Color Theory

Color theory is very important in your makeup application. If you have an understanding of colors then you will achieve better results.

Primary Colors – Red, Blue, and Yellow are considered primary colors. All other colors are a mixture of these three shades.


Secondary Colors – Any color that is a mixture of the primary colors is considered a secondary color. For example, blue and yellow make green. Green is a secondary color.

Complimentary Colors – These are colors that are opposite in hue on the color wheel. For example, red and green are complimentary colors.

Monochrome Color Scheme – This is a scheme including one color of different values. Red, rose, and pink are an example of a monochromatic color scheme.

Adjacent Color Scheme – Also called analogous colors involves colors that neighbor each other on the color wheel. Orange and yellow-orange are an example of analogous colors.

Cool and Warm Tones – Colors with blue undertones are considered cool colors and those with yellow undertones are considered warm colors.

Black & White – These could be used with either cool or warm colors.


Now that you've got the basics, see how this information relates to your makeup application.