Rainbow Thursday: Color Theory

Color theory! Yay!

So anyone remember art classes from elementary school? If you don't, this website explains it much better than I ever could. (Hey, don't look at me. I was the kid sitting in the back sniffing, err, drawing with the scented Mr. Sketch markers when the teacher was explaining the color wheel.)
For those who like Sparknote versions of articles, the color wheel divides the color spectrum into primary, secondary and tertiary colors.

• The primary colors are: red, yellow, blue.
• The secondary colors are halfway between each primary colors, and are: green, orange and purple.
• The tertiary colors are halfway between a primary color and the secondary color next to it. They are: red-orange, orange-yellow, yellow-green, blue-green, blue-purple, red-purple.

Harmony comes from a pleasing blend of contrasts and unities. Harmonious color schemes include analogous or complementary.

• Analogous colors are those that are next to each other on the color wheel (e.g. Green, blue-green, purple). Usually one of the colors dominate.
• Harmonious colors are those that are opposite, or near opposite each other on the color wheel (e.g. Red, red-orange, blue-green). It doesn't say in the article, but usually the mix is largely the colors close to one another, and then a small amount of the contrasting color. In this case, it would be a mix of red and orangish red, with a pop of teal.

Also, background colors affect how a color looks. Generally, a black background make bright colors pop(white makes them dull) and a white background helps bring out pastel colors (black just washes them out). Also, as noted above, colors with similar backgrounds blend in, whereas a color opposite the color wheel would make the color jump out at you.

Well, this is all well and good for coordinating your eye makeup up, and pulling your face together. But what about actually matching makeup to your face?

The color wheel helps to an extent. To make your eyes pop, just apply color wheel theory.

• If your eyes are blue, look to the opposite of the wheel: orange. This means that similar colors, such as bronzes and warm browns should make your eyes really stand out.
• If your eyes are green, once again, look to the opposite of the wheel: red. Once again, look a bit to the side, and you see that plums, or anything with a bit of red would be best suited for green eyes.
• If your eyes are brown, the closest color match would be yellow/orange, meaning that your eyes should pop in blue.

Of course, this is just according to the color wheel. There are many other factors to consider, including the color of your skin, the other colors you're wearing, or even if you like the color or not :P And of course, you can look great in any color, within reasonable limits.

Another theory that would work in this case is color season analysis. If you were around in the 80's, feel free to go to sleep now. For those of you still with me, here's a great reference. The clothes selections are horrible, aren't they? Note that they are only guidelines. I'm a winter, but I dress and apply makeup well outside my color season and look fine. But the swatches are handy for inspiration and putting together an outfit at times.
For better reference, here are some famous women and their color seasons. Pick a muse and see how they dress--what they look great in, and what they probably should have skipped over.
Spring:
Lindsay Lohen, Cameron Diaz, Carrie Underwood, Jessica Simpson
Summer:
Maria Sharapova, Denise Richard, Cate Blanchett
Autumn:
Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Alba, Aishwarya Rai, Halle Berry
Winter:
Lucy Liu, Alicia Keys, Katie Holmes, Kristin Kreuk

And there you have it! Have a happy Thursday