The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Saturday
Annabel Jones
The Telegraph’s beauty editor at large
Ihad my colours done in the 2000s and wasn’t impressed. The consultant took one look at my green eyes and determined army green was the perfect colour for me – job done. I’d have said that shade drains the colour from my face and makes my eyes disappear. From then on I’ve stuck with neutrals: white, navy and black with the odd pop of chambray blue and occasionally pink.
I’m pale and my skin has yellow undertones so Jules suggested I suit warm colours, not cool – and agreed that army green wasn’t a good fit. She suggested a punchy aquamarine instead, and I was open to that. Jules’s theory was more in-depth than matching my eyes to my jumper. She labels people not just by their eye colour but the undertone of their complexion and their personality.
Bearing in mind all this, Jules plotted me in the spring spectrum of warm and vibrant colours, and held a peachy pink against my complexion, letting out a reassuring “oooh”. If I wear red, she advised steering away from dark plums and cool reds, which will wash me out, and choosing a warm, tomato red instead.
For the shoot, Jules suggested I wear a lime green top which didn’t feel quite right. We settled on a rich blue silky shirt from Cefinn, which aligned with the eye-colour theory, yet also suited my complexion.
For my other option, I was presented with a Whistles jumper in “hot coral” which Jules said is the pink that suits me best, not the Barbie pink I’d been wearing occasionally. STANDISH SAYS Annabel has blue eyes with a sprinkling of yellow, which gives a green colouring. Even though her complexion and hair are fair, her genetics belong to the spring palette, as Annabel’s colour theory showed she has a warm yellow-golden-based skin tone. With the eye science suggesting light eyes correlate with wearing cool greens and blues, her best shades are in fact the vivid, warm shades of these. It is bright turquoise green that particularly flatters her complexion, lighting it up, while making her eyes sparkle. Annabel’s personality suggests that her comfort zone lies between her neutrals and vibrant colours, favouring this bright shade of navy, along with her spring hot coral pink.