Should your makeup match your clothes?

Sure, there are guidelines that can help you to develop your personal style, but truly, you don’t need to follow them.

That being said, when it comes to matching your makeup to your outfit, I think the easiest way to do so without going overboard is to match elements of your makeup to a part of your outfit.

It’s not meant to be taken too literally. You can imagine how blue jeans, a blue shirt, blue eyeshadow, blue shoes, blue jewelry and a blue purse can be overkill. Unless it’s neutral, matching your eyeshadow or lipstick to the exact colour of something you’re wearing can sometimes look a little dated. Generally neutral colours such as black, white, grey, brown or beige can easily be paired with any other colour, or matched with itself.

If you want to pair your makeup look with your outfit but don’t know where to start, pick an element you want to highlight: your eyes or your lips. If you are ever confused, you can refer to a colour wheel for guidance.

Complementary colours are opposite one another on the colour wheel.

When you pair complementary colours, it can sometimes look costumey. For example, if you pair red clothes with green eyeshadow, it can be reminiscent of Christmas. Instead, if you use colours surrounding the complementary colour, you’ll get a striking yet subtle effect. For example, let’s look at the colour blue.

Orange is opposite to blue on the colour wheel. For the sake of not being too literal, let’s use a derivative of orange. The colour peach will still make blue stand out, but will be softer than using pure orange. Try pairing a peach coloured lipstick with your royal blue top for a chic look. Similarly, let’s look at the colour burgundy.

It falls somewhere between red and red-violet on the colour wheel. Opposite that is green and yellow-green.

Let’s move one shade away to yellow. Yellow will still compliment the colour burgundy, but in a more subtle way. You can even play with textures, so instead of pure yellow, opt for yellow gold. So with your burgundy coloured dress, try using gold eyeshadow. Or with your gold jewelry, use a burgundy lipstick. These pairings will still create contrast and impact.

If you want to create a softer, more wearable look, try matching your makeup to the undertone of your clothes. The harmony of colours will create a cohesive look. To achieve this, I like to stick to one undertone at a time. Let’s say I’m wearing a turquoise dress. I’ll prefer to stick to either neutral or cool toned makeup. Because I want this look to be more wearable, I’m not going to try to create contrast, because that can create a bolder effect. This applies to my highlight and blush as well. I’ll opt for cool toned blush such as pink or mauve, and avoid overly bronze or warm tones for my highlight. Opt for cool silver, soft pink or light champagne hues. Similarly, if you stick to an all warm-toned look, you will look balanced and put-together. Picture this: A white dress, gold accessories, a warm bronze smokey eye, a golden highlight, peachy blush and a bright orange lipstick. I’m sure you can imagine that if you swapped out the orange lipstick for a bubblegum pink, it won’t look as cohesive.