The colours that light you up
The right shades near your face even out your skin, brighten your eyes and make you look rested. Here's how to find yours, at home, in daylight, in about ten minutes.
Undertone: warm, cool or neutral
Undertone is the hue beneath the surface of your skin. It stays the same whether you're pale in winter or tanned in summer, and it decides which colours bring your complexion to life.
- The wrist. In daylight, look at the veins on your inner wrist. Green or olive suggests warm, blue or violet suggests cool, and a mixture suggests neutral.
- The metal. Gold flatters warm skin and silver flatters cool. If both suit you, you are likely neutral.
- The white. Hold optic white, then cream, beneath your chin. If optic white looks crisp, you are cool. If cream looks kinder, you are warm.
Contrast: striking, moderate or soft
Take a black-and-white photograph of your face. If your hair, skin and eyes differ sharply in depth, you are high contrast and carry bold pairings such as navy and white with ease. If they blend gently, you are soft, and tonal dressing with gentle shifts of shade will serve you best. Most people sit somewhere in between.
The four seasons
Undertone and contrast together place you within one of four colour families. Treat them as a guide, not a rule.
Spring warm & bright
Apricot, coral, warm teal, golden yellow. Keep black away from the face.
Autumn warm & rich
Rust, olive, mustard, burgundy. Avoid icy blues and neon.
Summer cool & soft
Dusty blue, lavender, rose, soft navy. Avoid orange and harsh contrast.
Winter cool & striking
Black, optic white, royal blue, true red. Avoid camel at the face.
For the colder months, see how to wear your colour season in autumn and winter.
Testing colours at home
Use daylight
Stand facing a window, without make-up if you wear it, and with your hair pulled back or covered with a white towel.
Hold, don't wear
Hold each colour (a top, a scarf, even a cushion cover) just beneath your chin, two at a time.
Watch your face, not the fabric
The right shade makes your skin look smoother and your eyes clearer. The wrong one adds shadows under the eyes or a greyish cast.
Take photos
Photograph each pairing and compare them later. The camera is more honest than the mirror.
Wearing colour well
- Closest to the face matters most. Collars, scarves, knitwear, glasses frames and, if you wear it, make-up. Trousers, shoes and bags can be any neutral you love.
- Love a colour that isn't yours? Wear it away from the face, and keep one of your best shades at the collar.
- Neutrals have seasons too. Warm colourings glow in camel, cream and chocolate; cool colourings in grey, navy and optic white.
- Hair colour counts. If you colour your hair, staying within your undertone keeps your palette working.
Your palette, worked out for you.The Style Profile reads your undertone and contrast and gives you eight shades, plus the ones to keep away from your face. Begin, free