There's so much psychology in the world of colour but did you know that not all colours are compatible with your skin, hair or eye colour? Once you have established if you are a 'warm' or a 'cool' - you'll find shopping for outfits so much easier. Once I established that I was 'cool' (in more ways than one -  haha pardon the pun), I learnt to accentuate and make the most of my wardrobe, I even revisited my make-up and hair colour.  

Here's a rule of thumb to work out what your colour profile is. 

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Determine your skin's undertone. You will want to mostly stick to colors that match your undertone. While there are many different skin tones, there are only two  major undertones: warm and cool. Warm skin has a yellow or orange tint and cool skin has a blue or pale pink one. There are two main ways to work out which category you fit into.

 Look at the veins on your wrist or palm. People with warm undertones have green-looking veins, while people with cool undertones generally have veins  that are blue or purple tone.

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Under natural light, wear a silver or white gold bracelet on one wrist and a gold one on the other. Look at each hand and figure out which enhances your complexion better. If it's gold, your undertones are warm. If silver or white gold looks best, your undertones are cool.   

Rose gold can suit either skin tone.

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How to see if a color is warm or cool. Reverting back to my days as a hairstylist, my rule of thumb is that warm colors have a yellow undertone or tint and cool colors have a blue or violet undertone. 

·     Warm:  red, orange, yellow, yellow greens, khaki

·      Cool:   blues, purples and violets, fuchsia

See the chart below for more details emphasising light and dark shades also. 

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So this doesn't mean that you can't wear some of these colours if you don't fit into that category, for example: I am cool and I love khaki but find if I wear it in a top or a scarf close to my face that's when it doesn't flatter or feel 'right'. I wear a khaki skirt or pants with a neutral stone (not cream) top or scarf.

Cream usually has a yellow base so be mindful when choosing. Think bridal gown in white, ivory or cream.

 

Universal or neutral colours are colours that can be worn if you are either warm or cool, some of these are: teal, turquoise, coral and taupe and in the category of hair, see the chart below.

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Once you become familiar with your hair and skin tone and which colours suit you best - you'll find your friends will be telling you that you look great and want to know what your secret is ;)

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