SS15 is showing a lot of love for yellow this season, both on the high street and in the luxury market, giving a welcome pop of colour in a typically spring pastel palette. But with so many shades, from buttercup to daffodil, mustard to flaxen and golden to acid the options are infinite. We help to focus your search with our handy guide to yellow.
Have you had your colours done? Do you know what shades work best for your complexion? No? Right first step, find your colour season.
Bees & Taylor uses a basic 4-season theory (spring, summer, autumn, winter) to help you consider the role of colour in your wardrobe and when making any purchase. The right colours have the power to make you look noticeably younger and your skin brighter – dark lines and shadows will visibly fade. Depending on whether you have a warm (spring or autumn) or cool (summer or winter) skin tone, different shades of any one colour can give you an instant face-lift and point you to a palette that better suits your complexion.
NB. whilst this can be useful, don’t be limited by colour; instead wear shades that suit higher on your neck and those that don’t lower on your body and away from your face.
Which seasonal type you are depends on two basic variables:
* the undertone of your skin, hair and eyes
* your overall colouring
In short, if you are ‘warm’ you are either spring or autumn and your overall colouring has a distinctive warm undertone to it, a golden glow if you like. However, if you are ‘cool’ you belong to summer or winter and your overall colouring has an underlying cool quality to it.
SPRING (warm)
Complexion: you are pale and delicate colored with warm tones to your skin which turns a peachy colour when you blush.
Hair: your hair is golden blonde, or was, and is now mid brown. Perhaps even strawberry blonde. You have golden or red undertones. If you choose to lighten your hair, you should use warm highlights and not platinum.
Eyes: clear blue, turquoise, green, hazel or light brown.
Accessories: your accessories should be gold and not silver.
In summary: you look great in bright cheerful tones like coral, turquoise, and primary red. You should never wear pure black or white against your face. Your coloring will be enhanced by clothing with a bit of ‘sunshine’ in your colours. Think warm and bright when selecting your wardrobe.
How to wear yellow: if you are a spring then golden yellow can look fabulous on you. It will also bring out the golden highlights in your hair.
AUTUMN (warm)
Complexion: you have medium to dark warm toned skin with a golden undertone. Rich overall colouring and low contrast between skin, hair and eyes.
Hair: mid brown to black or medium to deep red. You look best if you dont lighten your hair, but it looks great if you darken it. Be sure to use warm tones when doing this.
Eyes: hazel, medium to black/ brown, olive or warm green.
Accessories: your accessories should be gold.
In summary: you look good in darker, warm colours like olive green, rust, and chocolate brown – you will glow in harmonious environmental colours. Avoid clear bright shades, pure white and black which will make you look tired and faded. Also, avoid true pastel colors which will look cold against your complexion, giving you a pale and sickly appearance.
How to wear yellow: mustard yellow is a wonderful colour on the golden, bronze skin tone of the autumn so wear it in abundance.
SUMMER (cool)
Complexion: you have pale skin and a tendancy to redness. With an overall cool undertone and low contrast between hair and skin.
Hair: your hair ranges from ash brown to dirty blonde with cool ashy undertones. If you lighten your hair, use platinum, not golden higlights.
Eyes: blue, grey/ blue, cool green, grey/ brown, slate.
Accessories: your accessories should be silver and not gold.
In summary: you look best in pastel colors with no warm tones in them. Look for soft, toned-down, subdued colours eg. powder blue, mint green, dusty pink or soft white. You should never dress in vivid or saturated colors, for they will disrupt the serenity that summer needs in her look.
How to wear yellow: if you have the cool skin tone of summer, yellow is more tricky to wear due to your blue/pink skin base. However, pastel yellow can look very pretty on pale summer skins.
WINTER (cool)
Complexion: cool or olive undertones, with a high contrast between skin, hair and eyes. A deep overall colouring.
Hair: your hair color is dark and cool in tone. You should never try to lighten it, but it looks great if you darken it. Be sure to use cool tones when doing this.
Eyes: mid-brown to black/ brown, grey/ blue, clear blue, cool green.
Accessories: your accessories should be silver.
Summary: if you’re a winter, you look your best in dark, intense colors like midnight blue, emerald green and royal purple. Because you have a lot of visual contrast you can pull off deep, rich colours accented with jewel tones and even bright white or true black. Your dynamic colouring ensures you look great in vibrant colours but avoid earth tones which can make you look sallow and muted or powdery colors which can make you look shadowed.
How to wear yellow: a strong bold acid yellow can look very striking on a cool winter complexion.
