Warm Vs Cool Toned Blue

Learning about the difference between warm and cool colours is fascinating, particularily when it comes to the colour blue.  I remember during my draping experience being a little bit disappointed about my blue palette because I didn't see any blues that I recognized.  Instead of the typical royal blue, sky blue, light blue etc, I saw shades of teal, warm aqua and deep periwinkle.  I was little off-set about this, but when I started shopping and keeping my eyes open for the right TA blues, I was happy to discover that teal shades are very popular in the retail world.  I was able to pick up two different tones of warm teal sweaters in one shopping day!!!  After playing around with the teals and periwinkles, I have to say that yes, these shades suit me so much better than the cool royal blues.  I decided to do a little picture comparison:

Here I am wearing a cool toned royal blue - the colour is clear and crisp and doesn't look bad, but is it my best???  Take a look at how my skin-tone automatically changes and comes alive in the warm blue (nothing has changed - same lighting, same makeup, same everything except that I changed the royal blue drape to a warm teal drape):

Did you notice how my eyes went from dull to vibrant - how my skin went from ashy pale to warm and peachy???  Its amazing how colour can impact the way your skin looks and how it appears.  The warm blue actually makes my face appear more slender and youthful!  Its just so amazing to me.

Here is a side by side view:

Now the question is what blue do you suit???  Are you a cool or warm toned gal???  Here are some colour inspirations to help you out:

If you're cool, look for these types of blues to add to your palette:

Cool tones women should look for inspiration from the sky, winter landscapes and the blue-gray shades of a dusky sky (especially if you're a soft summer).

Light and soft summers would look fantastic in the light powdery blues, while deep winters would really look spectacular is the deepest and darkest blue shades.  Cool and clear winters glow in the more clear and cool royal blue shades.

Cool toned women have a lot of choices when it comes to blue dresses and there is something very refreshing about a blue dress or top - its chic, modern and stylish!!!

What about us warm toned gals??, well, we rock our blues as well:

Our blues have added warmth to them, particularily added warm yellow shades, which is why sometimes our blues almost seem to have a greenish cast - when you mix blue and yellow what do you get???  However, look how awesome teal is as a dress colour and I think it works ever better as a skirt shade (check out how awesome the picture to the right is - you can harmonize so many wonderful warm shades with that warm teal skirt!)

The warm turqouise/teal shade on the right hand side of this palette would work so well with both a spring and autumn.  It would work much better on an autumn if it were slightly more muted and look uber awesome on a spring with a hint more clarity, but this is a perfect example of a warm shade of turqouise-blue!

The great thing about warm shades of blue is that you can look for lighter and deeper shades of teal.  Here is the perfect medium shade of teal.  Take this shade a level or two lighter and darker and it would still fit into the warm palette, but all of a sudden you've given yourself colour options and degrees of tones to work with.  Also, add some clarity and once again, you have the perfect warm robins egg blue for springs and muted it up a bit and you have autumn calling - its all good in the world of 'warmth'.

So, do warm toned gals have to say good-bye to blues???  Absolutely not - our blue may be different, but its still just as stunning and becoming!  I would rather see my face look youthful and glowing in  warm teal blue than sick and dead in a cool toned blue.  Find YOUR best blue and work with your natural colouring!!!