COLOUR ME PRETTY

Work out which shades will light up your life

WORDS NICKY ADAMS

While we live in a time of obsessing over miracle creams and tweakments, the more achievable secret to looking our best is far simpler and lies not in a needle but in our wardrobe. For men and women alike, some colours will quite literally take years off you by visually brightening your skin tone. Others will suck the very life force from you.

Deciphering the colour palette that best suits your skin tone is not an exact science. A professional colour analysis is one way of doing it, or you can DIY it by holding up different colours close to your face to see which give you a lift. No matter how light or dark your skin is on the outside, cool, warm and neutral undertones are the colours that come through from under the surface of your skin. By looking at the veins on your wrist you may be able to work out where you sit. Blue or purple veins indicate a cool skin, green means warm. If, like me, you have spent lots of time staring at your veins but remain none the wiser,

Cool Dressing

Pink or bluey-red undertones tend to blush more easily.

Aim for bright greens, purples, bold and pale blues, jewel tones, cool greys, crisp white and sea shades.

it might be that you sit between both and are neutral. Another tried-and-tested way is by looking at your jewellery or watch; silver looks good on cool skin tones, while gold flatters warm tones. Failing all these methods, most people will know how they react to the sun’s rays – warm undertones tend to tan, cool will burn more easily. While hair colour is no clear-cut indicator, generally the darker your hair, eyes and skin, the brighter the better, whereas naturally fair of skin and hair will find pastels and paler shades complement their features.

Once you’ve got a baseline of the shades that theoretically flatter you, don't be too literal. It’s very common to simply dismiss a colour and all the shades that lie around it when armed with the perception that the base colour does not suit you. However, different hues within the colour wheel can be subtle to the eye yet throw off a totally different look. Using white as an example, the wrong hue can easily make you look washed out – while pure white looks fabulous on cool complexions, a shift to ivory makes it stunning for warm. So, if there is a colour

Warm Wearers

Yellowish or olive undertones look good in earth colours. Try greens, browns, warm reds, orange, peach, coral, yellow, taupe and off-white.

you’ve mentally banned, try again with an alternative that sits in close proximity.

If you’re reading this with a view that it’s irrelevant because “one size fits all ” black is your go-to, then I have bad news. Black has long been considered the safe option, but for many complexions it can drain all the colour from the face; worse still, it can cause shadows that pool in those fine wrinkles, which of course is more obvious as we mature. If this is the case, you might find that swapping out black for navy is like switching on an internal light.

Once you’ve found those shades that really make an impact, don’t be scared to dial it up a notch. As we mature, vibrant colours become a statement. We’re in a fashion moment where dopamine dressing rules supreme – nevertheless, if you simply can’t make your favourite colour work then don’t despair, all is not lost. The key is to keep it at a distance from your face, so anything worn from the waist down will work. Equally use the colour to build on to accessorise with bright heels or matching bags.

Neutral Undertones

You suit a variety of hues and shades and can get away with most colours, so wear what makes you feel best, but be careful of bright colours.

Universally Flattering Colours

Anyone can wear these, whether you're cool, warm, or neutral, so don't be afraid to go bold with true red, teal and dark purple.