BET Awards 2012 Right and Wrong

Today let’s look at the women of the 2012 BET Awards red carpet and see who got it right and wrong. The focus is mainly COLOR in these posts. I may make a comment here or there about style, but remember, COLOR.

Right

Elle Varner is a Winter. This gown is a classic example of pattern in your season. Although the gown’s patterns features several colors, including warm tones, the overall effect still comes through as “cool” due to the dominant black background. For those of you who have ordered color analyses from me, in your Color Shopping Lists I’ll often include a bit about pattern. So for Winters, this is an excellent example for you.

Kyla Pratt is an Autumn. It pains me to put this here because I hate this frock on her. Shapeless, looks too big, etc. But the colors are absolutely right.

 

Yolanda Adams is an Autumn. For those who have gotten Color Shopping Lists from me, this is an example of a “warm” red and is what you should look for if you are an autumn. It gives off a warm flare, along with her gold jewelry and everything is a win.

Wrong

Angela Bassett is an Autumn, so this black is not the best for her. Her skin looks a bit washed out and waxy. If this was a navy or charcoal with some gold jewelry accents, she would have shut it down because the dress’s style and fit are both wins but not the color.

Eva Marcille is an Autumn. She could technically go under Right and Wrong since she has some warmer-toned accents but the white dress and bleached hair are so dominantly cool, she can stay right the hell here under Wrong.

Faith….girl…..what even…..

Um. K. Faith is an Autumn. This outfit color choice is wrong. On so many levels.

Kenya Moore is a Winter. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. She should also keep to very dark brown or black hair color.

Kerry Washington is a Winter and looks like slightly thawed death in this nude color. Go back to your pure, clear, cool jewel tones homegirl, because this ain’t it. If the bustier part was white instead of nude, this would have been worlds better.

Lala Anthony is an Autumn. I will resist the urge to say that this get-up makes her look the shape of a rotisserie chicken. No to the lavender and no to the silvery tones of her shoes, outfit accents, jewelry, and makeup.

Lela Rochon is an Autumn. This blue is absolutely wrong. She could have either darkened it to navy and changed the silver accents to gold, or just have gone with an entirely different warm color for the dress with gold accents.

Letoya is a Winter. This yellow is swallowing her whole.

Marsha is an Autumn so almost every color here is wrong (if you want to except that sliver of orange on the bottom of the dress). Cute style though. She tried.

Meagan Good is an Autumn. No white. Wrong. Surprisingly, for her, the style is nice.

Monica is a Winter. She should have gone with a more vibrant red, or other cool jewel tone for this. Nice style though.

Regina King is a Winter. Just….no.

 

Tamar Braxton is an Autumn. *Forrest Gump voice* And that’s all I gotta say about that.

 

Taraji is an Autumn. No. Even though she has a bit of gold sparkle, the aqua is too dominant.

 

Tatyana Ali is an Autumn. Even the yellow is too light for her, so this is all a no.

 

Toccara is an Autumn. All wrong.

Right and Wrong

Beyonce is an Autumn. Autumns look ravishing in yellow. HOWEVER, all yellows are not created equally. This neon yellow is a bit too harsh to really bring out her glow. A Spring woman could probably pull this type of yellow off and still glow, but not Autumn. The color provides a striking contrast with her skin, but the eyes go straight to the glaring color of the gown and not her. The style is hot, though. 🙂

Brandy in this….interesting choice of fabrics for an award show. Brandy is a Winter which means the black is right, the gold is wrong. The gold overlay on top of the black tunic gives the black a faded, almost muted look which would actually make this a way for an Autumn to wear black. Whenever you have competing colors like this, unless they are color-blocked, one will overtake the other for a specific effect. Here, the gold is winning. If the gold was silver, or if this was pure black, Brandy would be glowing a lot more.

Chante Moore is an Autumn. This dress is sheer, which gives a “nude” effect, which is sort of giving up a warm aura. But the silver sparkles of the dress/shoes/jewelry/eyeshadow are throwing off the whole thing. Chante would have benefited from gold instead of silver. And a better-fit/shape to the dress, but that’s neither here nor there.

Mimi is an Autumn. The color of the dress is technically okay for Autumns, but Mariah need not go so pale. The silver embellishments throw it off as well. So does that bleached out hair color; ugh. The fit isn’t good either, but dah well.

Michelle is a Winter. So the black is right, but the nude/tan color is dominating the look. Wrong.

Selita Ebanks is an Autumn. The nude and yellow accents are spot on, but the black is just a bit too dominant to bring out her glow.

 

Tamia is an Autumn. The gold/nude is right, the black is wrong. Very nice style though.

Notice how we only had 3 that got it completely right? Celebrities, color consulting works for y’all too! Especially when you’re in the spotlight like this. My e-mail is open! 🙂

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

 

Autumn Colors/Patterns: Leopard Print!

I entered a giveaway for a leopard-print rug and won a couple of weeks ago, which inspired me to do a leopard-print post while it’s still technically autumn.

I love, love, love leopard-print. Some say it’s trendy, but most agree it’s a classic. Sure, there are several ways to tacky it up with leopard, but done right it’s cozy, sensual, sassy, and glamorous.

Leopard-print is perfect for autumns (and even springs). Use this print however you want, just don’t do too much. If you’re wearing a top, temper the bottom with a solid basic color and vice versa. Same if you’re doing a leopard coat. For summers and winters who want in on the leopard action, keep it to an accent piece–a clutch, or pumps or booties. I have seen leopard print work with other patterns, various colors but you have to be confident and have a keen eye to pull it off. I love a bold red lip with leopard but I also love plum or blue with leopard as well.

Leopard-print is also a warm, cozy addition to your home in the colder months. Toss in some pillows, a throw, a rug, etc. Enjoy!

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Autumn Colors-Orange

Orange is one of my favorite colors to wear. If worn right, it gets you all the right attention and warmer-toned women glow beautifully in all tones of this color. I read somewhere that orange is one of the harder colors to wear, but I guarantee you most of that comes from the paler or cooler-toned women. It does tend to make cooler-toned women look zombified. The good news for cooler-toned women who want to wear orange is that orange pairs beautifully with a lot of cool colors. Try color-blocking but always keep the orange on the bottom, in a skirt for example. For warmer-toned women, just ball out of control with orange; you can do no wrong here.

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Autumn Colors-Chocolate Brown

Chocolate brown is such a cozy color when done right. When done wrong, it can look blah as hell, but the key is to either get some sheen or some kind of texture going–sequins, iridescence, cable-knit, etc. Autumns look washed out in black, or the black just sits on them but brown gets such a bad rap they hesitate to turn toward it. Start incorporating more brown into your wardrobe and thank me later! It really softens up your look. Another hint would be for Autumns (and Springs!) to try brown eyeliner and/or mascara instead of black. I did this and was amazed at the difference. Black eyeliner always made me look undead, but brown brought out the fiiiiiierce.

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Autumn Colors-Gold

Gold is just…sexy. Diva type ish. Sparkly. Regal. Etc. Gold is a color that shines in Autumn, and for special events and holidays. Autumn (and Spring) women should snatch this up however they can. It can make a subtle statement or a big impact on your overall look depending on what piece you wear in gold. Indulge.

Autumns and Springs, if you don’t want to wear gold in your clothing, invest in some nice gold eyeshadow. A subtle glimmer or full-on glow is your choice. Or try gold earrings, hoops being the classic here. You’d be surprised how that little touch can warm up your entire look.

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Autumn Yellow

Yellow brings out the glow in warmer-toned people. Pale, banana, electric, lemon, and other light & bright yellows are best suited for Springs. The deeper, vibrant, muted, and other mustardy yellows are where Autumns shine. Since we are now officially in the Autumn season, I wanted to kick it off by focusing on an Autumn color star. These yellows are one of the first ways for me to tell if someone has a warm skin tone. If you are an Autumn (some Springs can shine in these as well), definitely keep an eye out for this color in stores, to incorporate into your wardrobe.

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Beyonce

I’ve been meaning to feature Beyonce’s colors here for a while. Now seems like the perfect time since she and her fetus just stunted on everyone at the VMA’s last night. So leggo.

Now, you may recall that I have discussed Beyonce’s season before in this post, among others. So this post is more of a review and expansion.

I’d say it’s pretty easy to see Beyonce’s season looking at these photos. She clearly looks washed out in the black, pink, silver, and white. In the pure green satin dress she does not look washed out, but the color does nothing for her.

Interestingly, if you compare the two green photos you can see a clear difference. The green on the left is a Winter green, the more subdued hunter green on the right is an Autumn green. See how much better she looks on the right? And of course, you can see how fresh she looks in brown and orange and how she glows in cream and gold.

Beyonce is an Autumn.

Summer Colors: Light Blue

Light, breezy blue; tropical turquoise, and bubbly aqua. The light shades of blue evoke summer like few other colors. I picked 10 random celebrity women wearing some shade of light blue. See if you can pick who looks right and who looks wrong before reading the analysis after the photos. Summers and Winters will glow in light blues (particularly Summers of course), while Springs and Autumns will look washed out or overly yellow-toned.

1. America Ferrera, Winter. Yes! America is looking stunning in this soft aqua.
2. Anne Hathaway, Winter. Yes! Anne’s pale skin glows in this shimmery blue.
3. Beyonce, Autumn. NO. Aside from the ash blonde highlights washing her out, this silvery-blue makes Beyonce look like a shadow of herself.
4. Emma Watson, Spring. NO. Emma looks sickly in this sky blue top.
5. Jennifer Lopez, Autumn. NO. Jennifer’s skin looks waxy and dull in this soft aqua gown.
6. Katy Perry, Spring. NO. Aside from the striking but unflattering inky black hair dye, this turquoise dress is doing nothing for Katy but make her look dead in the face.
7. Nicole Richie, Spring. NO. Both the bad hair color and the aqua satin dress contribute to Nicole looking like a day-old zombie here.
8. Sienna Miller, Spring. NO. This cloud blue dress is just sitting on Sienna, doing nothing for her.
9. Vivica Fox, Autumn. NO. Vivica’s skin looks too yellow and sickly in this aqua dress.
10. Vanessa Hudgens, Winter. Yes! Vanessa looks bronze and gorgeous in this short aqua dress.

Summer 2011

Today is the first official day of summer in the US. White is definitely summer’s all-star color (or lack of color, or all colors combined, whatever). Summer and Winter women shine in white; particularly Summer women (makes sense). I hit up Google Images and snatched up the first 10 women I saw in white:

4 out of these 10 ladies have cool skin undertones and thus, look good in white. Can you pick them out?

Anyhoo, as far as summer fashion is concerned, if you are a Summer or a Winter, you can wear whatever the hell you want in white and stunt. For the rest of us, try a cream or an ivory to get that same feel but warmer. If you insist on white, stick to cardigans, shorts/skirts with a warmer color top, and accessories.

In the home, bring white in your bedding, bath towels, curtains, and even cut/potted flowers and get breezy on hoes.

Summer special events are also a nice way to bring in white for decor (especially if it’s not too hot to host something outside).

Enjoy your summer!

Warm/Cool Drive-By: Beyonce and Kelly

See how the black washes Beyonce out? See how this peachy-camel brown makes Kelly look blah? That’s because Beyonce is an Autumn and Kelly is a Winter. If they switched outfits, both would stunt.

For comparison:

See the difference?