Reveal your true beauty with personal color analysis (PCA) and personal style analysis.

Embracing Winter Lips

3/12/2011

(Doesn't that sound romantic?)

From talking and listening to Winter women, particularly on the 12 Blueprints Facebook page, I've learned that deep, vivid Winter colors can take some getting used to.

It can be difficult for a newly identified Winter to see past the intensity of the color in a swatchbook and imagine how normal it will look on a Winter face. Even seeing the color on the lip, it can be hard for a Winter woman to take in how the color is balancing the rest of the face.

Let's start with True (Cool) Winters.

The beauty industry has trained us to believe that a natural lip will necessarily be a medium peachy-beige color. Hence all the tubes of this shade that are called Nude Something.

A True Winter might believe such a color is the only hue that can create a natural look. Nude = natural, right?

Not in your case, True Winters. On a woman who needs both coolness and depth, this color looks anything but natural.

What will read as natural on you is a color you might not expect:

You know those cool, fairly bright, medium pinks in your swatchbook? The ones that look like Barbie cars? They look absolutely normal on a True Winter face.

Cool Winters Sarah Silverman, Mary Louise Parker & Shalom Harlow

Match the swatch; don't be afraid. In the tube it may seem very, very pink, but on your lip it will be natural.

Christina Ricci

Doesn't this look loads more normal?

True Winter, when you see a shade that's supposedly "nude" or "flesh-toned," stay away from it. That's not your natural look.

(Probably it's True (Warm) Autumn's. Seems like all their best lippies are called Creamy Nude, Rosy Nude, Nude in the Afternoon, Nude at Breakfast, etc. A very sexy season, apparently.)

______________________________________________

Now, Dark (Deep) Winter... you are a Winter of another sort altogether. A light lip won't cut it for you.

Consider this particular light, cool pink.
It might look natural on a Light Summer:

Cate Blanchett

But on you, this lip is utterly unnatural:

With a lip like this, you may feel like you're playing it safe, but the opposite is true. You're standing out... for all the wrong reasons.

You'll look healthier, happier and more normal in a deep, dark shade that the other seasons are afraid of. Like this one.

Don't fear the color! It's absolutely right for you.

See?

Penelope Cruz

Notice the balance. This lip is miles more natural and less made-up than the one above.

Readjust your eye and your mind to understand that this deep wine is a safe color for you. Puny, pale pink is not.

Consider this more dramatic Dark Winter look. It's still beautifully balanced, not overwhelming.

Jennifer Hudson.

In a swatch, this color may be scary.

But you don't need to fear it, Dark Winter. No matter what you think you see when you look in the mirror, it absolutely does not look like this on you:

Don't get freaked out by the word "dark." Your colors are only dark compared to the other seasons'.

On you, they're perfectly balanced.

______________________________________________
Question: Who could possibly look balanced in a hot pink lip?

Well, not True (Warm) Spring, that's for sure.

And not True Autumn.

Give up?

Bright Winter, that's who! :-)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

All right, you probably guessed that one.
I just get silly when I look at Bright Winters. I heart them.
They make me believe in magic. Sort of like unicorns.

Bright Winter, if this post is for anyone, it's for you.
Own your colors. They're perfect on you. Don't listen to the voice in your head that says they look crazy. They don't.

You know what looks crazy on you, Bright Winter? This:

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, sadly.

No! Don't do it!

Don't even think about leaving the house in this wishy-washy lip, telling yourself that since it's called Nude Something it will let you fade into the background.

If anything, it draws attention to you - negative attention - because it looks so totally wrong.

Here is Sophie Ellis-Bextor yet again, alongside Alek Wek. Both of them look miraculously natural in the same "crazy" Bright Winter lip color.

This season makes me feel playful, so I edged the graphic with other fantastic BW lip options. All of them will look awesome and absolutely right on you, Bright Winter.

(BTW, aren't these two models a great example of how two people with very different coloring can have the same undertone - i.e., season - and how the same palette can work beautifully for both? Google them and you'll see: their best colors are the same. Wild.)

Bright Winter, embrace the gift that is your magical palette. The magic lies in the fact that the outrageous colors make you look more normal than wishy-washy colors ever could.

Leave the wishy-washy colors to Soft Autumn, who's glorious in them.

Gloriously Soft Autumn Mischa Barton.

(Not sure which Winter you are? Try draping yourself affordably at home.)

28 Comments

Fiona link

3/12/2011 04:28:22 pm

An utterly absorbing post. You choose such great examples. Thank you so much for your time putting this post together. I'm not a big Mischa fan but she looks beautiful in her correct makeup colours.

Divalicious

3/12/2011 11:07:24 pm

Have to say that I just knew your website & blog recently & I got hooked on immediately.

Just one complain though. I don't know if it's me/my computer or perhaps it's the setting of the site, but howcome everytime I type the comment on your blog, the font is soooooo.... small I can barely read my own writing.

But after it got posted, the font is in normal view again (but by that time, I have already posted it & sometimes I realize I just made a mistake when I typed but unfortunately it went unnoticed by me due to the incredibly small font). Is there something that can be done to fix this?

Thanks. Anyway, great post.

Rachel

3/13/2011 12:58:44 am

Thanks, Fiona. :-)

Divalicious, I'll look at the settings and see if I can figure something out.

Amy

3/13/2011 10:50:30 am

Very informative and entertaining! Love your writing style.

Ellie

3/13/2011 02:02:30 pm

As a winter I found this so life affirming. Thank you!

Hanna

3/14/2011 01:37:39 am

Do you think this applies to people's real lips as well?

Rachel

3/14/2011 03:16:44 am

Hanna -are you asking whether I think the particular colors of the season are naturally present in one's lips?

If that's your question, here's what I believe to be the answer, based on observation and on logic: Yes and no.

:-)

Here's my thinking:

Visible imperfections in the skin read as imperfections because they *don't* harmonize with our natural colors - right? For example, if you're naturally peachy, you'll notice that under-eye discoloration may have a blue or violet cast; if you're natural rosy, that same discoloration may appear brownish or orangeish.

So when I apply that truth to lip color, I understand that young, healthy lips that are well-exfoliated, well-fed with blood, and as yet unravaged by time will seem to naturally harmonize with the rest of the face. I see this in my two-year-old, whose perfect Light Spring lips could have come right out of his season's swatchbook.

My 35-year-old lips, however, are a little the worse for wear. They're often chapped, and when I look closely at them, they're not a uniform color; I see unusual lines, marks and dots that I didn't have when I was 16. They look full of healthy color after a two-hour bike ride, but some days they can appear a cool pink or even violet shade that isn't in my Soft Autumn palette. On these days, they seem to blend better with the rest of my face *after* I apply a little Soft Autumn-colored gloss.

So I guess what I'm saying, in a nutshell, is that I believe perfectly healthy and undamaged lips will naturally harmonize with our seasonal colors, but since many adult women don't have perfectly healthy and undamaged lips, we will sometimes find that they seem not to harmonize with our seasonal palette particularly well.

Hanna

3/14/2011 04:03:53 am

Actually, my question was far simpler than that, I was just curious if (for instance) winters have naturally darker and/or more saturated lips, springs perhaps lighter and peachier, etc.

I don't think the "imperfections" we gain as we age detract or create dissonance (while I think using makeup and changing hair colour and structure always do, no matter how perfect), rather, I think they add to our beauty much like old gnarly and twisted trees are often the most beautiful ones. You see their life story written in their growth as you can in people's faces.

Rachel

3/14/2011 01:56:16 pm

Hanna - Oh! That question's way easier: Often yes, but not always, because of the infinite variety of human phenotypes. Just as many (but not all) Winters have very dark hair, and many (but not all) Light seasons have very fair skin.

Btw, I love your wabi-sabi take on imperfections. My aesthetic (and, I believe, the aesthetic of color analysis) is also strongly biased toward natural = beautiful. I particularly heart natural hair color and wrinkles. Though I could do without the discoloration. :-)

3/17/2011 03:58:45 am

Deep Winters can't wear light lips?

But Kim Kardashian is a Deep Winter and she is famous for her nude lip!

Alison

3/7/2012 03:36:35 pm

Hey S-

I think Kim Kardashian may be famous for a nude lip, but its not necessarily what makes her glow. Here's an example of Kim, a Dark Winter as you say, wearing a nice deep red lip:

http://www.harpersbazaar.com/cm/harpersbazaar/images/tL/HBZ-kim-kardashian-0311-4-de.jpg

See the balance provided to her face?

Now with a nude lip, the worst possible thing for a Dark is going too light and milky:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5LkeEhQeOlM/ShJpbcDlQ1I/AAAAAAAAApg/BJcn21b9HQc/s400/gallery_enlarged-kim-kardashian-vegas-magazine-2.jpg

http://www.juiciestdeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/kim_kardashian_smokey-eye.jpg

She may be famous for it, but it makes her lips look the colour of concealer. It doesn't bring out a glow and makes her skin look quite chalky.

Now, with a smoky eye providing depth, and deep coloured clothes to provide contrast, Kim can pull off a "nude" lip, but compared to other nudes, its DARK, and could probably go even darker to look even more balanced, as below:

http://www2.pictures.stylebistro.com/fp/Kim+Kardashian+Makeup+Nude+Lipstick+USdAOuvqZoGl.jpg

I hope that helps!

Rachel

3/17/2011 05:42:45 am

s- A good question, and one that gets at what I'm trying to communicate in this post.

I'm not convinced Kim K. is a Deep Winter; I suspect she may be a Deep Autumn. But in either case, the point is essentially the same: what will look natural, or "nude," on Kim is a shade that won't look exceptionally light in the tube, and certainly won't be the same light shade that a less pigmented season would wear.

Consider this nude lip, which I think looks natural on her:

http://fashionbombdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/kim-kardashian-nude-lips-FStp121109.jpg

Try using a color picker to pick out some different shades from the lip.

One of the lightest shades I pulled out is this one:

http://www.perbang.dk/rgb/FF937F/

which one might call a peach pink. On her face it looks very subtle, but in absolute terms it's not super-light. On a lighter season this color would look distinctly colorful, not nude.

One of the darker shades I pulled out is this one:

http://www.perbang.dk/rgb/E6673C/

which one might call mandarin orange, or burnt sienna. It still reads as nude on her face, but for some seasons this color would be too saturated or too dark to wear at all.

Deep seasons can certainly wear colors that read as "nude" on them. But in the tube, they won't match our culture's typical definition of nude, and in a swatch they won't appear exceptionally light.

Ali

3/18/2011 12:39:23 pm

To piggyback on Rachel's comment about Kim K's lips...one way that "Deep/Dark" gals, or even medium contrast gals like me achieve that nude-looking effect Kim's rocking is by layering a high-shine/light-and-sparkly lipgloss over a darker lipstick/lipliner combo. To my eye, it looks like that's what Kim is doing here, and it's a trick I've used before...the darker lippie keeps the overall look harmonious with my skin, and the bright glossy finish "nudies" the look up and gives me some glam shine at the same time.

Ashley link

3/26/2011 01:20:15 pm

Do you plan to do something like this for the other seasons?

rachelarntschemmel@hotmail.com

3/27/2011 12:45:24 am

Hi, Ashley -

I'm working on it in my head. :-)

Christine Scaman

3/30/2011 11:21:23 am

Christine Scaman link

3/30/2011 11:22:46 am

So brilliant, logical, and well illustrated. Makes a complicated topic seem simple and obvious, the gift of a great teacher. Great, great job.

Shannon

10/15/2011 02:46:55 pm

Just out of curiosity, what season would you say Ellen Page is? I am guessing a winter of some sort? I'm no expert, but she looks very dark, contrasty, and a bit clear.

Rachel link

10/16/2011 03:13:34 am

Hmm... I looked through pic of her for a few minutes, and my best guess based on that short look would be a Summer of some kind. She wears a lot of black. All black seems a tad much for her -- but not totally alien, the way it might look on a Soft Autumn. She looks like she can *almost* pull it off, but it's just a hair too dark.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xvJh4eHxM4w/TluaouB5kaI/AAAAAAAACyA/_teRJG3Tb5E/s1600/Ellen+Page+%25287%2529.jpg
You see that with Summers sometimes; black isn't their worst color, but charcoal's much better.
She looks very nice in some grays... her makeup often seems a hair too brown or orange... maybe True Summer?

Alison

2/27/2012 04:07:25 pm

I'm with Christine on this - I'm a Dark Winter and I love this article!

I wish there was someone who would colour analyse swatches in the current great lipstick/lipgloss formulas, for example, Guerlain's Rouge G and Rouge Automatiques, Chanel Rouge Coco, etc - to tell each season which ones to try first, just as a guide.

There are lots of very accurate swatches online and I'm sure it'd be enormously helpful to many - especially since it starts out with a good well-known, sought after formula. I hate wearing things for my colours whilst compromising quality.

Rachel - may I tentatively ask for your picks in this line up for a Dark Winter? http://karlasugar.net/2011/04/guerlain-rouge-automatique/ I'll understand if you can't do it but I'd totally die of happiness if I didn't have to flounder through the entire line - my head's reeling at the sight of all those shades!

Mila

2/27/2012 08:10:46 pm

May I ask what classifies Christina as a cool winter, especially in regard to her eye color? I'm definitely not disagreeing with you! It's just that I've read the Catherine Zeta-Jones is a cool winter because of the absence of warmth in her eyes, but Christina has light/golden brown, hazel eyes, like myself, which I thought equates to warmth (as opposed to cool gray/blue eyes). I always thought that I was mostly a deep winter (I have very dark brown hair and am definitely cool) because I rarely found anything about brown/hazel eyes in general under another winter category, but my eyes definitely aren't near as dark/rich as various deep winter celebrities'.

Christine

1/1/2016 03:40:51 pm

I Wonder the same ting as Mila

Monica

6/21/2012 05:54:44 am

Thank you for this blog. I am a deep winter and I really want a lipstick like Penelope's. Do you know any?

Christine

1/1/2016 03:39:00 pm

Hannalou

2/27/2016 01:47:14 am

I love this! I am naturally strawberry ash-blonde, but I have icy blue eyes and a cool/pinkish skin tone. (Funny because my mom has hazel eyes and warm skin tone with naturally ash hair but dyes it red and it looks natural) I identify a little more with bright spring with my natural hair, but it is dyed black and looks natural- bright winter colors look amazing on me. After years of looking just ok wearing colors like warm cream and brown, thinking I was an autumn; I am so happy to have found my home between the two bright seasons!

Hybris

7/20/2016 10:18:17 am

I just recently discovered your website and this amazing article. I would be so much grateful for nude / natural color for true summer. Would be a life changer, i cant seem to find that perfect lip colour and I am strong enthusiast of harmonious natural look :( please help?!

Geral link

4/13/2017 06:01:05 pm

thanks to this article, I came to know what had to memelih lipstick when winter came, I had been confused with it because my lips appear pale in the winter. I also want to share about so lips more attractive women. visit this link here www.bodyclinic.nl/behandelingen/rimpelbehandelingen/vollere-lippen/ treatments allow your lips appear more beautiful. thanks

6/2/2017 11:13:32 am

I'm a dark winter. I was shopping for lipstick the other day and i picked out what i thought was a dark enough color, knowing that dark winters can take a lot of darkness. It wasn't the darkest, but medium-dark. I came home and tried it out and although the hue is good, it's like a nude on me! You can barely tell it's there. (It was Burt's Bees Lily Lake) So i can totally relate to this article. :)

Embracing Winter Lips

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