel good. I want you see pictures of yourself, and you smile inwardly because you look amazing. I want you to know that being intentional about the choices you make, even little ones, can have a big impact on your life. And I want to thank you for taking the time to read this. Now go out there and find your colors. Kiss. Cheers!
