Finding Your Best Color

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Which would you rather hear? “That dress is beautiful!” or, “You look beautiful in that dress!” I’m going to go ahead and assume we’d all rather hear the second! Today I’m sharing a really big tip on how to get those compliments!

Do you remember Color Me Beautiful? I admit it was a little bit before my time though I had heard of it.  One sunny afternoon in my senior year of college a few friends and I headed to a color draping session put on by my friend Stephanie’s mom. She had been a Color Me Beautiful consultant and still had her swatches.  

Up until this point I knew the colors I liked – blues, purples, greens, reds, pinks and blacks and the ones I didn’t – mainly brown.  I hated the color brown.  Brown is the color of dirt. So imagine my surprise when Gwynn, the lovely color draper told me that I was a little between a “Spring” and an “Autumn”, but probably closer to an “Autumn”. Autumns look good in brown. Specifically, deep, dark, chocolate browns.  Gross.

Fast forward a few weeks and I’m shopping with my mom and I tell her my new color dilemma. I should  wear brown but I hate brown.  Then I tried on something brown. Game changer. Guys, my skin took on a new warmth, my green eyes popped and my hair took on a more golden glow.  I may have hated brown, but it sure liked me. 

The best color in the whole world is the one that looks good on you

Coco Chanel

My tips for finding your best color:

1. Find an area with really good lighting (natural is best)

2. Grab some different clothing/fabric/swatches in a variety of colors

3. Hold each item up just under your face (this really works best if you have no makeup on) 

4. See the differences in colors. Does white wash you out? Which color adds more warmth, black or dark brown?  What about cobalt blue? Burnt orange? Pale yellow?

Another helpful trick: Flip your hand over and look at the veins in your wrist. Are they blue or purple? If so, you may be considered more “cool toned”. If they are a little green or yellow, you might be more “warm”. (And no, this doesn’t mean your veins are actually green or yellow.)

There’s a big difference in having great clothing and looking great in your clothing and part of that comes from the color. I’ve come to learn which shades just do nothing for me and those that really make my features stand out. I’ve learned to embrace my “autumn-y” shades. Do I wear brown all the time? No. In fact, I still wear a lot of black. And that’s OK with me. There’s a happy balance in finding what looks good on you and what makes you feel good and stressing yourself out about not wearing “your” season.  At the end of the day, wear what you want and what makes you feel good. But those compliments sure are nice, right? Find the colors that look great on you and rock ’em. Even if they’re brown! :)

Have you been color draped? Or do you think you know the colors that look best on you? Do you have a signature shade? Leave a comment and let me know!