Understanding how colour can make or break your look
The psychology behind choosing the right colours for your wardrobe is a little more complex than people might perceive. Oftentimes when shopping for clothes - we tend to overlook the importance of what colours reflect well or poorly against our natural skin tone, hair, eyes, mouth.
It’s pretty common to buy a piece of clothing because you like it, without factoring in how it actually makes you look. For example, I am guilty of buying clothes in colours of predominantly black and white. Another portion of my wardrobe comprises of soft, pastelle colours which I usually save for special occasions.
Black makes me feel safe and I feel that it’s an easy option because it matches everything. But the harsh reality is that it doesn’t harmonise well with skin tone and for that, it makes me look dull, tired and washed out. Now it makes sense why people often ask me why I look tired or if I’m sick.
COLOR CONSULTATION
It’s paramount to find colours that will make you look your best. With the right colours on, minimal effort is required to enhance your other features. No heavy make-up is required because the right colours will make your skin appear brighter. And best of all, wearing colours that are meant for you will actually make you look slimmer.
Good news is there’s an actual service for all this - a colour consultation service to be precise. Myself and Sinar Daily editor Tasnim Lokman were privileged to meet with Nabila Nordin and Farhanna Razali who are co-founders of The Powderuum, a beauty studio that offers colour consultation services.
Nabila and Farhanna are familiar with what colours are suitable for which skintone as they are also make-up artists.
“Colours reflect on us in a certain way. Everyone has their own colour palette,” said Nabila before adding that skin tones are typically categorised across warm, neutral or cool.
When you head to The Powderuum, Nabila and Hana will walk you through three phases for the consultation.
The first will be a small presentation about what seasonal colours are and how they determine someone’s seasonal colour. The second step will be the fabric draping to single out which colours look best and which don’t work well and the last will be a mini make-up session where they will use minimal products but all in the colours that are suitable for you.
“We don’t realise how much colour influences our day to day life and the way we feel about ourselves. Colour is also energy and everyone has their own colours and aura. There’s a scientific explanation behind it.
“I think people tend to overlook the role that colours play in terms of picking your wardrobe. Sometimes we tend to pick the colours that we like without thinking how it reflects on us.
“Once you figure out which colours flatter you, you’ll realise how little effort it requires for you to actually look good,” she said.
Through this consultation I learned that I fall into the seasonal colour of Dark Autumn and that colours that suit me well are dark brown, dark purple, navy among others.
It’s almost like magic as I could see the instant effect on my face when Hana compares various fabrics against me. Some make my face look rounder and it highlights the discoloration on my skin while other colours like navy or dark brown actually make the dark circles less visible and my jawline more refined.
So how can we use existing pieces in our wardrobe that aren’t necessarily our colours? Should we simply not use colours deemed unsuitable for us at all?
Watch the latest episode of Dazzle where Nabila and Farhana explains it all!
