There's a foolproof way to figure out if you're a gold or silver jewellery girly.

You know when you see those women who just look so well 'put together' effortlessly?

Well, generally she has a secret weapon and it's that she knows her undertones.

Ideally, everything you wear — clothes, jewellery, sunglasses — stems from this knowledge, which is all part of the resurgence of colour matching, the scientific concept of echoing the warmth or coolness in your features, through your sartorial choices.

This makes you look fresher and younger because everything you choose to put on your body already works with the natural features of your body. Genius really.

Watch: The jewellery hack you need to achieve necklace stacking. Post continues after video.

So, why is skin undertone helpful?

Depending on whether you have a cold or warm undertone, it determines what jewellery colour looks better on you.

It's science from the 1980's I had to learn when I up-skilled from a fashion designer to a personal stylist and, trust me, I thought the concept was so utterly naff I nearly left the course.

However, I decided to interrogate the concept and what I learnt changed not only the philosophy of my business, but changed my life — and I've now witnessed the same excitement in over 1,000 clients I've seen since.

I now acknowledge that what looks impactful and amazing on my friend might actually make me look ill and sallow. I started to understand myself, to feel better in my skin and to like what I saw in the mirror more. And that's powerful.

It's the 'knowing'. The clarity this insight gives you is incredible for day-to-day dressing, but also when you're making those investment purchases or working out how to curate your personal brand to develop your career.

And the instant glow-up is pretty great too.

Warm undertone versus cold undertone.

Ok, so how does the science work?

If you're warmer, it means that you have golden undertones in your features (your hair, your eyes and your skin) and that warmer metals of gold, copper, brass and bronze complement and enhance your peachier complexion.

Look at the example of Nicole Kidman, who's in the warm spring family. I've chosen examples of metal colours in clothes rather than just jewellery so you can see the effect more clearly.

When she's got colder silver on, her features fight and her skin looks washed out. Her hair goes more orange because it's fighting against the silver.

Cold silver = not great. Image: Getty.

Compare that to when she's wearing gold, which echoes her warm, peach complexion, and suddenly she looks balanced, enhanced and serene.

Warm gold = good. Image: Getty.

Beyoncé is a great example of someone who radiates warmth and depth when wearing her ideal gold. She creates impact and simply glows, like she knows exactly who she is — a total superstar.

Warm gold = good. Image: Getty.

But silver dulls and flattens her features. She is completely overwhelmed, and the coolness has thrown off her features.

Cold silver = not great. Image: Getty.

If you have colder features which have a pink/blue base, then you need colder metals of silver, diamonds, white gold and platinum to bring your features alive.

Princess Catherine is a cool summer and therefore cool/cold, so when she wears gold, your eyes go straight to the earrings as they wear hers because they're not meant for her. They almost look synthetic.

Warm gold. Image: Getty.

Yet colder silver and diamonds brighten her skin and add clarity to her features. Perfection.

Princess Catherine looks glorious in silver. Image: Getty.

Janelle Monáe is another example of a cold winter undertone who comes alive when wearing silver, even when one image has less flattering golden hair! Bright, balanced and beautiful, plus her skin looks even and glowing.

Cold silver = good. Image: Getty.

When wearing gold, her features lose their clarity because she's overwhelmed.

Warm gold is not for Janelle. Image: Getty.

How to identify your skin undertone.

STEP 1:

The first way to tell what undertone you are is to check your veins, so look on your wrist and see whether your veins are more blue/purple, which means you're colder, or if your veins appear more green, you're warm (blue blood vein + golden toned skin = green).

STEP 2:

Another way to check is to look at how much golden warmth you have in your features, as this can be easier to identify than cool/cold features. Do you naturally have a coppery red or golden warmth in your hair or gold flecks in your eyes? If so, you're likely to have warmth in your skin and therefore have a warm undertone.

If no gold is detected, you're probably cool/cold.

STEP 3:

Do your features come alive when wearing white or cream? If you have a brightness that comes over your face when white is near, then you're colder. If your features glow when creamier tones of oysters are worn, then you're warm.

A great way to shortcut these steps is to invite your friends/family round and compare them as this makes it much easier. Trying to do this in isolation is challenging!

Now, let's move on to the complicated bit.

Not everyone sits neatly in a 'cold' or 'warm' camp and this is where confusion hits, because both silver and gold jewellery seem to work with your features. This means you're undertone neutral and both metals are meant to look good!

What is undertone neutral?

Undertone neutral is when you have a combination of warm AND cool features across your eyes, skin and hair, so you might have warm strawberry blonde hair with cold blue eyes and cool light ivory skin, so you're a mix.

There are LOTS of undertone neutrals on the colour wheel and, because we're becoming more blended as a global society, the amount of undertone-neutral people is growing.

Zhang Ziyi is an example of undertone neutral because she's a bright winter so sits between cold winter and warm Spring. She looks utterly stunning and balanced in both silver and gold.

Zhang Ziyi wearing silver. Image: Getty.

Zhang Ziyi wearing gold. Image: Getty.

When this science launched in the 1980's, it stated that all undertone-neutral people could dance between gold & silver and, in theory, they could. But now I've spent 25 years dressing clients and getting down to the nitty-gritty details of creating effortless mix & match outfits. It might be an unpopular opinion, but it's easier to pick a metal colour and stick to it.

Metals aren't just in jewellery, they're on clothes as trims too, so they can play a big part in the overall look of your outfit.

I'm not saying don't mix your metals. They can look great together, but if you do, it's easier to buy a few pieces all with that mix, so a watch with silver & gold worn with a shoe with both metals on, so mixing becomes your 'thing' and part of your personal brand.

Where my clients run into problems is when they have a chunky silver bag strap they throw over their shoulder and a gold necklace and gold belt buckle and silver buttons on their blazer. When worn back with three different shades of clothing or a mix of patterns and plain colours, it all feels wayyy too much. Outfitting feels hard, like they're rubbish at dressing themselves, so they start to take everything off and default back to their uniform of plain black (just like everyone else).

And another I discovered.

Undertone-neutral women are meant to be able to wear gold, which according to the 1980's science, includes yellow-gold. But what I've witnessed is that it's too warm and if you're undertone neutral, pale gold or soft gold flatters so much more because it's less warm, like you.

What colour of jewellery should you wear if you can't work out your skin undertone?

If you're unsure of your skin undertone, rose gold generally looks good on every person because it sits right in the middle of the colour wheel. It's a little bit warm gold and a little bit cool pink, which is the perfectly balanced undertone of neutral metal.

So what are you waiting for? Stop wasting money, time and energy, grab your friends and start actually looking at yourself with new eyes and learning about yourself.

It's genuinely a game-changer.

And if you're still unsure, contact me. I offer individual, group and online sessions that you and your friends will love — lots of 'ah-ha' moments guaranteed.

You can also follow Kim Crowley on Instagram 

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Feature image: Instagram @linda.sza/Pinterest.