Have you ever thought that you “just can’t wear” a certain colour? Well, it may surprise you to know that everyone can wear any colour – it’s just the tones and shades of the colour that matter. Hence, the tonal colour analysis system!
As a personal stylist, I specialise in helping my clients discover the tones that work beautifully for town colouring by analysing the colour of their skin, eyes and hair.
We can actually have a great mix of different tones from cool and warm, to deep and light. Once we get to see the mix you naturally have, this helps us to find the perfect tones of the colours of the rainbow that work for you. This also includes the neutrals that you can wear with any of your colour palette.
For example, I was recently having a virtual colour analysis with one of my clients. The beauty of doing it virtually meant we could do the session from the comfort of our own home offices, and still get to have the benefits of helping her find the huge range of colours that work for her. Prior to the session she shared a few essentials:
- The colour of her hair, eyes, and skin – she had brunette hair, hazel eyes, and olive skin
- She sent photos of herself with as many colours as she already had in her wardrobe
Then the fun begins!
In the session, we cover the tonal colour system and what these include. Once you know the tonal colours, this helps you get to know more about your own.
But if you just can’t wait to have a session and would love to know the secrets, here is an insight into the tonal colour system.
Deep – Dark hair and Dark eyes, skin tone can vary.
Light – Fair complexion, light eyes and eyebrows and blonde to light brown hair.
Cool – A rosy or blue undertone to the skin, Platinum blonde to grey/white hair and generally blue/grey eyes (unless it is combined with white hair)
Warm – A yellow or golden undertone to skin which can vary in actual colour (from very fair to very deep), hair will have a natural warmth to it, from honey blonde to Auburn.
Soft – A more muted look without much contrast between eyes, hair and complexion. Varying colours of eyes, hair and skin tone.
Clear – Dark hair with very bright eyes, varying skin tone colours and lots of contrast.
The great thing? You can be a mix of them! Deep can mix with cool or warm, and the same with lights. The colour wheel I have then helps us to see how the rainbow needs to look for you. For example, deep and warm means you can add a little more depth to your colours, the cooler the colour, the less it will work for you. If you are a cool, you’ll need to add cooler tones!
This can be a little overwhelming – discovering that you can wear so many more colours than you perhaps initially thought. The bonus is that I will send you your very own colour palette to keep with you whenever you go shopping! It includes your neutrals (that work with all of your colours in the pack), your accent colours, and your ‘wow’ colours for a pop of extra flair.
Then you can play with these colours – perhaps using your neutrals on your trousers, adding an accent colour with your bag or shoes, and then top it off with your ‘wow’ colour for the finishing touch with your jacket or top.
With colour comes a little spark of confidence. You can make a huge difference to your mood when you add colours to your look, if only within your accessories! When you know the colours that work best for you, then it can be transformational, at least in my experience with clients!
Try gently adding your colours to your looks – a bag here, a pair of shoes there, or even go all out with your blazer or a monochrome look!
Have you played with colours in your wardrobe? Or do you find picking colours out a stressful part of your outfit planning? I’d love help.
