STYLE

Do you have a favorite sweater? A dress that everyone raves over each time you wear it? If so, you probably already know that certain colors look great on you…and also that some—eek!—totally don’t! Since your skin is really made up of hundreds of colors (ask any artist!), it can look different depending on the time of day, the season, or even how you’re feelin’.

But when you’re looking for the colors that best compliment you, it can be handy to know that three primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—interact to make up everyone’s basic skin tone and totally effect which colors look best on you. So whether your skin’s toasty brown, palest ivory, or darkest ebony, the best way to use makeup that looks right on you is to figure out your secondary color. How do you do that? Look in the mirror and see. Are you ruddy? Blue-y? Yellow-y? Or some combo like…green-y? Take a look at the upcoming color guide to see what shades are best on you!

Blue Undertones
A pastel universe awaits, Miss Blue! Your cheeks are great with pale, cotton-candy pinks—and violets, burgundies, and plums look awesome on your lips.

Yellow Undertones
Hello, Miss Peach! Try a teensy dash of orange in your blush, and look for warm, bricky reds, desert-shaded glosses, and brown-hued shimmers to make your features pop.

Red Undertones
You’ve already got a head start with you natural blush, Miss Rose, so look for shades that enhance the colors you already have…for your cheeks, a blush that’s a few shades darker than your natural hue, and for lips, rosy reds and sweet beige-y sheers.

Tip:
Chances are, even if you can’t tell your own undertones, you can tell someone else’s. So grab your BFF and type each other. Is she a blue, is she a red? Are you both pretty yellows? Stand side by side to make it easier to see. Still can’t figure it out? Hold a blue, a red, and a yellow top up to your face (be sure the clothes are as close to the primary hues as possible). Which looks best? If that blue seems to bring out your features the best, then guess what you are?

2/2/2008 12:58:58 PM