Questioning your color choices? Overwhelmed by the infinite number of color combinations? Not sure if you look better in warm tones or cool tones? Ever wonder why we are drawn to people who wear red, or blue? Have no fear, I have some answers for you.
The Color Wheel
As far a color combinations, it is the opposing color on the color wheel that will provide the perfect contrast to make it pop. Much like the yin and yang, without one, we would not see the other.
Take a look- The correlate like this:
Red/ Green
Royal Blue/ Marigold
Light Blue/ Gold
Purple/ Gold
and so on…
Tones
So are you Ashy or Golden? Are you a red-blue or an orange- red? What does any of that even mean? Well, we all have undertones in our skin, hair and eye color. Depending on which way you lean, there will be certain tones or shades of colors that work best on you. Here’s a short quiz you can take to determine if you are warm or cool:
- Imagine yourself in an orange or yellow shirt. You look:
- Amazing- it gives me a glow.
- Aweful- I look sick.
- Glance at your inner wrist. What color are your veins:
- Green.
- Blue.
- Look at your clean complexion next to a sheet of plain white paper. Your skin looks:
- Not great. My complexion is dull and/or sallow.
- Really great. My complexion is creamy with little to no shadows.
- Put on a piece of gold and silver jewelry (or eyeliner). Which color makes your skin pop?
- The gold for sure.
- The silver is poppin.
- On your last vacay to Cabo, you went out without SPF and…
- I was a golden tan Goddess.
- I got really burned.
- Your gorgeous peepers are…
- Brown, Amber, or Hazel
- Blue, Black, Gray or Green
If you answered mostly (or all) A’s, then you have Golden or Warm tones. If you answered mostly or all B’s, you have Ashy, Platinum or Cool tones.
Color Meaning
Red
Red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love.
Red is a very emotionally intense color. It has very high visibility and is used to indicate courage.
Red images to the foreground. Use it as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions; it is a perfect color for ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Click Here’ buttons on Internet banners and websites.
Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.
Orange
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation. Orange is not as aggressive as red. It increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect, and stimulates mental activity. It is also a symbol of strength and endurance.
Orange has very high visibility, so you can use it to catch attention and highlight important elements.
Dark orange can mean deceit and distrust.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.
Gold evokes the feeling of prestige. The meaning of gold is illumination, wisdom, and wealth. Gold often symbolizes high quality.
Yellow
Yellow is the color of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, and stimulates mental activity. Bright, pure yellow is an attention getter, which is the reason taxicabs are painted this color, however when overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect. The color indicates honor and loyalty. Use yellow to evoke pleasant, cheerful feelings. Yellow is very effective for attracting attention, so use it to highlight important elements. Shades of yellow are visually unappealing because they loose cheerfulness and become dingy.
Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
Light yellow is associated with intellect, freshness, and joy.
Green
Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has great healing power. It is the most restful color and suggests stability and endurance. Green indicates growth and hope.
Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Yellow-green can indicate sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy.
Aqua is associated with emotional healing and protection.
Olive green is the traditional color of peace.
Blue
Blue being the color of the sky and sea,is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven.
Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. Blue is strongly associated with tranquility and calmness and is used to symbolize piety and sincerity. Blue is linked to consciousness and intellect. Blue is a masculine color; according to studies, it is highly accepted among males. Dark blue is associated with depth, expertise, and stability; it is a preferred color for corporate America.
Light blue is associated with health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness.
Dark blue represents knowledge, power, integrity, and seriousness.
Purple
Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolizes power, nobility, luxury, and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery, and magic.
According to surveys, almost 75 percent of pre-adolescent children prefer purple to all other colors.
Light purple evokes romantic and nostalgic feelings.
Dark purple evokes gloom and sad feelings. It can cause frustration.
White
White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the color of perfection.
White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. White can represent a successful beginning and depicts faith and purity.
Black
Black is associated with power, elegance, formality, evil, and mystery. Black denotes strength and authority; it is considered to be a very formal, elegant, and prestigious color. Black gives the feeling of perspective and depth, and you can use a black or gray background to make the other colors stand out. Black contrasts well with bright colors. Combined with red or orange – other very powerful colors – black gives a very aggressive color scheme.