COLOUR ANALYSIS - KNOWING YOUR UNDERTONE AND OVERTONE
The best place to start when deciding which colours look best on you is determining your skins undertone and overtone.
KNOWING YOUR UNDERTONE AND OVERTONE
Have you ever wondered why you feel great in an outfit whilst other times you don’t feel quite right. A large part of the reason you could be feeling one way, or the other is the colour you are wearing.
Wearing the correct colour for your skin, hair and eye type is 50% of the equation when looking to dress ourselves to our best advantage. Wearing your best colour can make you look more vibrant, your skin healthier and can even make you look more refreshed and younger.
The best place to start when deciding which colours look best on you is determining your skins undertone and overtone. It will give you a definite direction to follow and eliminate a lot of confusion (and stress) when shopping, plus it will save you time and money when you know what to look for.
YOUR UNDERTONE
Your undertone is the colour than is under your skin. If we look at the colour spectrum on the colour wheel, undertone has been determined to sit between cool (more blue) to warm (more yellow). Some people can be obviously warm ie: warm hair, skin and eyes and some people obviously cool ie: cool hair, skin and eyes. However, most of us sit somewhere in between and herein is where the confusion can start.
The Colour Spectrum – Warm, Cool and Neutral.
Once you know your undertone, you can eliminate those colours opposite or the colour spectrum. If you are a warm undertone, most colours can be eliminated on the cool side and vice versa. I say most colours as there are come colours which are universal colours and can be worn by either cool or warm undertone.
There are some simple methods to determine if you have a warm or cool undertone.
1. Your Vein Colour
You can conduct this test yourself. Just check the veins on the underside of the wrist and see if they are more purple/blue (cool) or green (warm)
2. Your Hair Tone.
This is your natural hair tone (without dye or colour). If you colour your hair it is best to look at the regrowth area around the roots. Your eyebrows can be a good indicator of your natural colour. Alternatively, you can look at a photo of your hair in your 20’s to give you an truer colour.
To determine if your hair tone is cooler or warmer, look to see if it has golden tones (warm) as opposed to ashy tones (cool). Be aware that redheads can still fall into a cool or warm tone. If a redhead is orangey or strawberry blonde they would be warm, whilst some dark auburn tones can be cooler. Normally further investigation would be required when this is the case.
3. Do you look better in Gold or Silver Jewellry
Hold gold and silver jewellery against the skin. If one highlights and brightens the skin it is the better metallic. If it makes the skin look sallow (mor yellow), red, even or grey it is not the right one. If you have fabric in silver and gold it may give you a better indication as it will be on a larger surface area.
1. Which are your best neutrals.
This test should be completed with no makeup and your hair pulled back off the face. A white headband works well. Compare white vs off white, a cool grey vs camel and black vs a warm brown. Whichever colours appear to lift the skin are the better colour for you. Often black held against the face of a warm undertone can make the skin look sallow and accentuate dark circles under the eye.
5. Your eye colour
Your eye colour alone does not specifically indicate whether you are a cool or a warm undertone. A blue eye does not always mean you are a cool. What is more important is the quality of the eye colour.
Features to look for – flecks of gold or brown and starburst effects in the eye can indicate a warm undertone. If they have a honey colour or are a green blue they can be warm. Your eyes will often have more than one colour and deserve closer inspection. If your eyes look like shattered glass and are smoky or icy they will indicate a cool undertone. If the are a grey blue they are cool. A deep dark chocolate (almost black) can be cool.
NEUTRAL UNDERTONE.
Some people can sit between cool and warm. They may appear to have warmer skin but cooler eyes. This is when further investigation is also required. More than likely they will be able to wear some colours from the warm and cool side of the colour spectrum. For example, you may be warm to neutral. This normally means you can wear warm tones that are not overly warm and have more of a neutral base to them.
Some examples of Cool, Neutral and Warm -
CHECK THE SKIN BEHIND THE EARS
If the delicate area behind your ears appears yellowish, you have a warm undertone.
If it is rosy and a bit pinkish, you have a cool undertone.
TAKE THE COLOUR TEST
Hold garments of different colours against your skin for this method. It is better if you wear them and stand in front of a mirror. This is when a trained colour consultant can drape you with specific colours of fabrics to determine which colour direction you may be.
· Cool Undertone: If you look good in purple, black, emerald, bright blue, lavender, and pink.
· Warm Undertone: If you look good in olive green, brown, coral, orange, amber, yellow, peach, and similar shades.
· Neutral Undertone: If you look good in almost any hue you wear.
· Olive Undertone: If you look good in green, purple, pink, and almost any color except the pastel shades.
