Finding Your Best Colors as a Gamine

12/3/2019

Over the last few weeks, I've talked about how to combine your color palette with your style type.

Because, although every color in your palette is flattering to your skin, your style type will affect how you combine colors to look your most beautiful.

If you're strongly Gamine, which colors in your palette should you focus on?

Gamine's vibe is fun, playful, and high-energy.

As a Gamine, aim to create unexpected combinations of your pallete's most vibrant colors. Colors that people would not normally expect to see together will look great on you. If your mom would have told you, "Those colors clash!", it's probably a Gamine color combination.

Color-blocking reads as Gamine, as long as it it feels playful and fun. (If it feels aggressive and intimidating, it will read as Dramatic, not Gamine.)

Your palette's version of primaries - - your reddest red, your yellowest yellow, and your bluest blue -- will also read as Gamine.

This is true even if you're a season with a soft or muted palette; your "soft" yellows, reds, and blues look plenty vivid on your soft coloring! For example, Autumn "primaries" would read as Gamine on an Autumn woman, and pastel Summer "primaries" would read as Gamine on a Summer woman.

Autumn "primaries."

Summer "primaries."

Are you a Gamine or a Gamine blend? How have you combined your season with your style type? Please share in the comments!

Not sure of your style type? Try the Style ID Calculator!

27 Comments

12/3/2019 06:01:44 pm

Can’t wait for Ingenue Colors post!! I hope to see Ingenue examples featuring more saturated colors, like Warm Spring (or even Warm Autumn) colors. And HIGHER CONTRAST Ingenue color combinations at that! I’m a Spring and even I am overwhelmed at how many Light Spring colors and Light Spring colorschemes represent Ingenue. Warm toned ladies with medium-to-high contrast have no examples... let alone Deep Winter or Cool Winter Ingenues! Many of us Ingenues look our best in higher contrast or, at least, multicolored schemes- we just don’t look good in Gamine combinations/colorschemes! In our current culture, stylists seem to only think in Gamine when they want to combine colors but we Ingenues have some nice combos too! Across all 4 Color Seasons :) I would love to see examples of everyday Ingenue outfits styled in a MEDIUM TO HIGH contrast manner using Ingenue’s sweet feminine colors (rather than Gamine’s primary colors).

For example I’m an RNI and, color wise, my skin would absolutely glow with use of these combined Spring colored separates here (tinyurl.com/vs2a6ub) and here (https://pin.it/wwsixkrdfodjbe). But, style wise, I can see they are both these outfits are Gamine particularly in their use of color... Typically, if I were wearing this outfit I’d have to compensate by adding some dainty accessories to make up for the lack of Ingenue (even if I wasn’t planning to accessorize that day). But I would really like to know how I can *actually* adjust the outfit’s use of color to represent my Ingenue essence. I hope your Ingenue post will provide a clearer explanation of what it means to combine colors in an Ingenue manner: A Gamine woman combines their primary colors in the highest contrasting manner their coloring allows. An Ingenue combines their sweetest colors in a manner that _____?

12/6/2019 03:37:18 am

Rachel will doubtless have her own way of explaining Ingenue color schemes, but I've been wondering if taking cues from sweet desserts might inspire appropriate color combos for Ingenues in non-pastel palettes? For example, pairing a brown with a minty or appley green, like you'd find in a caramel apple, key lime pie, or mint chocolate. Or a neapolitan color scheme featuring your palette's brown, pink, and white shades (you could probably add or sub a light green for any of those three, too).

12/6/2019 07:47:39 pm

Thanks, KC! I must admit, lime runs more of Gamine look, but caramel apple, neapolitan, and mint chocolate are a great ideas! Now you’ve really got me thinking- peaches & cream, hot cocoa & marshmallow, strawberry shortcake, maybe a dainty pale lemon chiffon pie :) Thanks again!

Another Rachel

12/3/2019 07:49:37 pm

Love this! I am a bright spring, and I’m sure I have some portion of gamine in my overall style ID... so this basically means I can go crazy with color! : D
After dressing in only grays, black, and burgundy for years, I’m looking forward to having more fun.

Swi

12/5/2019 04:45:14 am

Rachel keeps repeating the same mistake. First theory about Dramatic being monochromatic, then trying to persuade us that breaking monochromatic colour scheme is Dramatic. What a mess and confusion.

Jonna Stone

12/5/2019 10:46:04 am

Each type manifests in more than one singular look. Imagine a black panther with an entirely black body. Now imagine a lion with starkly contrasting stripes. Both are identifiable as a dramatic looking animal, despite their different coats. If I’m reading this correctly, she suggests that Dramatics choose *either* an ensemble of entirely o e strong color *or* a look with sharp color&line contrast on a large scale. The difference with Gamine is that the contrast is small scale, more quirky and fun, less lethal and severe.

12/6/2019 03:08:19 am

I think you meant tigers, not lions :).

Jonna Stone

12/5/2019 10:29:51 am

First of all, thank you for a Gamine post! Ingenue would be lovely too.
I definitely have a large helping of Gamine in me, and even if I never knew what to call it, before discovering body analysis, I often instinctively chose the things you describe above (i.e. “ off beat” color combinations).

Honestly, in terms of color and line, the Naturals are the ones I envy most, because everything seems so organic and authentic and from-the-earth. I love that vibe. However, I look lackluster in ensembles of colors that read as neutral ( never mind the fact that loose fits drown my figure & spark entirely). Large scale, neutrals in Natural prints are heavy looking on a petite body and face that read as whimsical and quirky. So I use natural elements in my decor, instead of my body, as it feels grounding and real. That’s me; living vicariously!

What’s funny is that my Classic mother never questioned my color combinations as I was growing up, even though she’d never have picked them herself. It just goes to show you that what looks right and good on one person would look zany on another type. About a year ago she had this epiphany that “ everything doesn’t have to match perfectly!” She was so blown away by that concept, which made me laugh. As a Gamine blend, the basis of every outfit I wear is mostly about juxtaposition; I love when there’s a push and pull between yin and yang. It feels fresh, creative, and I find that too much of one thing makes an outfit feel predictable, like buying a bedroom set from a furniture store. Ecclectic is the hallmark of Gamines! I am a walking contradiction;)

Miranda

12/5/2019 12:58:42 pm

I'm a Soft Summer REG. I've been doing mostly Romantic or Ethereal colors with strong color contrast for the Gamine element. I'm building a capsule wardrobe - basically from scratch, because I had very few clothes - where you pick two neutrals and three colors. My colors are teal, rose, and purple or violet. I wear teal and purple almost every day because I don't have much rose yet, but when I do, I'll either combine it with teal or violet to keep the color contrast strong.
I've been experimenting with Ethereal colors (keeping the strong color contrast) because I can't tell whether E or R is a better value contrast for me, but neither of them feel quite right. By preference, I'd stick with an RG color scheme, but it feels like my face disappears because my eyebrows are light. Lots of people have complimented a light pink tank top of mine, so maybe EG would be best, but I kinda feel like my entire *body* disappears then because I'm pale. I'm trying to find my brights because a pure G color scheme could be the answer, though I love G elements in construction sooooo much that I might not be able to give them up in favor of a better color scheme. Bright lipstick turns out to be really good on me though, which I would have *never* tried without knowing my style ID.
I find it difficult to distinguish between Soft Summer jewel tones and darks, and Soft Summer lights and brights. I have a violet choker that is *definitely* a bright, but I'm not entirely sure why. Jewel tones are the deepest most saturated colors in your palette - maybe the brights are the most saturated at a medium-light value?
Note: I combine advice found elsewhere (Inside Out Style) with the color recommendations for my style ID. I can handle high color contrast because I have a lot of color in my face (pink skin, blue eyes, reddish hair), so I do Gamine color contrast. I have a medium value contrast between my hair and skin, so Romantic seems best, but it's much lighter between my eyebrows and my skin, so Ethereal might be best. Or, as I said, Gamine brights.
Once I figure out which colors I need, I'm going to dye a bunch of swatches so I can obsess with tangible examples.

12/5/2019 05:36:13 pm

Hi Miranda! I completely understand wanting to express each of your essences through different manifestations of style (colors, color combining, structure, texture, shape, etc). That’s part of how we personalize our ID to make it OUR style (and keep ourselves from getting bored with our wardrobe :) At the moment, I can only think of Soft Autumn Deep Ashley Moore as REG. (Although I think she’s a Soft Autumn with spring influence rather than summer influences, so I’m not sure how helpful that is...) One really good tip I learned is to essentially work in reverse- find people who have similar coloring to your own and then find pick out the ones who share one, two, or all three of your essences! Rihanna is a Soft Summer Deep but she is RG (with some NI also). She’s really good at picking out her soft summery “jewel” tones and “brights”, while keeping a medium contrast to her overall look so she doesn’t get washed out or too overpowered. I recommend googling her or going through her Instagram. Because she’s a medium contrast soft summer, she looks her best when she adds her Soft Summer brights or contrasting Gamine color combinations in small doses (like lipstick, nails, shoes). Then she pairs it with her calmer colors for contrast (like summery white paired with Gamine pink or green). Here’s some examples of what I mean: tinyurl.com/s2p6eet , tinyurl.com/rkcm5gg , tinyurl.com/qr5ganb , tinyurl.com/sf485ec , tinyurl.com/suaj67z , tinyurl.com/ua9ruqz , and tinyurl.com/tta9ujo.

I, too, am a medium contrast soft season (soft spring) but I think expressing your Gamine through your color combinations is going to be the most challenging because those combos quickly overpowers a soft coloring. Definitely doable since we’re medium contrast, it takes more work to avoid going overboard. I think it might be easier for you to dress in low/med contrast outfit & then add some color to finish off your outfit. Now... if your favorite thing about Gamine is the contrasting colors, then I’d say just go for it and pair it with RE items! But you did mention that you love the construction of Gamine. So, I think it would be easiest for you to express your Ethereal, Romantic, or RE through your colors & colorschemes, since your soft summer coloring already suits a soft (R) or blended (E) look. Then, from there, I would purchase items that are Gamine in construction, texture, or detail. I’d only do very Gamine colors if they’re Gamine Soft Summer colors AND you’re confident you can combine it in a way that maintains an overall low/med contrast summer look. A GREAT way to introduce yourself to softer Gamine colorschemes is by purchasing a soft summer RG or EG item in a PRINT. Prints do all the hard work of combing colors for you and they’re often combinations you might not have thought of yet! Finally, I recommend googling soft summer outfits and picking out the clearly Gamine ones to get a feel for lower contrast, soft summer Gamine outfits. Hope this helps!!

Miranda

12/5/2019 06:12:19 pm

Thank you, T! Those are great ideas. I love prints.

I'll have to do more experiments. It's my lipstick that makes me really wonder if brights would be better because it's a bright Soft Summer red (perfectly matches one of the reds in Rachel's Soft Summer makeup list) and other than my MLBB color, so far it's the only color that looks good. I used to wear R lipstick colors such as plum and rose, but rose is my MLBB and plum makes my face look...odd. Someone who knows me well and is also interested in this style system said plum makes me look I, but in a slightly disturbing way. I've noticed that if I look I, I've overshot my percentage of R (or that particular aspect of R isn't good on me). I don't know how one would do E lipstick aside from a shimmery finish (which I do and love) - pale lipstick or any shade of pink (except for fuchsia and rose) is a nooooo.
I'm not tremendously concerned about finding a lipstick that works aside from my MLBB because I can always stay away from a no-makeup (N) look with eyeliner, but it's why I wonder.

Melina

12/6/2019 04:15:42 am

"I don't know how one would do E lipstick aside from a shimmery finish" - sheer is very E, too! I don't like very shimmery finishes and pale lipstick is a big noooo for me too, but a sheer lippie (in your colour palette) often works, at least for me, and I do think it's the E in me. :)

12/6/2019 05:49:56 pm

No prob! That’s funny you mention plum looking too Ingenue on you, b/c it was things like plum & apricot that made me begin to realize I was an Ingenue! I think women are particularly careful to match their makeup & hair to their ID, because it’s so close to our face. So I think makeup is great way for you to experiment & find your favorite colors/brights (which you can also translate into your wardrobe)! As for makeup, I think you may like to explore Girlactik Makeup, Unicorn Cosmetics, Urban Decay, and Pat McGrath. Dior recently released their “stellar shine” collection which has alot of REG type items. Colourpop has some Ethereal items and palettes too (look for their products with names like “Venus”,“pixie”, “Sprite”, “Taurus”, “third eye”, etc). Best wishes on your style ID journey!

Miranda

12/8/2019 08:28:26 pm

Melina, sheer finishes are a good idea!
T, thank you, I will check those out :)

Swi

12/5/2019 01:51:27 pm

Jonna Stone, thank you for your opinion, but it's difficult to agree with theory that on one hand monochromatic is recommended for D and on the other hand color combo is also recommended - that's contradicion. Panther is Dramatic in my opinion, lion is DN or only N and I can't imagine him with stripes,especially two color combo stripes. I was discussing about color combos that are not good for D and D blends. The two color combo ensemble is more DC (large scale) or DG (small scale). Not for pure Dramatic or D blended with other styles than C or G. Recomending D, DNG, ED, EDN, DNI color combos are big mistake. What do you think?

Jonna Stone

12/6/2019 10:09:41 am

As someone pointed out after my comment, I think I mixed up lions and tigers😂

Just as with any photo gallery of people called Dramatic or Gamine, many of them are not a” pure” type, which makes it seem like they are all different. They are. A DN’s use of color is influenced by its Natural undercurrent, so it will not use color in exactly the same way as a pure D would, given that there are other qualities that also need to be represented, if one wants to appear “ whole”.

For me, this is similar to how color analysis recommends summers to wear blended outfits and watercolor effects, yet a Gamine Summer would prioritize the Gamine use of color ( staccato, contrasting small prints) over the Summer Season’s suggested style. Being someone with a lot of Gamine influence ( along with E & I), this puzzled for some time. I think the Dramatic use of color is similar; those with primary influence of dramatic will use monochromatic color, but those whom it shows as a smaller portion of their type, might use strong color blocks, as their larger style influences come first. If there is Ethereal involved, I think monochrome is the way to go. Natural could also, as they can easily do head to toe neutrals in similar shades and look great. However, as you said, DC and DG will likely use color in blocks as this gives defined lines that both use so well. In the end, they are all primarily Dramatics, but the blend is where each type differs. It’s not really a contradiction, more like an equation.

Agnes

12/6/2019 02:26:29 pm

Greta is definitely Gamine!

Swi

12/7/2019 04:20:21 am

Jonna Stone, so in conclusion - theory that Dramatic is monochromatic and not monochromatic is misleading. This is what I've pointed out. Dramatic is monochromatic. As I said before,the pic of green-yellow & blue color combo should be recommended for DC, DG, saying it's for D is misleading.

Ps. tigers are also blended with N. I have never seen tiger with 2 colors on it. :)

Swi

12/7/2019 06:21:20 am

Miranda, I wonder which one would you choose from Dior stellar shine, '536 Lucky' looks like RI, '554 Diorsolar' might be ERI, '759 Diorlight-mirror red' and 'sparkle fuchsia 863D' looks like REG.

T., which one in your opinion might be ED from Dior stellar shine?

Miranda

12/8/2019 08:26:45 pm

Ooooo I'd love that sparkle fuchsia if it was muted - but I also really love that sparkle purple!

12/8/2019 11:49:31 pm

Hello, Swi.! I’m no pro at this (and your natural coloring will help determine which colors particularly read as ED on you), but from the collection I think the most ED colors are: 514 imagination, 869 superstitious, 639 riviera star, & 612 sideral. It might be worth looking at 595 Dior stellaire, 891 diorcelestial, & 753 positivity as well. Definitely worth a trip to your local makeup counter to try ‘em on!

Gitte

12/7/2019 06:30:20 am

I am (I think) CGI, and a bright winter. Aka, I should wear neon colours, pretty much - with dustings of saturated neutrals like white, black and navy.

Marissa

12/7/2019 04:20:44 pm

I like this series about using color schemes to your color identity's advantage. Will you be doing all of the style identities. I'm an REI by the way :)

Royal Aesthetic Center link

3/12/2020 09:36:01 am

Sparkle purple for me. It's very simple and stunning!!

Fourseasonslasercenter link

7/21/2020 06:36:31 am

Since a gamine style is so playful and high energy. I suggest the combination of colors (yes I did not stutter, not just one but a combination of colors) would be vibrant and would easily match one another, like a separate palette of primary, secondary and tertiary colors.

Royal Aesthetic Center link

6/27/2023 03:36:16 am

It's nice reading this again. It helps me a lot!

FourSeasonsLaser link

8/30/2023 10:00:11 am

It's nice to read this again. I remember how I mix and match my clothes that looks more pleasing to me.

Truth is Beauty

Finding Your Best Colors as a Gamine

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