Find the colours that make you glow

Have you ever noticed that when you wear a colour that is perfect for you, you feel more confident? Knowing the colours that suit you are a beauty essential. Because for you to look your best, the shades of your hair, make-up and clothing all need to be the right ones for you.

That’s why some professional hair colourists check whether their clients have warm or cool undertones, by alternately draping pink and peach scarves against the face.

If you do this test yourself, you will find that the right colour choice will make your personal colouring suddenly ‘pop’ and come alive, making your eyes look brighter and your skin glow. Whereas the wrong colour will make blemishes and dark under-eye circles stand out, and generally make you look drained and old.

If you look best in pink, you have cool undertones
If peach makes you glow, you have warm undertones

The most important clue in finding your colour type lies in the tone of your skin. This comes from three pigments, melanin (brown), carotene (yellow), and haemoglobin (red). It is the particular combination of these three pigments – seen through the thin layer of your skin - that determines your colouring.

Besides having warm or cool undertones, your personal palette will also be one of four seasonal palettes – winter, summer, spring and autumn.

Cool undertones
Winter – Navy, Black, White, Red, Shocking Pink & Gray
Summer – Soft Blues, Rose-Brown, Navy, Rose Pink, Lavender & Plum

Warm undertones
Autumn – Dark Brown, Camel, Beige, Orange, Gold & Moss Green
Spring – Golden Brown, Camel, Peachy Pink, Peach, Bright Blues & Golden Yellow

The best way to figure out which season you are is to look at yourself in a mirror in natural daylight.
Without any make-up on, look carefully at your skin, hair and eye colours. Out of these descriptions, there will be one that describes you best.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A WINTER PERSON

Skin: Very white, white with delicate pink tone, beige (no cheek colour, may be sallow), grey-beige or brown rosy, beige, olive, black (blue undertone), black (sallow).
Hair: Blue-black, dark brown (may have red highlights) medium ash brown, salt-and-pepper, silver-grey, white blonde (rare), white.
Eyes: Dark red-brown, black-brown, hazel (brown plus green or blue), grey-blue, blue with white flecks in iris (may have gray rim), dark blue, violet, grey-green, green with white flecks in iris (may have gray rim).

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SUMMER PERSON

Skin: Pale beige with either delicate pink cheeks or no cheek colour (even sallow), rosy beige, very pink, grey-brown or rosy brown.
Hair: Platinum blonde, ash blonde (often towhead as a child), warm ash blonde (slightly golden), dark ash ("mouse"), blonde ash ("mouse"), brown, dark brown (taupe tone), brown with auburn cast, blue-gray, pearl white.
Eyes: Blue (with white in the iris) green (with white in the iris), soft gray-blue, soft gray-green, bright, clear pale blue, eyes change from blue to green, depending on clothes, hazel (brown with blue or green), pale gray, soft rose-brown, grey-brown.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN AUTUMN PERSON

Skin: Ivory, ivory with freckles (usually redhead), peach, peach with freckles (usually golden blonde, brown), golden beige (no cheek colour, needs blush), dark beige (coppery), golden brown.
Hair: Red, copper, reddish-brown, auburn, golden brown, dark honey, honey blonde (golden), strawberry blonde, charcoal brown or black, golden gray, oyster white.
Eyes: Dark brown, golden brown, amber, hazel (golden brown, green gold), green (with brown or gold flecks), pale green, olive green, blue with a turquoise tone, teal blue, steel blue.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A SPRING PERSON

Skin: Creamy ivory, ivory with pale golden freckles, peach, peach/pink, golden beige, rosy cheeks (may blush easily), golden brown.
Hair: Flaxen blonde, yellow blonde, honey blonde, strawberry blonde (usually with freckles), strawberry redhead (usually with freckles), auburn, golden brown, red-black (rare), dove gray, creamy white
Eyes: Blue with white "rays", clear blue, steel blue, green with golden flecks, clear green, aqua, teal, golden brown.

The best neutrals for you

Neutrals serve as the background when it comes to personal colour. The true neutrals are black, white, and gray. Beige and brown can be worn as neutrals too.

Warm or cool, you should choose the neutrals with the same undertones as your skin. The most flattering will be those that repeat the exact colour of either your hair, skin or eyes. Unless you have extreme contrast in your colouring - like dark hair and light skin – it is not a good idea to wear a lot of white.

How to start phasing the right colours into your wardrobe

After you have identified your perfect colour palette, it can take several years to turn your wardrobe into one that is altogether perfectly coloured for you. So don’t expect to change everything in it overnight. Rather, if a suit or dress is the wrong colour, wearing the right colour shirt or scarf next to the face can fix things.

Make sure that any additions to your wardrobe are within your colour type by carrying small colour swatches of the colours that work best for you in your bag. Then use these to make sure the colours of new items are right by comparing them in natural light – before you pay. That way you’ll avoid making any future colour mistakes.