ARMOCROMIA - FASHION

Armocromia: what season are you and what are your friendly colors

Perhaps not everyone knows that each of us has friendly colors, which are able to enhance us at the first try, and others, on the other hand, that tend to turn us off and spoil us. This does not depend in any way on our personal taste, but on whether or not those shades are in harmony with our natural colors.
With this premise, you will probably begin to understand why that color you love so much just fails to enhance your face, or why black, which is mistakenly considered a salvation for all, does not suit you so much.

It is precisely on this concept that the "armomchromy" is based, the first step of image consultancy that aims to create the ideal palette for each of us through the analysis of color and the theory of the seasons, in order to give chromatic harmony and enhance our natural beauty.

This discipline has distant roots, in fact it was born in an embryonic form at the end of the Thirties, with the advent of color cinema, thanks to the work of the Hollywood costume designers who began to conceive color as a beauty tool to be used to enhance the actresses as well as clothes, accessories and make-up. Also in those years, a guru of beauty trends like Elizabeth Arden introduced the Color Harmony box, which combined shades of eyeshadow and blush according to the characteristics of each woman, thus laying the foundations for the future color theory, as we know it today.

In concrete terms, the "armocromia" takes shape in all respects from an intuition of the American image consultant and cosmetologist Bernice Kentner, who at the end of the seventies, in the book Color Me a Season, spreads the Seasonal Theory, starting from the idea that each season has a specific light that reflects its landscape, determining tones and shades that resemble the natural colors of each woman. In this way, exploiting the aforementioned similarity, he has identified 4 palettes, each of which consists of shades inspired by those of the 4 seasons, which, if chosen correctly, are able to enhance every femininity in a completely natural way.

Nowadays, the theoretical maxim on the subject is Rossella Magliaccio, famous image curator and color expert, founder of the Italian Image Institute and author of the manifesto book "Armocromia, the method of friendly colors that revolutionizes life and not just the image". And it is precisely this guru who celebrates the harmony of colors that we have inspired to illustrate the method of color and help you discover your reference season.

How to spot friendly colors

To determine the most suitable palette for us, it is necessary to take into account the color of the skin, eyes and hair. In order for it to be a correct analysis, you must always make these evaluations by removing make-up, possibly without being tanned and with your hair of your natural color.
This study will help you to find the most suitable shades not only for clothing and make-up but also for accessories (jewelry, scarves and glasses) and hair coloring.

The first step is to evaluate the belonging to warm or cold colors: for this, it is necessary to evaluate the undertone of your skin (cold or warm).
You can help yourself with a specific test - which we will show you shortly - and with draping, that is, the combination of drapes and fabrics that offer different colors declined in warm and cold versions (for example pink, in the warm version "apricot" or in the cold "candy" version) and the two metals, gold and silver. Generally you understand immediately which option best suits your face: for example, if you have a warm undertone, you will be enhanced by the warm shades of gold, if the undertone is cold, it can only enhance the silver.

After this first point, it will be easier to proceed with the discovery of the season of belonging and its subgroup.
Winter and summer are cold, while the other two are warm. This classification refers to the light that is emanated in the various periods of the year and to the predominant colors during the season: from the summer sun which makes everything very clear in the yellow light. spring that softens the tones, up to dark or glacial winter landscapes and the warm autumn palette of foliage. The colors present in the four groups will therefore respect these chromatic indications.
Of each there will then be 4 subgroups, which we will see later.

Before you despair, it is good that you know that in general there are very few colors that we just should not rely on, this is because each color has warmer / colder variants, belonging to each group.

For example, green can be easily flaunted in its apple variant by spring women, olive by those who belong to autumn, sage by summer women and emerald by winter women.
Let's take another case: purple. It will be chosen respectively in the colors cyclamen - eggplant - lavender and electric purple, based on the group to which it belongs.

Then there are very democratic colors, including teal and burgundy, which in principle enhance all women.

A particular case is black: it is mistakenly thought that it gives everyone, but the reality is that, being cold, dark and intense, it gives its best with women with the same chromatic characteristics. It is therefore recommended for the winter and summer seasons; if you really belong to the sphere of heat and you can't give it up, avoid putting it close to your face, as it would clash not a little with your natural tones.

The 4 seasons

In general, you should already have identified whether you are a woman with warm or cold colors, so your field of interest will be restricted to just two seasons; the whole thing should be even simpler because another distinction is light colors (summer - spring) and dark colors (autumn - winter).
The most complex part will rather be recognizing your own sub-group.

In the analysis we will take into consideration:

the chromatic value (light or dark) - spring and summer belong to the first, the other two to the second;
undertone (warm or cold) - spring and autumn belong to the first, the other two to the second;
intensity (high or low) - strong and bright shades on one side (winter and spring) and more subdued and pale on the other (the rest);
contrast: it concerns the degree of contrast between the various parts involved (skin, eyes, hair).If a woman has a strong contrast, then she will be enhanced by intense color contrasts, black and white above all, ideal for those with dark hair and very fair skin. If, on the contrary, there is a low contrast, ton sur ton combinations, without big gaps, will prevail for that type of woman.

Armocromia test: find out which chromatic season you belong to!

Winter

SUBTONE: cold
VALUE: dark
INTENSITY: high

Skin: olive, greyish or porcelain, pinkish.
Hair: dark brown, black, ash, with not golden but cold reflections.
Eyes: dark brown, almost black (for example Kendall Jenner), or gray or light blue, in contrast with the dark hair (see Eva Green). Generally the sclera is very white.

Colors to use: As you can see from the photo below, the dark colors (blue, black, anthracite, purple, cherry red, emerald) or very light colors (optical white, pale gray, light blue, pale pink and ice) are excellent.
To be avoided: beiges, oranges, golden yellow, forest green, orange reds, warm browns and hazelnuts are absolutely forbidden.

The subgroups

The subdivision into the 4 subgroups depends on the predominance of an aforementioned value.
Inside, therefore, there may be particularly dark women (Deep - Kendall Jenner), others that are particularly cold (Cool - Anne Hathaway), others that have a high intensity and are particularly brilliant. (Bright - Zooey Deschanel).
In addition to these three categories, there is one that presents all the criteria in a rather homogeneous way without the prevalence of one of them in a marked way (Absolute Winter - Amal Clooney).

Fall

SUBTONE: hot
VALUE: dark
INTENSITY: low

His women generally have a rather low contrast between skin and hair, which is generally brown, more or less light, or red, and can have golden or coppery reflections, however in warm colors.
The eyes can be both dark brown, hazel and green. It is not uncommon to have a greenish-brown color with some specks in shades of golden yellow.

Colors to use: all the nuances that reflect the shades of the earth and the classic colors of autumn foliage: beige, orange, brown, forest green and olive, camel, gold, bronze, golden yellow, ivory, coral, dark blue.
To be avoided: shades with blue, purple, gray, pastel shades, optic white and fuchsia undertones.

The subgroups

This season groups women who are particularly dark (Deep - Emily Ratajkovski), others that are particularly hot (Warm - Julia Roberts or Emma Watson), others that have a particularly low intensity and are therefore tenuous. (Soft - Drew Barrymore).
Olivia Palermo on the other hand, it embodies the absolute category as it presents all the characteristics in a rather balanced way.

Summer

SUBTONE: cold
VALUE: clear
INTENSITY: low

See also: Armocromia: which season the stars belong to

Skin: medium-light with pink undertone (cold).
Eyes: light blue, teal, gray or green. Here too, the sclera is very white.
Hair: light blond and medium brown with ash reflections (there are no golden or coppery reflections).

Colors to use: pastel shades (such as powder pink, lavender, light blue, aqua green, mauve, pale gray) but also darker and colder colors, such as carmine red, plum, slate blue or dove gray.
In particular, pastel shades will be ideal for Summer Soft women, because in line with their natural colors, while Cool women, with colder colors, will be best enhanced by blues.

To be avoided: the warm colors such as brown, beige, ocher, orange and ivory, and the very bright and vibrant colors since in this group there is a low intensity and a not excessive radiance, which instead distinguishes the following season.

The subgroups

Among its representatives are the particularly clear ones (Light - Elle Fanning), particularly cold ones (Cool - Laetitia Casta), and those that have a particularly low intensity and are therefore muted. (Soft - Kate Moss).
C "is then Diane Kruger which embodies the absolute summer.

Spring

SUBTONE: hot
VALUE: clear
INTENSITY: high

His primary gift is radiance, so his representations will be clear and bright but not cold, unlike the summer. An "other difference with the latter" is that his women hold up very well the strong colors, thanks to their complexion. typically radiant, in fact here the intensity is high.

Skin: medium-light with peach, ivory or beige (warm) undertones
Eyes: sky blue, bluish, hazelnut or green.
 Hair: light brown, honey blonde and with golden or copper reflections.

Colors to use: light and warm colors including camel, terracotta, ivory, beige, butter, eggshell, apricot, peach, salmon, orange, orange red, rose gold, coral, sage and apple, light blue, tiffany color, pink and blue.
To be avoided: all dark colors that extinguish the natural brightness, including black, navy, dark gray and optical white.

The subgroups

Among the belonging to the category there are those particularly clear, (Light - Margot Robbie), particularly hot ones (Warm - Amy Adams) and particularly bright ones (Bright - Alexa Chung or Kate Middleton).
C "is then Cameron Diaz which embodies the absolute category.

To learn more, you can consult Rossella Migliaccio's website