‘What colours suit me?’

As a personal stylist, this is a question I regularly get from my clients.

Today, I’d like to talk about neutrals.

On some days we just want to blend in. All we wanna do is wrap up and hide under the covers. And that’s when we want to opt for a neutral colour, like beige.

And for some of us, beige would be the perfect choice. However, if you’ve got a cool undertone, it will make your skin look dull.

Why do some colours make us look radiant and healthy, while others make our skin look dull?

Colour reflects light on your face. And because all of us have different chromatic features (combination of skin/hair/eye tone and colour) - different shades of the same colour reflect light differently and change the way we look.

When the colour is picked correctly, it will make your eyes pop (look brighter) and your skin tone fresh.

Here is what you need to do to work out if beige or grey suits you best:

Find a beige and a grey piece of fabric - can be either something from your wardrobe or from anyone else in your household.

You’d need to take 2 selfies in natural light - either facing the window (as close to it as possible) or outside, without make-up and go for a tight crop.

Hold the fabric next to your face. Don’t use any phone filters or portrait mode and make sure there are no smudges on the lens to avoid blurriness.

Look for two pictures in the same light, same crop and same face expression to make sure the test is accurate. Once you take 2 pictures you are happy with , put them side by side (you can do this in word or keynote). Which do you think works better? Pay attention to redness, eye-bags, smile lines, skin tone, wrinkles.

See my example. Which one do you think works better on me?

In my case, the beige is the one which works better, because I’ve got a warm undertone. So when I wear grey next to my face, the redness, eye-bags and smile lines show more.

Now that you know which works better, you might face another problem. If say, it is grey that works best on you, what do you do about the beige things in your wardrobe? Should you give up on them all together? Or perhaps there is a way to make it work? And the other way around: if it is beige which works better, what do you do with all those greys?

If you’ve worked out that grey works best on you, it means you’ve got a cool undertone. So to make the beige piece of clothes from your wardrobe work for you, just add the cool colour next to it. If you’ve got a trench coat or a jacket in beige and you need to make it work, add a scarf or a jumper in a cool tone. If it’s a jumper or a blouse which is beige - add a pair of earrings with the cool tone.

See examples below:

If you’re still working from home and find yourself on zoom most days, why not even consider changing your zoom background to grey!

Meanwhile, if beige is the colour most suited to you, to make the grey pieces in your wardrobe work, add the warmer colour next to it.

Here are some examples:

I hope these tips and ideas help you figure out whether you should make grey your new beige or not.

Need more help? Book me for your colour analysis and together we can work out what colours compliment your complexion and make your skin look radiant!