Wearing color is a tricky concept (we mean, it's why most of us are allergic to anything that's falls outside the neutral palette, aka our comfort zone). The exhaustively extensive color spectrum alone is overwhelming, if not downright intimidating. But if you put mood, personal preferences, and what's on trend aside for a moment, the right color—or the right shade, rather—has the power to give your look an instant shot of radiance. It's why one of Hollywood's most powerful stylists Cristina Ehrlich (who dresses Brie Larson, Allison Williams, and Penelope Cruz) places such a huge emphasis on color for any given event.
"Color is the number one most important thing to me when it comes to styling—it's what makes my service unique," Ehrlich stresses to us. "The first thing I do with a new client is study their skin tone and figure out what's going to look best. It's easy to wear black, but color can be so beautiful."
Much like makeup and hair, figuring out what color best flatters starts with your skin tone, which can be grouped into three categories: warm, cool, and neutral. "Many people have a natural proclivity to understanding which one of those categories they fall into because it's fairly obvious," says Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and author of More Alive with Color. "Beauty rules based on skin tone would also apply to what you would wear, which will make up the nucleus of your wardrobe."
How to Do Your Makeup With Earth Tones:
We asked Eiseman to break it down for us. Keep reading to find which grouping you belong to, which colors you should gravitate toward, and which you should steer clear of. And remember—these are suggestions that aren't written in stone.
YOU'RE WARM IF...
Your hair color: Ranges from dark brown to dark blonde hair.
Your skin tone: Has a greenish or a yellowish (golden) undertone. Olive complexions also fall in the warm category.
Your go-to colors in the warm color family: Oranges, reds, golden yellow, amber, honey gold.
Your go-to colors in the cool color family: Warmer greens and blues, like olive, deeper turquoise, green moss, fern, pesto, red-purples (think: magenta and orchid shades).
Your neutrals: Taupe, hot chocolate, creamy whites, winter wheat, latte.
Colors that are tough for you: Icy shades, jeweled tones (amethyst, sapphire, ruby).
Celebrity doppelgangers: Jessica Alba and Jennifer Lopez
Your hair color: It can range from very dark (blue black or very dark brown) to light blonde.
Your skin tone: Has a bluish undertone. It can also range from very fair to very dark.
Your go-to colors in the cool color family: Bright blue, royal blue, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, deep purples, lavender, lilac snow.
Your go-to colors in the warm color family: Shocking pick (versus hot pink, which is warm), cerise, ruby, bright rose.
Your neutrals: Gray, navy, pristine white.
Colors that are tough for you: Oranges and yellows.
Celebrity doppelgangers: Cate Blanchett and Viola Davis
YOU'RE NEUTRAL IF...
Your hair color: Is a combination of colors—blonde with ashy streaks or brown with warmer tones.
Your eye color: Is hazel (most neutrals have hazel eyes, because it changes depending on what color they wear).
Your skin tone: Hard to determine—you can't tell if you're warm or cool.
Your go-to colors: Neutral colors that fall in the middle of the color spectrum. Look for light peach, dusty pinks, soft rose, peony pink (blush-toned pinks look best for neutrals), placid blue, jade green, cameo green.
Colors that are tough for you: Anything too bright or vibrant that can overwhelm, reds and yellows (if you do a yellow, try a soft version, like cornsilk or buff).
Your neutrals: Taupes, grays, off-whites (like vanilla).
