Head to Toe Beauty

When you stand if front of a makeup counter in any department store the color selection for any product seems limitless.  Sometimes I find that the people behind the counters just want to sell me whatever they can make the most commission off of whether it works for me or not.  I always want to go into one of those cosmetic departments knowing what I need and the color I want before being bombarded by salespeople. So how do you know which colors would work for you?  

The good news is that you can pretty much wear any color you want, as long as you pick the right shade. To do this you need to know two things:  The first is your hair color.  This shows the depth or brightness of shade that will flatter you best, the lighter your hair, the lighter the shade that will suit you.  The darker the tone the darker he shade that suits you.  

The second thing you need to know is your skin tone.  This helps tell you what shades of color will suit you best.  To determine your skin tone, the best place to look is on the inside of your wrists.  This is your true skin tone.  It is the area on your body that you can check in a snap as to your actual skin color.  Sure beats trying to check pantie lines at the makeup counter.  To determine your skin tone hold your wrist over a white sheet of paper.  If your skin shade is white, pink, blue or gray it means you have a cool tone and need cool shades (white, pink, blue and grays).  If your skin tone appears yellow or brown, it means you have a warm skin tone and should stick to warmer shades.

Some examples to help determine your color choices

Blonde or light brown and cool skin tone – Eye shadow shades would be: slate gray, sky or ice blue, lilacs, plums, navy.  Mascara shade should be a gray, stay away from black as it would be too harsh.  Your best blusher would be a rose pink and your best lipsticks would be in the color range of sugary pinks, lilacs, heathers or pinky browns.

Blonde or light brown hair with warm skin tone – Eye shadow shades would be warm browns, shimmery golds and greens, pale yellows or peach.  Mascara should be in the brown family.  Blushers would be apricot or beige family.  Your best lipsticks would be golden brown, corals, peach pink or bronze.

Red hair and pale skin – Eye shadow shades would be in the peach, orange, khaki, light green and bronze family.  Your best choice for blush would be in the beigey pink or light apricot range.  The best lipstick for you would be orangey red, heathery pink, terra cotta brown or apricot.  Your mascara choice would be in the brown family.

Dark hair and pale skin – Your best eye shadow colors would be in the cool gray, ivory, silver and rich plum family.  Your blush would be more towards a rose pink, and your lipstick would be fuschia pink, crimson red, deep plum or mauve.  Your mascara would be black/brown.

Dark hair and warm skin – Your best eye shadow color is olive green, rust, beige, chocolate brown, earthy red and orange.  Your best blush choice would be light brown or apricot and a bright pink for accent on cheekbones.  Your best lipstick choice is in the rust, raisin, warm chocolate brown or orange red family. Your mascara should be dark brown and you can get away with a black.

Light black skin and dark hair – The best eye shadow choice for you is charcoal gray, bitter chocolate brown, pale pink, lilac and sky blue.  Your mascara should be black or brown black. Your blush should be shimmery pink, or a camel shade if using dark eye colors.  Lipstick should be nude, bitter chocolate brown, pale shimmery pink or a warm brown. 

Dark black skin and dark hair – The best choice for you is navy blue, deep plum, dark or reddish brown and golds for eye shadow.  Mascara should be black.  Blusher should be in the plum or dark brown family. Your lipstick should be raisin brown, deep or glossy plum, deep red or chocolate brown.

Using this a guide you are sure to get the right look for your skin tone and hair color.  So next time you go to the makeup counter know what you want before you get there.