With so many choices, you might wonder which shade to pick for your next manicure. What if you tried Color Analysis to find the palette that flatters you most?
Color analysis: what is it?
A key element in the fashion industry for creating clothing, accessory, and makeup collections, color analysis helps find the most flattering colors for each individual and create harmonious, aesthetic combinations.
Each color, warm or cool, comes in an infinite variety of shades, from the softest to the most intense, harmonizing more or less with each skin complexion, hair color, and even eye color. Color analysis therefore consists of testing these color variations to allow everyone to find the chromatic palette that will flatter them most.
© Pixabay
By applying a few basic rules of color analysis, you can easily find the colors that best complement your natural skin tone. Choosing a nail polish color can also be approached from this angle if you want to find the shades that flatter you most. These tips can then guide your choice of an organic nail polish, in the Green™ bio-sourced spirit, tailored to your undertone.
Warm, cool, or neutral: What is your undertone?
Do you know your skin's undertone? Not to be confused with skin “tone”, skin “undertone” can be warm, neutral, or cool.
Someone with fair skin can have a “warm” undertone, and conversely, someone with dark skin can have a “cool” undertone.
The easiest way to determine your skin undertone is to look at the small veins visible on the back of your hands or inside your wrists. Bluish veins typically indicate a cool undertone, while greenish veins indicate a warm undertone. If you fall somewhere in between, your undertone is neutral!
©Manucurist
Is your undertone cool?
Look for darker colors such as gray, brown, burgundy, green, navy blue, and bold shades of blue.
Opt for colors situated on the cool end of the color wheel, especially purples, greens, grays, and blues.
Is your undertone cool? Go for the cool end of the color wheel and rich shades that balance dark and light.
Colors to avoid? Pastel tones that are too light or neon colors may be less suited to your undertone... This does not mean you have to avoid them completely, but rather look for shades that blend dark and light.
For example, instead of choosing a bright coral, look for something closer to a cool-toned coral, like a pinkish-orange shade (such as Rosewood, for instance).
For basic shades, instead of pure white or light beige, choose a richer color like caramel, khaki, or slate gray (Hollyhock, Khaki, Anthracite).
A few colors to try for cool undertones: Aubergine, Lilas, Ultramarine, Amande, Lisa Lilas, Dark Pansy, Poison.
Is your undertone warm?
People with warm undertones tend to find it easier to work with most colors and shades. However, to complement your undertone best, you can choose shades from the lighter or darker ends of the spectrum rather than intermediate shades.
For basic shades, go for pure whites or pigmented dark tones like black, navy blue, or dark brown (Snow, Dark Night, and Chestnut).
If you have green or yellow undertones, it is best to avoid those color shades, as well as colors very close to your skin tone, which can create a duller look.
A few colors to try for warm undertones: Hortencia, Bird of Paradise, Dark Night, Red Coral, Blossom, Mint.
Is your undertone neutral?
People with this complexion get the best of both worlds!
Warm shades and cool shades will suit you most of the time!
However, avoid shades that match your exact skin tone. Neon colors like yellow or green can also be harder to pull off for neutral complexions.
A few colors to try for neutral undertones: Crème, Clay, Mimosa, Petit Pois.
Find your season
To take it a step further, you can match your nail color to your phototype and find your season by taking into account your skin tone, as well as your eye and hair color.
Are you more of a Summer? Autumn? Winter? Spring? Maybe all four at once?
To find your seasonal color palette and the personalized chromatic shades that flatter you most, take the Color Finder quiz!
Finally, remember that these are just broad guidelines and your manicure colors should be chosen first and foremost based on what you love. There are no absolute rules in fashion—the main thing is to feel comfortable and confident with what you wear, whatever the moment and the season.
So make the most of spring, enjoy everything colors can bring you, and above all, have fun 🌈
Also read: Discover the meaning of colors… and what they say about you!
