Everything you thought about color is wrong

• Posted on 13 April 2021
• By Elea Wright
• Posted in Color Analysis
• 0

“I can’t wear red.”
“I can’t wear orange.”
“I can’t wear warm colors.”
“Yellow looks terrible on me.”
“I can’t wear cool colors.”
“Pink hates me.”
“Older women can’t wear color.”
“I wish I could wear bright colors but I can’t.”
“I can’t wear red lipstick because I’m blonde.”
“I can’t wear green because I have blue eyes.”
You are all wrong.

Usually we try to be more diplomatic about telling people they are wrong, but sometimes you have to be straight-forward in order to get the point across. Everyone looks good in every Color Zone, but the trick is finding out which undertone in that zone is your best. Here are things you can’t use to find which of those zones are your best. Believe us, we wish it was as easy as knowing these things so that we could make recommendations quickly but alas!

Your natural hair color

When you tell us you have brown hair, no matter how specific you are with your description, we are not able to know what colors to suggest for you. We make a point of not guessing because the truth is that most people aren’t taught the correct way to see color. Even as someone who attended art school, color was so briefly touched on that it was almost inconsequential. What one person may describe as orange could actually be yellow. Where one person may see a warm color, we may find it is actually a cool, warm color. Color is confusing, that is why Darin created this system.

Your skin color or value

The above is especially true when it comes to people’s skin. In foundation there are two color indicators we are looking for when we do something like the skin twin drape. If your skin goes orange, then you need more warmth, but if it looks yellow then you need more coolness. The value of your skin, whether you are the fairest lady in the land or the deepest skin tone does not matter to whether your skin is warm or cool.

Your eye color

Maybe you know you have blue eyes, or green eyes, or brown eyes with flecks of gold, but do you know what type of blue your eyes are? Did you know that blue eyes could range from a blue-green to a blue to a purple-blue? Same with green eyes, three different zones. Sometimes people who have brown eyes actually have green eyes. Knowing your eye color is really helpful once you have the right vocabulary for it, but generic terms are only suited for ID descriptions.

Looking at you online

I know. This one is a spear to the heart. Nonetheless, quality in life is rarely found at first perusal. Even printed materials can’t be trusted when it comes to being 100% sure a color is right. This is why we don’t use printed materials to drape people or test their tones. We only use hand painted materials and makeup for those not local. When you send something to us online in photo form, we can take guesses, but they are not foolproof. The monitor color could be different, the camera could have read the color differently, the lighting could have changed the way your skin looked, maybe a shadow washed across your face. This is why photographers spend thousands on lenses and editing materials and learn how to measure light, and this is why we paint and do things analog.  

Whether a color looks good on you (outside of our code system, sometimes within it)

We are moving from basic, to complicated, so hang on here. Even people we train in the studio have trouble grasping this sometimes. Knowing whether a red looks good on you, even if you know for example that a power 14 red looks good on you doesn’t tell us anything about your other colors. For example, both a friend and I look best in Power 31 but her best orange (strength) is 45 and mine is 417. These two numbers live on opposite ends of the orange color spectrum. This is not uncommon, in fact, it is very common, which is why we test per color. I’ve never seen people with the same swatches at the end of an analysis. Even twins like Blake and I. Even mother and daughters, though they may share a lot of stuff in common.

"So you’ve crushed my shortcut aspirations, what do I do?"

No worries love, we’ve got your color!™ While it may be more of a journey, we know that the journey will help you find your soulmate colors. Once you find your right colors, you’ll find it hard to go back to a monochrome world. When I look at my closet, I never gravitate towards all black and white anymore. It feels a bit too serious, less bright and fashionable. Living in color has helped reinvigorate a love of self, a sense of freedom in clothing, and even a youthfulness in spirit. All this may sound strange if you’ve never known your best colors, but knowing your colors inspires confidence because it helps you understand your color DNA. And as they say, Knowledge is power my friends.

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