DIY: Getting Your ‘Colours Done’

While you may be able to categorise people into either black or white skin, there is a lot more to it than that! Everyone has a different complexion, it could be either warm or cool, & depending on which you are, there will also be various undertone colours you may be.

So which colours are you?

{The Beauty Department’s Complexion Chart, click on the pic to follow the link :D}

As part of my Search for the Perfect Wardrobe, I have been looking into getting my ‘colours done.’

I know that one’s complexion is quite a trivial topic to explore I believe that it can make a real difference to your wardrobe if you know which colours you look your best in, it will also save you from spending your money on clothes that look great on the hanger but look horrible against your skin {& I’m all for saving some money!}.

For years now I  have wished for the opportunity to go to a professional stylist/colourist & have them sit me down & tell me exactly which colours suit me, which makeup suits my eyes, what colours to embrace/avoid… you get the idea.   This experienced advice would ensure that getting dressed each day & shopping for fashion & makeup would be a hassle free experience. While these services may be readily available to wealthy & famous, what is a ‘real girl’ to do? … we do it ourselves!

Here is how I figured out what colours suit me without spending a cent.

1) My Old Friend Google

There are many places online where you can do a quiz & it will tell you if you have a warm or cool complexion. I tried this & this website {among others} & found that I could not get a definitive answer, I was warm according to some, cool according to others & BOTH in some cases. Maybe I was one of those ‘lucky ones’ who had a skin tone to match everything? I highly doubted that, so my information search continued.

2) To Market To Market

Ah the makeup counters in department stores. Due to my bad experiences involving poor customer service {let’s not go there!} I had successfully managed to avoid these counters for years. But for the sake of my readers I took the plunge & visited my local department store’s beauty counters to find out if they knew anything about colouring & skin tones. I am glad I did, as the couple of counters I visited were really very helpful & knew a lot more about skin than I had given them credit for.

The first place I went to {a brand well known for there foundations & face treatments} had a happy looking girl behind the counter so I took a deep breath & approached her for some advice. While the girl was very helpful, she kept avoiding my probing questions about my skin colours, & simply told me I was an Ivory #3 in THEIR makeup. I walked away happy knowing which moisturiser & foundation of theirs perfectly matched my skin, but with no clues to my skin tone.

I tentatively approached the second counter {a brand famous for its quality makeup in striking colours} knowing that this time I needed a new angle to get the information I was looking for. I asked the lady for assistance in finding my ‘perfect red lippie’ & then proceeded to tell her my horror story involving my impersonation of the sick clown mentioned above. After a little bit of coaching & a few probing questions the lady confessed ’the reason you looked unwell is because you were using a blue-based lipstick, whereas you need an orange or warmer colour to suit your skin.’ Ah ha, there it was, she said it, I have a warm complexion.

3) Friends With Benefits

The lovely makeup counter lady had told me I have a warm complexion, but what she couldn’t tell me was what colour my undertone is, I needed to know this as well, as one piece of information is useless without the other.

I approached a girl I knew who worked at a beauty salon & did a lot of makeup trials on people. I casually asked here what colour my undertone was, and after a lot of umm-ing and ahh-ing & looking at my face under different lights she said ‘yellow, yeah, I’d say yellow.’

I was stoked, due to my methods of research {if you count shopping & gossiping as research} I had my answer. I have a warm complexion with yellow undertones.

While you may not be friends with a beautician, next time you are getting your eyebrows waxed, just ask them what colour they think your skin tone is. They are {usually} more than happy to help.

4) Get Back Online

Now that I knew my complexion and skin tone I had to figure out what that meant for me. A simple Google search of ‘warm complexion’ & ‘yellow undertone’ provided me with a plethora of information about what colours suit me for both fashion & makeup & even hair colours.

So there you have it, your DIY on how to ‘Get Your Colours Done.’

While I may be aware of which colours suit me and which make me look unwell, I am certain that my search has not ended. I would love to see a professional colourist & have their opinion, just to see if I got it right.

Until that day comes, I will continue to wear gold & bronze jewellery and stay clear of dark blues & bright reds quite happily.