I can't afford to have my colours done by anyone professionally - is there anything online or in a book that can help me to work mine out?

[secondseverncrossing]

I don't think I've ever worked out what colours suit me and I end up just wearing black all the time because colours scare me!

I can't afford to have my colours done properly, is there anything free online or some kind of book I can get to try to get some help? Desperately need a new wardrobe but I need to work out which colours to take a second look at as I'm so used to ignoring anything bright.

Thanks!

Have you got an iPhone? There is an app you can download that does it. It is pretty basic I personally don't have a hundred or more quid to spend on it so I use the colours the app chose for me and it steers me pretty well and stops me from being experimental!

The point of the bright pink/orange is not to wear them, but to see the effect of the reflected light on your skin. The pink should be a shocking pink, with a blue undertone.

You can do the same thing with bright white and creamy white and see which looks best next to your face.

If you look better with the orange/cream you can wear autumn type colours - soft russetts, peach, apricot, greens.

If you look better with the pink/white you can wear things like burgundy, blue greys.

That is a huge over-simplification, but it might help to point you in the right direction.

Hot pink makes a reasonable accent to navy, so you could go with it as a scarf to warm your skin?

And while red would probably make you look pale, it's not necessarily a bad thing for nighttime with make up and yellow lights - work the vamp :-)

I disagree bigfatlegs, but could you try it SSC and let me know.
Also agree with gold and bronze, would work brilliantly on you.

Eek.

Um, I normally wear a pale mineral foundation.

I have a weird skin tone, it's sort of olivey but really pale, IYSWIM? I feel like with my eyes and hair being dark I should have a mediterranean skin tone, but it's not, it's pale and it freckles (I'm half welsh so it's the celtic thing I think).

Just looking through some pics and i think I actually look quite different skin-tone wise in the ones that are taken outdoors, will see if I can put one on

My gut feeling is that you would be better without the reddish highlights in your hair, and with bright, cool colours - try burgundy, greys, lilac/blues. People with olive skin tone can look yellow in the yellow toned colours.

DH is Asian and looks awful in bottle green or brown, but looks years younger in royal blue, burgundy, light grey.

However, as others have said, a photo is really difficult to judge.

Can you wear white without looking washed out?

Must go and attend to the dinner otherwise we will be having burnt offerings.

Will check back later.

Thanks - I think I've put an outside photo up to (pls excuse the state of me in it - DD2 was only a few weeks old hence me being a bit tubby and very tired looking!)

3littlefrogs I used to wear a lot of white when I was younger and I do still like it. I think it looks better on me than off white?

Ooooh no, if you're really pale, ignore my previous advice. Go for autumn colours, green, oranges, brown, dark red, fawn.

"Colour me Beautiful" is old fashioned, but the basic colour advice and pictures are good.

I gave mine away, but you might get it on amazon.

Thanks all.

3littlefrogs - I like all of those colours, burgundy, greys, lilacs and blues so will look for those. Orangefan, I like autumn colours.

This is great, i'm going to look at those colours next time I go shopiing.

I think you're a winter like me, you look lovely in your blacks.

You could prob get a cheapie colour-me-beautiful book second hand from ebay. Nostalgia!

My mum and her friend "did their colours" when was a teen, and then worked out what I was from the book, it did / does work, sometimes can't buy anything much in the shops if the colours that suit me are not in fashion.

My DDs have v different colouring and suit colours like coral, cream and pale green that I look jaundiced in!

You are warm and deep so deep autumn. You can get away with black but it is not your best colour.

I think you need to play up the warmth in make-up.

I don't think you are a winter as your eyebrows are quite muted and the contrast in your colouring is a notch down. Your skin seems warm as do your eyes but there is definitely some depth to you too.

Google yuku colour palettes deep autumn. Also 12 blueprints is very good.
HTH.

Can I please hijack and ask for help too? Pics on profile, skin tone is cool I think (no7 scanner thingy reckons I'm "cool vanilla")

I can see both yellow and pink tones in your skin so I think you are a more neutral palette-that is a flow one.

Can I ask if that is your natural hair colour and what colour are your eyes?

You seem quite high contrast.

My first impression is clear winter.

My hair is very dark brown, eyes also very dark brown. Skin is definitely at the cool end, I have massive problems finding foundations as most are too yellow toned and make me look ill. Very pale, but can flush quite easily.

The wedding pic is a few years old and I have a sneaking suspicion bronzer was involved. I've added another which is a bit closer up - I'm a bit of a camera dodger cos I hate how I look in photos so I don't have many!

You're beautiful too. I think you look fab in the red dress. Black looks a bit harsh on you, maybe softer darker colours? Dark red, purple, brown, dark green.

You're far too nice!

I can definitely wear purple and blues, and I think red. I look half dead in brown though. I normally don't mind me in black although I did hate those ones - don't agree to go and visit husband's work at 3ish weeks post c-section and expect to look anything other than half dead!

Okay I have had a look. You are very high contrast but definitely pull slightly warm rather than ashy. You are more bright warm though then deep warm so you flow towards spring. I am still of the view you are a bright/clear winter.

This means you are primarily winter but your colours are slightly warmed by spring. You suit a lot of contrast in clothing too. The whites of your eyes stand out which is a feature of a clear season.

The clear/bright winter palette has the brightest jewel tones-it's lovely. When you wear black aim to add another colour to lift it and make the best of your colouring as just black is a bit dull on your type.

HTH.

I would say warm Autumn. I would think you would suit black, and all warm olivey type shades. You have the same colouring as my sister, but not me. I am a cool winter I think

Statisticallychallenged - feel free to hijack away

Thanks all - really useful pointers here. I'm going to hide my pics now, thanks for all your input.

Thanks Queenie! That's very helpful - I'd suspected Winter but the sub divisions get very confusing!

sorry that post was to the OP. Stat I would say a winter of some type se ^^ above!