Have you ever had a day when people kept asking you if you were feeling well? Or a day when you were not feeling well yet everyone kept telling you how great you looked? Have you wondered what was going on?
The answer lies in the color and color combinations of the clothes and accessories you were wearing. Certain colors and color combinations will dull the color of your skin, hair and eyes causing you to look dreary, lifeless and unhealthy; while other color combinations will brighten your skin, hair and eyes causing you to look full of life and healthy.
I look best in jewel tone, bright vivid colors.
Notice how my skin, hair and eyes look dull and unhealthy in the gold shirt. Now notice how my skin, hair and eyes look bright and healthy in the blue shirt. See how the dark circles under my eyes stand out with the gold shirt while they are softened with the royal blue shirt.
The third element of my 5 Body Element System is understanding the coloring of your skin, hair and eyes. Understanding this body element helps you know what colors and color combinations make your skin, hair and eyes pop causing you to appear healthier.
The color of your skin, hair and eyes gives you three clues:
- What colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple) and neutrals (black, tans, brown, grey and dark blue) brighten them
- What color combinations brighten them
- The scale of prints and accessories enhance them
In this post you will learn how to determine your base color and neutrals that brighten your skin, hair and eyes. In future posts I’ll write about how to determine your best color combinations and scale of prints and accessories.
Base Color
Back in the 1990’s there was a lot of buzz about understanding what colors look good on you. Some systems categorized colors into a season, while others categorize them as cool vs warm vs neutral colors. Two things I didn’t like about these systems were they cost a lot and they overwhelmed me with too many colors.
I don’t know about you but I stick to what I call base colors in my wardrobe. These are the colors I love to wear and they make me feel happy when I wear them. Also I like my clothes to mix and match. This is so that I can put my different garments together to create new outfits. I get excited when I come up with new and interesting ways to pair my clothes. It’s like getting brand new clothes without spending anything. Also I don’t have to feel guilty for purchasing (or designing) something that is a little expensive because I will be able to wear it in a lot of different looks and the cost per wear goes way down.
I wear mostly black as my neutral and red (with blue undertones) with a little jewel tone blues, pinks and purples. As a result I don’t advocate knowing every single color that could possibly look good on you but rather just the colors you love to wear.
What colors do you love to wear; the ones that make you feel alive and your skin, hair and eyes look bright and healthy? Are you unsure? Keep reading and you will learn how to determine which colors enhance your beauty.
Start this process by going to your closet and taking out that one outfit you love to wear. This outfit is the one everyone says you look fabulous in and whenever you wear it your spirits are always up lifted. Put it on and look in the mirror. (If you have a hard time answering these questions, ask a friend who has a good color eye to help you determine your base color.)
Ask yourself these questions:
- Does my skin tone look even, bright and healthy or blotchy, dull and unhealthy?
- Does my hair look shiny and healthy or dull and unhealthy?
- Do my eyes look bright and healthy or dull and unhealthy?
If your answers are —
- Even, bright and healthy
- Shiny and healthy
- Bright and healthy
–Then you have your base color(s). Take a picture of this color so you will have it whenever you go shopping. Bring up the picture so you can make sure the color of the clothes you’re thinking about purchasing match it.
If you don’t have that one outfit that has colors you love to wear, not to worry; there is more than one way to figure it out.
To figure out your base color, go back to your closet and bring out other colors you love to wear. Ask yourself the three questions above. Keep doing this until you find the color you can say your:
- Skin tone looks even, bright and healthy
- Hair looks shiny and healthy
- Eyes look bright and healthy
If you don’t have colors in your closet that brightens your skin, hair and eyes then go window shopping. I suggest go window shopping at a fabric store because they usually carry a lot of different colors.
Start with colors that make you happy. There are usually a wide variety of colors within a color family. For example, as I said before, red is my base color. But there are reds from orange reds to red/red to blue reds. I can only wear red/red to blue reds.
In this exercise you will determine the exact colors that work for your skin, hair and eyes.
Take the bolt of fabric, find a mirror and put the bolt up under your face. Then ask yourself the three questions. Do this until you find the color that brightens your skin, hair and eyes.
With your phone, take a picture of the color. Better yet purchase an ⅛ of a yard so you know exactly what color it is. This way you will know your base color.
Neutral Colors
Now that you know your base color it’s time to determine your neutral color. In my experience most people go for black but black doesn’t work for everyone. If your hair skin and eyes are on the light side black might not be the best neutral for you. Light greys and browns would work better along with tans.
What are other neutral colors?
- Grey (warm or cool)
- Tan
- Taupe
- Brown
- Navy Blue
To determine your neutral color you go through the same steps as above:
- Put different neutrals to your face
- Ask yourself these three questions:
- Does my skin tone look even, bright and healthy or blotchy, dull and unhealthy?
- Does my hair look shiny and healthy or dull and unhealthy?
- Do my eyes look bright and healthy or dull and unhealthy?
- Do this until you find a neutral that brightens your skin, hair and eyes
Now you know the base color and neutral color that make your skin, hair and eyes look bright and healthy.
Tell us what your base and neutral colors are. Mine are blue-red and black.
The next step is to determine what other colors you can pair with the base color that keep your skin, hair and eyes looking bright and healthy. You will learn how to do that in the next blog post.
Wear Your Greatness!!
