LETS LEARN COLOR THEORY ABC's!!!

I carry a color wheel almost everywhere I go as a teaching tool. They are cheap and you can find them at any arts and crafts store. You can even print off the one I scanned, and tape it on your mirror in the bathroom. Now you might have heard me at a Masterclass or in an Event, or if you are my sisters over and over again about Color Theory. I Even said live on the Red Carpet on E News, "This isn't Prom... This is the Golden Globes! DON'T Match your eye shadow to your dress!" I think i embarrassed the host with the purple dress and the purple eyeshadow...sorry!
Let me share with you why. Take a look at all the beautiful colors down below Colors are divided first into two groups.
Warm or Cool

Once you understand how to look at colors and determine if they are warm and cool the easier this next part of my lesson will be.

The first color scheme I want you to know about is called MONOCHROMATIC.

This scheme is achieved when you use variations in saturation and lightness of ONE single color. Think about it like this. If you take green and put light green and dark green next to it you have a perfect monochromatic scheme. So what does this do when it comes to make up? I always say in my classes that its perfect if you want to camouflage something. The army does it all the time. I don't want any of you to camouflage the color of your eyes. So many artists do this and I think it is because it's the easiest for not only them, but also you at home, to manage. It's safe, looks clean, and can be quite elegant. Some would say it provides a very soothing effect as if nothing is jumping out at you. Funny, cause 98 percent of woman I talk to say that they want their eyes to pop. I don't recommend the monochromatic scheme to achieve that! One good thing about this scheme is it accomplishes an overall mood. But remember that using a scheme like this doesn't highlight the most important elements you are trying to bring out!

The second color scheme I want you all to memorize is called ANALOGOUS.

Analogous color scheme is when a color is used with its ADJACENT or next to colors on the color wheel. Take a look at Violet up above. That means using Crimson and Blue-Violet with it would make it an analogous color scheme. When this scheme is used it makes the focal color a lot richer but lacks color contrast. It isn't as vibrant as your highest option and using too many analogous colors can ruin the harmony of the overall appearance.

The third color scheme, and my absolute favorite would be COMPLEMENTARY.

I always say that if you want to get compliments use complementary colors! Complementary color is two colors that are directly OPPOSITE of each other on the wheel of color. When Cool is against Warm it looks the very best. Colors no longer have to compete to be contrasting giving them the strongest most vibrant highest contrast possible. Highest contrast gives color dominance and makes colors appear their sharpest. THIS DRAWS THE MAXIMUM ATTENTION. Who doesn't want that! I always think... Opposites attract!

Red Complements Green

Blue Complements Orange

Yellow Complements Violet

I remade from memory an exercise I learned in art class. My teacher showed me two Christmas trees. One had blue decorations and the other had red. She asked me which tree was a brighter green. What do you think?

Which Green looks brighter to you? Sometimes its clearer if you cover up one at a time.

I was shocked at the age of 9 to find out that the greens were the exact same color. It was Complementary color that made the tree with the red decorations look brighter.

Now that we know simple color theory we are going to look at color within every one's own individual eyes. We can not only in the future complement that color, but we can start complementing your outfits and your prom dresses. LOL