Color Theory in Makeup

"What lipstick is the best for my skin tone?"

"Which eyeshadow should I pick to really make my eyes stand out?"

"I hate wearing light purple colors, it always makes me look washed out!"

Cool vs Warm lipstick swatches 

Believe it or not, color theory plays a huge role when it comes to choosing and applying makeup.
There are different skin tones to consider and match (ivory vs porcelain, sallow vs ruddy) as well as undertones of different ethnicities (a Filipino person is going to have a different skin tone than an Asian person, who is going to be very different from someone with Irish heritage) Many makeup manufacturers utilize color theory when organizing/identifying their product. (MAC's NC or NW lines, or L'Oreal's C, N, and W) Different colors will either compliment or detract attention from eye colors. You can also utilize knowledge of color theory in SFX to make a person seem ill, sickly, feverish, anemic, etc. 

Here I've gathered a few tutorials that I've found have helped me understand color theory better when it comes to makeup. See them in this post after the jump!

This first tutorial is a simple color wheel explanation, touching on how a color can be (when mixed with a bit of another color) both 'warm' and 'cool'. This is especially useful when mixing foundations.

Colour 101 Tutorial by WisdomsPearl on deviantART

 

This second one is a video tutorial by Robert Jones. This is probably the most in depth and comprehensible color theory for makeup explanation I've come across. It's especially great in helping choose colors to accentuate the model's features. Take note of how he pulls colors to flatter the ivory (yellow, or warm undertones) and porcelain (red, or cool undertones) skin tones.

Lastly, here are two tutorials that go furthur in depth on the different tones and undertones that skin can have. These tutorials are geared more towards digital painting, but the concept is still the same applied to makeup.

SKIN Tutorial: Part 1

SKIN Tutorial: Part 2




Here is a supplemental skin tone chart that goes along with these last two tutorials:

SKIN: a chart - SUPPLEMENT IMG by navate on deviantART

 I will definitely be adding more references and tutorials to this page as I come across them, so be sure to check back in the future!