Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Color Theory 101



Primary Colors (cannot be mixed from any other colors):
Red, Blue & Yellow

Secondary Colors (Two primary colors mixed together):
Orange, Green & Violet

Tertiary Colors (One primary color mixed with one secondary color):
example - Yellow &Green = Yellow-Green (aka Juxt or Bitter eyeshadow by MAC)

Warm Colors:
Red, orange & Yellow

Cool Colors:
Green, Blue & Violet

Tint:
White added to any color

Tone:
Gray added to any color

Shade:
Black added to any color

Complementary colors:
Combining any two colors (including their various tints, tones and shades) that are opposite of one another on the color wheel. Example: Green & Red / Blue & Orange / Violet & Yellow

Analogous colors:
Any colors (including their various tints, tones and shades) that are directly next to one another on the color wheel. Example: red-violet & red / Blue-violet & violet

All the science aside, if you want basic answers here ya go!!

Blue eyed individuals look good in warm tones, especially anything orange. Peachy lipsticks or blushes. Even orangey browns or copper tones. Anything warm based.

Green eyed individuals look good in warm tones as well, especially anything based in red. Pinks and coral will suffice, but the deeper the color - the more red it has in it - the more it will accentuate your eyes.

Brown eyed individuals look good in cooler tones. Most brown eyes have rusty undertones or golden undertones - wearing blue or purple will help to bring these out more.

Concealing...

When concealing a red mark on your face, use a green color corrector. For yellowing (age spots, jaundice), use a very light violet based concealer to correct it prior to wearing foundation.

Why does green conceal red yet they enhance each other? huh? Explain.

Adding green over red neutralizes it. Colors all have different wavelengths and the photoreceptors in your eyes view colors differently. there's certain receptors for certain colors (which is why some people are color blind - theycan't distinguish between green and red). So say you stare at something red for like a minute straight. A truly vibrant red. Then look at a white wall. You'll see a spot of Green (or rather Cyan) instead. This is because the photoreceptors in your eyes that receive red are tired from overload of receiving too much red! So rather than seeing white (which is made up of red, cyan & blue) - you're seeing solely the cyan & blue - which is greenish in color. So now instead of a white wall - think of the white of an eyeball. but instead of looking at a plain white wall - there happens to be a greenish spot in the middle (your iris) - now after your photoreceptors have been worn out by viewing that vibrant red lipstick or red-violet eyeshadow (hepcat-mac) - the green of your iris will only be enhanced THAT much more. Make sense?! Sorry I know it's a little intense scientifically - but that's the only way I can explain it.

3 comments:

  1. You've explained this very well, very clearly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like how you explain yourself so well. I really learn a lot from you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello from Nouméa
    Thank you fot sharing

    ReplyDelete