THE COLOR WHEEL OF UNDERTONES BY KIANNA C. HAWKINS
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UNDERSTANDING UNDERTONES When it comes to your skin and the various colors that you wear, it is important to know the undertone of your skin. Your undertones are the underlying pigments of you skin color the “shadows� of you skin tone. You must take your undertones into consideration to find what colors look best against your skin or else your efforts to look you best may actually make you look ridiculous!
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IDENTIFYING YOUR UNDERTONE There are several ways you can determine your skin undertone.
The Silver/Gold Test If you look better wearing silver jewelry then you more than likely have a cool undertone. If you look better in gold jewelry then you are more likely to have a warm undertone. If both silver and gold jewelry are complimentary, then your undertones is likely neutral.
The Vein Test The easiest way to discern skin’s undertone, although it doesn’t always work for everyone, is to check the color of your veins. If your veins look blue, you have a cool undertone, if they look green you have a warm undertone and if you can’t tell, you’re neutral.
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Seek a professional consultant The third and best way to identify your undertone is by seeking professional assistance. You don’t have to see a dermatologist or pay anyone to provide this service. You can simply take a trip to Sephora. At Sephora, they have a new computer system that identifies you skin tone and undertone digitally. They use a hand-held scanner to scan a portion of your temple and cheek. The scanner translates the information and sends it to the computer which provides a Color IQ. You can use the Color IQ to identify your perfect match of foundation, concealer and face powder. My skin tone is dark and my undertone is warm in most areas but cool in some.
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The Eye/Hair Color Test Another way to identify your undertone is by looking at your eye and hair color. People with warm skin undertones have amber, hazel, brown or black eyes with strawberry blond, red, brown, or black hair - they typically have red, orange, or yellow undertones. People with cool skin undertones have blue, gray, or green eyes with blond, brown, or black hair - they typically have blue silver, violet and ash or olive undertones. 4
COOL UNDERTONES (includes Blues and Pinks) People with COOL undertones look best with cool color eyeshadow but that doesn’t mean they can’t wear warm colors. It just means they have to find a shade that compliments their undertone. The shades should be of a deeper pigmentation more golds, bronzes, maroons, and burnt oranges - instead of yellows, reds, and bright oranges.
COOL UNDERTONES
BLUE UNDERTONES 5
WARM UNDERTONES (include Olive, Orange and Yellow) People with WARM undertones look best with cool color eyeshadow but that doesn’t mean they cant wear warm colors. It just means they have to find a shade that compliments their undertone. The shades shoe be of a deeper pigmentation - more golds, bronzes, maroons, and burnt oranges - instead of yellows, reds, and bright oranges.
WARM UNDERTONES
OLIVE UNDERTONES
ORANGE UNDERTONES 6
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UNDERSTANDING COLOR Understanding color is probably the most complicated aspect of makeup and cosmetics application - but it doesn’t have to be. Once you understand the fundamental “Theory of Color”, you will be able to which color palettes of eyeshadow, blush, lipstick and clothing you should wear. Learning to wear a particular color means finding the right shade of color for your skin tone and discovering a few good secondary or accent colors that are complimentary.
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COLOR THEORY The Color Wheel The Color Wheel is a visual aid that helps us to understand the various principles of color. It is divided into three categories and two sections. Color Categories: Primary (red, yellow, blue) Secondary (orange, green, violet) Tertiary (all of the combination colors) Color Sections: WARM colors COOL colors.
Primary colors are defined as either Warm or Cool. However, Secondary colors (which are a combination of two Primary Colors) produce a variation shades which can fall into either warm or cool depending upon the concentration of one primary color versus the other. Let’s use the color purple as an example: Purple = Red (warm) + Blue (Cool) A Purple that will flatter most cool undertones would have a higher concentration of blue - like lilac or lavender A Purple that will flatter most warm undertones would have a higher concentration of red - like plum or violet 8
Once you understand the how these colors work together, selecting shades of color that compliment you will become easy. The second part of traditional Color Theory is understanding color relationship - becoming familiar with Complimentary and Analogous Colors.
Complimentary Colors are the colors that are on opposite sides of the color wheel They are considered complimentary because both colors appear stronger when they are place next to each other, thus creating a visual contrast that is pleasing to the eye.
Analogous Colors are the three (or more) colors that are next the each other on the color wheel. Using analogous colors can help when it comes to creating a “blend� of color. Many makeup artist use analogous colors when creating soft neutral looks or the simple smokey eye.
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PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER Your undertone is fundamental to the colors you wear and the makeup you buy. You undertone determines which foundation you buy and it should match both you skin tone and undertone. Remember, your skin tone can change but your undertone never changes. Now that you understand colors and how they correspond with you undertone, it’s time to tie everything together and apply what we’ve learned. In the next three videos, the models have three different skin tones - two of them have cool undertones and one of them have a warm undertone. Observe the use of color to create the same Color Concept.
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MOVIE 3.1 IMAN Lace and Leather
LIGHT SKIN TONE/ COOL UNDERTONE (Asian) Leather & Lace is a bold contradiction that's rebellious on one hand and sexy on the other. This color palette features a deep, dramatic selection of signature eye and lip shades.
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MOVIE 3.2 IMAN Leather and Lace
LIGHT-MEDIUM SKIN TONE/ WARM UNDERTONE (Middle Eastern) Leather & Lace is a bold contradiction that's rebellious on one hand and sexy on the other. This color palette features a deep, dramatic selection of signature eye and lip shades.
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MOVIE 3.3 IMAN Leather & Lace
DARK SKIN TONE/ COOL UNDERTONE (African-American) Leather & Lace is a bold contradiction that's rebellious on one hand and sexy on the other. This color palette features a deep, dramatic selection of signature eye and lip shades.
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APPENDIX - BASIC MAKEUP APPLICATION TIPS - FUN COLOR FACTS
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BASIC MAKEUP APPLICATION TIPS (includes where to place highlights and contours)
- BLUSH - LIPSTICK/LIPGLOSS - EYELINER - EYESHADOW - LASH CURLER/MASCARA - EYEBROW PENCIL
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FUN COLOR FACTS COMMON MEANINGS AND FEELINGS BEHIND COLOR
RED: love, anger ORANGE: energy, vitality YELLOW: happiness, hope, bright GREEN: nature, abundance BLUE: sadness, clam relaxed PINK: sweet, flowers, lovely PURPLE: royalty, romance BLACK: mystery, darkness
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THANK YOU FOR USING MY UNDERTONES GUIDE TO MAKEUP FOR YOUR BEGINNING BEAUTY TIPS. I HOPE THAT THE COLOR WHEEL OF UNDERTONES WAS HELPFUL AND INSIGHTFUL!
kianna c. hawkins
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