Five ways to know if you're wearing your Colours.
Getting your Colours right is just so important to your Ultimate Image so read today's blog with 5 ways to tell if you do have them right or not.
Colours make up
How to wear the right colour make up, especially as you mature
Can you believe that so many women have anxiety about make up?
So much so, that by the time they come to see me for their colour and style analysis and make up session, they seem completely confused and at a loss about what really looks good on them anymore. So why is this the case?
If you’ve ever gone shopping for make up you know it’s not easy. How would you know what to look for if you have no idea where to start? And what are you looking for anyway?
It’s interesting, when we were younger we had so much more confidence about make up and actually everything. I mean we just used to slap on any old thing and wear whatever we wanted and off we’d go. Well that’s because in general most of us looked a whole lot younger(of course) and more attractive back then. It’s a youth thing.
Sadly we all age but there are things we can do to combat the aging anxiety dilemma, by learning a few tricks and finding what works for us.
A little bit of knowledge about make up and clothes goes a long way
Unless we’re make up artists or live in the image world, we tend to think, make up, style and fashion is not our line of expertise and we go through life blindly uninformed about the simple things we should know about the simple art of dressing.
We all wear make up, and dress ourselves every day so why not learn what suits us best?
As a personal stylist, who specializes in colour, I love to help women with their make up.
After all colour is the key to great make up as well as what to wear and just being so much more stylish and attractive.
So I want to share with you some simple ways to have a make up regime that’s not only lovely but so easy and quick to do.
Unless you’re a very qualified trained make up artist and most people are not, you really don’t want to fuss too much about make up anyway. You can adapt make up to your style and your skill level. The majority of women I meet are happy with looking well groomed, younger and more attractive in their make up.
These are the top tips to a make up regime that you will love because of it’s ease to adopt.
Not all women want to wear much make up so if you’re that type then make your regime very simple.
Remember though, the older we get, the more make up we tend to need for some cover up and for colour especially.
Step 1. Always start with moisturized, hydrated skin. Nothing is more aging than dry skin. Spend time caring for your canvas.
Step 2. If you wear foundation, find the right one for your skin colour. You should not be able to see it on your skin very much at all. Colour makes ALL the difference. YCS (Colours Cosmetics) is geared towards your skin. The tones of the foundations suit all women. Be mindful it’s more of what flatters, tones into and smooths your skin tone out.
Pay less attention to the colour of the skin than the underskin tone. Your face may look red or orange or pigmented. These are not flattering skin tones, so you’ll need a colour to tone these down.
YCS Foundations will suit all skin tones so my products go on more depth of colour, rather than skin tone. EG, Fair Medium or dark.
Step 3. Find a good concealer. It’s all about covering and concealing certain things on our face, not the whole face. Dark lines, dark eyes, creases, dark circles all can be erased out and minimised.
This is a real age defying way of doing your make up and bringing light to the subject. Grab a lighter concealer again in your skin tone. I prefer pink or beige bases for that.
Step 4. Colour .When you have your colours done,you’ll know for sure all the blush, eyeshadow and lipstick colours that suit you as well as eye and lip liners etc. There is a plethora of colours you can use, lots of variety, just check with your colour specialist.
Step 5. Define. As we mature our frame lines disappear. Lines around our lips and eyes. Make up is fabulous for subtly bringing those lines back.
Step 6. Be subtle. Yes subtly bringing those things back. Think about it. What is the worst kind of make up on mature women?
Dark, harsh and garish colours. Be subtle-you’re a mature woman not a council bus.
YCS Cosmetics or Your Colours Cosmetics has been around for many decades. This make up became popular in the 70’s when women first started getting their colours done and they needed someone to define make up by season.
We know there are millions of make up colours around so being able to shop for make up by season just makes our choosing so much simpler.
YCS is also top quality, produced in the USA, ethically made, not tested on animals and paraben free.
It is also 100% hypo-allergenic attesting to the quality of the ingredients. And gentle for millions of women worldwide that have enjoyed the products for decades.
If you would like to try these products feel free to order online or call for more information
It’s also an affordable price and easy to apply.
How to wear your neutrals
How to wear your neutrals
What is a neutral colour?
I would describe a neutral colour as one that is quite benign. One that's not screaming for attention, and one that's a base for all of your other amazing colours.
Not everyone feels good in a pink and green outfit for example but they may enjoy wearing perhaps a green top with a neutral like grey.
It's good to start your wardrobe with your neutrals then add your colour in next.
But are all neutrals created equal? Definitely not. Many stylists are firm about having a base of dark cool neutrals like black, pure white, greys and navy’s with a splash of brown thrown in. But those neutrals are only found in the Winter Palette. Black doesn't go with everything, as we've been led to believe. And Winter neutrals don't go with Summer, Spring or Autumn neutrals.
As a colour consultant of 20 years, I have found these ideas to be quiet damaging as a whole to the fashion industry. Using black as a style staple is not useful to your Image picture.
Here's an example of working with a warm Autumn neutral and Black a cool dominant neutral to create a mismatched look.
YOU NEED TO FIND YOUR COLOURS AND THEN WORK WITH THE NEUTRALS IN YOUR PALETTE ONLY
For a stylish, complete, co-ordinated wardrobe that suits you down to the ground, you need to work with YOUR neutrals only.
The reason being, neutrals from another palette will not look good on you, and also will not go with the other shades or neutrals in your palette.
THE NEUTRAL COLOUR PALETTES.
Some stylists categorize people as neutrals. But I like to call only colours neutral not people.
Every colour is either a Cool Deep or dominant colour,(Winter) a cool muted colour,(Summer) a deep warm colour (Autumn) or a warm bright colour (Spring)
That's it. Every colour on the planet will slot into one of four palettes only. And you will be one of the four palettes as well. No sub colours or flow people in my opinion. Some colours "flow"but not people.
THE COLOUR SWATCH BOOKS FOR THE FOUR SEASONS
Get your colours right. There is Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. What season are you and there is no need for any sub seasons.
You will have thousands of colours to choose from that will all look amazing on you.
So what are the four types of neutrals I’m speaking of?
Warm Deep or Autumn neutrals are lovely deep olive greens, rich creams, clays, golden browns, deep apricots, muddied burgundies and pumpkins to name a few as well as rich warm khakis and golds.
The bright Spring neutrals on the other hand are still warm but much lighter than their deep counterparts, so colours like light soft caramels, light creams, warm light browns, tans, peaches and apricots are part of the Spring neutrals.
Moving into the cooler palettes we have the boldness and clarity of the deep Winter colours, black, pure white, all greys, silvers, dark navys and deep deep browns.
Forget burgundy as some may include in the Winter palette. I reserve that for the muted cool neutrals of Summer. The denim which is a winter denim is dark navy blue.
Summer neutrals are cool and soft and muted. Ones like off whites, soft grey, cool taupes, cool beiges, light cool khakis, burgundy and maroons create a nice base and don’t forget your dusty navy’s. Please don’t forget light denim teams best with these colours.
With all this in mind you can see there is a plethora of colours, considered to be neutral.
So once you know your colours, you can stick to the neutrals within your season for best results. Ask your consultant how to incorporate these into your wardrobe.
It’s always best to get professional advice about your colours and be sure the colours actually “fit”with you.
If your not happy with your results after a colour analysis, my advice would be to get a 2nd and sometimes even a 3rd opinion until you get your colours right.
I have had so many clients over the years who have had their colours done incorrectly.
There is a mindfield of systems now so I hope you find a solution that’s right for you.
HOW TO TELL IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT COLOURS?
Here are a few checkpoints.
You'll look younger and more attractive in your colours
Your hair colour will compliment your colours
3. Your make up will blend into your skin and not sit on top
4. You will have 100’s and 100’s of colours to choose from
5. You will feel at peace in your colours
6. All the clothes in your wardrobe will coordinate
7. You will have heaps of outfits even if you have a small wardrobe (capsule)
8. You’ll always get compliments about what your wearing
9. You'll find it easier to accessorize and mix and match
You’ll look very stylish all the time.
For more information contact Your Colours and Style Sydney
5 Best Foundation Tips
The New Year might just be a good time to revamp your make up
Your Image is not the same without a good face of make up
You could wear the most amazing outfit but if your face is not right the whole thing will look below par
So let’s get down to some great ways to improve your make up with some tried and true tricks to applying your foundation.
Here are my 5 top tips?
Beautiful skin is always the best place to start when applying your make up.
If you apply foundation over dry skin, the foundation will appear dry and flaky. Make sure you have subtle moist skin as your base.
My clients are always asking for a foundation and powder that doesn’t make their face look more lined. Even if you are more mature and have a number of lines and wrinkles, having the right foundations and powders as well as knowing how to apply them will make the face appear less lined and much smoother. Actually it can take years off your appearance.
The first step is prepare your skin. That doesn’t happen overnight. Skin should be looked after from an early age by using the right products and treatments and taking the right care.
Stay out of the sun and wear a sunscreen daily. Have regular facials if you can afford them or have good home care.
Cleanse and moisturise and apply vitamin C serums and retinols so the skin is soft and moist.
Tip no 2. The right colour foundations, powders and concealers.
WRONG COLOUR FOUNDATION
Have you ever noticed foundations that look bad?
The most common problem is the colour. The wrong colour can make the face look heavy and unnatural.
How do you choose the right colours?
Our Colours foundations stick mostly to beige or pink based foundations. Yellow and orange tones have become mainstream and popular but these tend to make the foundation look thick and heavy.
The wrong colours are somewhat better on very young flawless skin, but who has young flawless skin?
The rest of us look better in pink based foundations because skin colour is pink.
If your face is too red try the beige neutral based colours.
To know if the foundation you choose is right for you, apply a tiny streak of foundation on the base of the cheek.
The foundation should be unnoticeable. This is a good colour match for you.
The same apply’s for powders and concealers. Powders are meant to sit on top without changing the colour at all and concealers are meant to conceal, dark areas and spots etc.
Tip no 3. Apply a tiny tiny amount.
Take a close look at your face in the mirror. Can you see the skin isn’t perfectly one colour.
It’s actually quiet spotted or mottled. This is completely normal. Some people have more pigmentation than others and unevenness.
Not to worry. A good foundation will smooth the skin out to more uniformity, as long as it is exactly the right shade for your skin.
The secret is to apply as little of the appropriate foundation as you possibly can. This can be done by applying a small amount with a foundation brush and then buffing it in with a buffer brush or stipple brush.
Tip no 4. Seal with the right powder or not.
A light dusting of wet and dry powder. Medium skin tone
Powder is a personal choice. A lot of mature women are afraid of powder as they think it settles in the lines and wrinkles.
This isn’t the case if you dust lightly over your foundation and buff it in and also if you have the right colour powder as well. It needs to be somewhat translucent as you don’t want to change the shade of your foundation.
If you prefer a dewier look you can skip the powder, but remember powder is a good setting agent, it dampens shine and allows your make up to be more long lasting.
Tip no 5. The right concealer.
Concealer #500 applied as eyebase and inside eye area and part of the under eye.
Light porcelain skin colour
Your foundation, powder and concealer trio is the whole base for your make up.
First prep, then moisturise, apply foundation, then powder and finish with concealer for a good palette to work with.
All your colour and definition can be made once you have a good clean face to start with. Begin with the wrong foundation and your make up is all downhill from there.
Light skin tone above. Deep skin tone below.
If you would like a free make up appraisal contact Your Colours and Style.