Discover your perfect Valentine’s red and pink
Pinks and reds are always a favoured colour this time of year. But would you be surprised to learn that many of these shades won’t complement your individual skin tone? Perhaps in the past you tried on a pink blouse or red cocktail dress, only to be deeply disappointed when it just didn’t suit you. That doesn’t mean that this family of colours are off limits to you, you just need to apply a little colour theory to help you find your best shades.
With a few quick tips, you can start building a wardrobe filled with a rainbow of colours that will have you shining with confidence. But since it’s the month of love, we’ll be focusing on pinks and reds.
Skin Tone Guide
Before we delve into the sea of baby doll pinks, magentas and crimsons let’s start with some simple tricks to help you identify your skin’s undertone. There are three skin undertones: warm, cool and neutral.
It’s important to remember that the undertone of your skin has nothing to do with the colour. It would be easy to assume, for example, that someone with tanned skin would look best in warm colours but this is not the case. Every skin colour from fair to ebony will have an undertone to the skin. It’s this undertone that determines which shades look best on you.
Test 1 aka ‘The Jewellery Test’
The jewellery test is the most used trick to identify the undertone of your skin. By wearing an item of gold and an item of silver on either side of the body; if silver looks best, then your undertone is likely cool, if it’s gold that makes you glow, then your undertone is warm. If both look equally as exquisite on your complexion than your undertone is neutral (of course, personal preference plays a role in the jewellery test, so it will never be 100% accurate).
Test 2 Skin Analysis
The second test is simply taking a good hard look in the mirror and analysing your skin. Experts say the colour of our veins is a very good indicator of skin tone. If your veins are blue, it’s likely you have a cool undertone and if they’re mostly green then your undertone is warm. If you have an equal combination of then you are neutral. Make sure to look at the veins in your face and neck as this will give a more accurate representation of your undertone.
Now you have a clearer idea of your skin’s undertone, let’s get you matched up with your perfect complementary shades of pink and red.
Fair Skin with Cool Undertones
Mid-toned reds and pinks are your best friends. Find a statement piece in your style, such as a blouse or pencil skirt in a blue-toned red/pink like cherry, scarlet, dusty pink or berry and pair with a neutral colour such as white, tan or black.
Fair Skin with Warm Undertones
Those with a more yellow/warm undertone should gravitate to pinks and reds that have a slightly more orange-based hue, such as ladybug red and peachy pinks.
Medium Skin with Cool Undertones
Those with a medium skin tone can experiment with a wider range of shades on the red/pink spectrum —from pastels to those darker vampy colours.
Like our fairer cool-toned friends, blue-based reds and pinks are your bread and butter. Delicate floral prints were a favourite last year, and it looks like the trend is here to stay throughout 2022.
Medium Skin with Warm Undertones
Big jackets and blazers are set to be a staple this year, so our top pick for warm undertones is a vivid coral, carmine or pillar box red blazer with a mini-skirt and casual t‑shirt.
Dark Skin with Cool Undertones
Any shade of pink or red is going to look great with your skin tone but if we had to pick our top shades for your complexion, they would be shades of berry pink, brick red and wine. Cut out dresses and tops are going to be big this season, so try layering chunky knitwear, tights and boots with your cut-out dress for a casual yet sleek look.
Dark Skin with Warm Undertones
Almost any orange-tinted shade is going to look absolutely killer on you, including saturated corals, true reds and burgundy. As such, we recommend combining them with one of this year’s most daring trends – catsuits. If figure-hugging pieces aren’t your style, try a jumpsuit or a full-length dress.
Written by Samantha Allaker
