Do you remember your “COLORS” and which colors are primary, warm or cool colors?  Well, I didn’t.  So here is little reminder.  Do you remember the famous Color Wheel?

The wheel divides the different shades into four categories — primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors, and complementary colors.

Primary Colors  (P)

The pure pigments that cannot be made by mixing any colors together. These colors actually make up all the colors in the spectrum. Various mixes make the different shades, along with elements of black and white. The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue.

Secondary Colors (S)

Colors that are made by mixing equal parts of any two primary colors together. They are made up of orange (1:1 red and yellow), green (1:1 yellow and blue), and violet (1:1 blue and red).

Tertiary Colors (T)

Colors made from mixing equal parts of one primary color with one of its closest secondary colors. These are somewhat intermediate colors, and are made up of red-orange, orange-yellow, yellow-green, green-blue, blue-violet, and violet-red.

 Complementary Colors

Colors located directly opposite each other on the color wheel. The wheel shows what the ­colors look like if the two are mixed. If they are mixed evenly, they appear closer to the center and are a brownish, more neutral color. If one is mixed in a higher ratio, than the more abundant color will be dominant. This is shown in the color wheel as the shades move toward the outer edge

Confused, yet?  We haven’t discussed the warm and cool colors or colors best for which skin tones. 

Will finish this next week!

~Nails Magazine 2009 September