Glossary of Colours
This glossary is a starting point for understanding your colouring and finding your own Colour Season.
Hue
The hue is defined as being warm or cool. The more yellow you add to a colour, the warmer it becomes. The more blue you add, the cooler it becomes. When there is an equal concentration of yellow and blue, it is neutral.
Undertones and Overtones
The undertone is the colour that is under the skin. There are three types of undertones : cool (blue), warm (yellow), and neutral, a balance of warm and cool. There are two sub-types : neutral-warm and neutral-cool.
The overtone is the skin's most superficial layer, the one we perceive at first glance. It includes the intensity and value of the skin. It can be yellow, pink, peach, olive and more. It is dictated by melanin, which gives skin its color. Haemoglobin and carotene also help determine the tone of the complexion, which can change over time, for example, when we tan. The undertone, on the other hand, never changes.
Skin with warm undertones has yellow tones. Depending on the pigmentation of your skin, warm tones can have different appearances.
A yellow overtone and warm undertone result in a golden or tawny skin tone.
A deeper skin tone on top of a warm undertone results in a caramel or honey skin tone.
Skin with neutral undertones has neither yellow nor blue tones but red tones. Red acts as a neutralising colour. Depending on the pigmentation of your skin, neutral tones can have different appearances. Skins with cool-neutral undertones have violet tones, as the blue added to the red creates violet. Skins with neutral-warm undertones have orange tones, as the yellow added to the red creates orange.
A pinky overtone and warm undertone result in a peachy skin tone.
A yellow overtone and cool, grey undertone result in an olive skin tone.
A yellow overtone and neutral undertone result in an orangey skin tone.
Skin with cool undertones has blue tones. Depending on the pigmentation of your skin, cool undertones can look different.
A pinky overtone and neutral undertone result in a rosy skin tone.
A deeper skin tone on top of a cool undertone results in a chocolate or taupe skin tone.
Hair
Hair with warm undertones has golden or reddish highlights, even very dark hair.
Hair with cool undertones has ashy or bluish highlights. The two extreme colours, black and platinum blonde, are typically cool.
Red hair can be warm or cool. Strawberry blondes and orangey reds have warm undertones. Dark auburns and bluish reds have cool undertones.
Eyes
Warm-coloured eyes have yellow undertones. Depending on the colour (blue, green, hazelnut or brown), they could be turquoise, olive green or ochre brown.
Cool-coloured eyes have blue undertones. Depending on the colour (blue, green, hazelnut or brown), they could be grey, azure or reddish brown.
Neutral-coloured eyes often have a mixture of warm and cool undertones in their iris.
Value Scale
The value scale indicates the degree of lightness or darkness of a colour. When white is added to a colour, it creates tints. When black is added, it creates shades.
Contrast is the degree of difference in value between two or more colours. For example, black and white are very contrasting because their values are opposite. Two medium greys, on the other hand, have little contrast because their values are very close.
There is little contrast between the skin, hair and eyes. The features blend together. For non-white ethnicities, their features are lighter in relation to their origin.
The contrast between the skin, hair and eyes is medium. The features don't blend together, but there are no very dark or very light areas either.
There are two types of contrast : either all the features are dark, or the hair and eyes are dark and contrast with light skin. In both cases, the contrast is high. The features do not blend.
Another way of looking at contrast is to observe the distance between two colours on the colour wheel. They have a very high contrast. For example, yellow and violet are opposite colours and, as such, are very contrasting. Yellow is light, while violet is dark. However, the closer the colours are to each other, the lower the level of contrast between them. Similar colours, such as orange and red, have low contrast because they both have average values.
Chromatic Scale
The chromatic scale indicates the degree of saturation of a colour.
When you add grey to a colour, it softens it and creates a tone.
People with low chroma have a muted appearance. The hair, skin and eyes are desaturated. The contrast between features tends to be quite low due to the lack of saturation. Generally, these people don't wear saturated colours very well. This can make them "disappear". On the other hand, they can wear neutral and desaturated colours without looking washed out.
People with a medium chroma have a medium appearance. The hair, skin and eyes are balanced, neither very bright nor very muted. The contrast between features tends to be medium. Generally speaking, these people don't wear very saturated or very desaturated colours very well. This risks making them "disappear" or washing out their features. On the other hand, they can wear colours of medium saturation.
People with high chroma have a luminous appearance. The hair, skin and eyes are highly saturated. The contrast between features therefore tends to be quite high. Generally speaking, these people don't wear muted colours very well, as this is likely to wash out their features. On the other hand, they can wear very saturated colours easily, without it making them "disappear".
Mixing a cool colour with a dark one will create a brighter colour. If you lighten a cool colour, it will become muted. The opposite is true of warm colours. Mixing a cool colour with a dark one will create a brighter colour. If you lighten a cool colour, it will become muted. The opposite is true of warm colours.
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Sources
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