Welcome to Color Theory 101

[diegonikki]

purple and violet are totaly different you cant make violet bcause its in a different wavelength purple however aka false violet is in the same wavelength but some how we see violet but arent sensetive to it thats why it damages our eyes try this experiment buy a uv light or look at those bug zapper lights then paint a light purple you will see the difference

[LucretiaDreamCloud]

thnx 4 thee vid [= helped alot.. p.s. i♥theeall thee purple [-=

[dumbasaboxofhair]

question... Im italian and spanish... so i have a more olive skin... on the fair side but i have also have redish tones to me... i know strange.....

if I could color my hair to block my red skin tones.... all makeup tricks aside..... is there a hair color i can dye my hair to block out the reds in my skin?

im fair enough to pull any color so>>> any suggestions? thanks

ps u are gorgeous!

[pushelildaisies]

You have such a lovely complexion, do you mind me asking your skin care routine?

[SMarieLove]

So if you have brown or dark spots you would need a concealer with blue in it?

[UnholyRoflcopter]

welcome to the milf theory

[elveto88]

the spot in your left eye... could be something bad

[MakeupByRisa]

@elveto88 nah. It's been there since birth, hasnt changed. I'm not worried about it :)

[TheKatsReow]

@elveto88 Its called heterochromia, totally normal.

[selmasadikovic]

@elveto88 it's a mole :)

[HeatherAnnDeMian]

Having a BA in Art, I have had the color wheel memorized since 3rd grade. If it is true that color wheel theory applies directly to makeup, like it does with art supplies, and red is warm color, why are people with red undertones labeled as "cool"? I have a collagen disorder that makes my skin one-third average human skin thickness, so my skin is blue. Would a pale orange foundation even it out? Why don't foundations for yellow undertones have violet in them to cancel out the jaundiced look?

[blueiris23]

@HeatherAnnDeMian The concept and definition of coolness and warmth in regards to skin comes quite simply from veins, rather than the actual skin itself. People with cool undertones have veins that appear "cool" blue, people with warm undertones have veins that appear "warm" green. As for the yellow undertones, the purpose of foundations isn't generally to cancel your undertones, rather to enhance them. I'm yellow-based, and the best foundations for me bring out the gold in my skin.

[jgaz10]

You are so knowledgeable...thank you!

[iheartcarlisle]

I LOVE ur lips. They look so pretty. U can really pull off purple lips wel. I have dark skin, and I have RLLY RLLY dark brown eyes, what color would make my eyes pop? and I don't really want to wear blue eyeshadow, because that would just make me look weird, bcuz I have rlly dark skin and yeahhhh..... plz reply.

[thecanadien15]

/watch?v=hBDQlkVYOQM

[tamithomas]

i LOVE your lipstick color!

[kmf12345101]

thank you so much:) i have senior pictures on july first but im going shoping and now i know what color clothes to buy haha thanks:) i really do appreciate it!

[drag0nslaying]

So if i have a yellow undertone, it means i have a cool undertone right? Also if my undereyes are more of a purple tone, should i use a salmon colored concealer?

[bestamerica]

'

wow she is a so pretty lady on this video,,,

i love her natural eyes, face, lip, skincheek without a foolish waste makeup chair,,,

a lady with her whole natural face is turning me on,,,

she use a makeup chair turning me off

[polarbear60]

Probably not a good idea to have a bright glare in the background while filming :)

[H0LLiST3RGURL]

blue based red?

[MissTrissdotcom]

A W E S O M E. Very informative, ty.

[ThePinkChilli]

Yep. You're so right. My undereyes are grey-ish. But the rest of me is cool skin....

[mamamcqueen]

Oh my gosh! Please tell me what lipstick you are wearing in this vid!!! Thank You!!!

[mariavs663]

where did u get your bedding?? i love it! i trying to remodel my room an on out to find the perrrfect bedding!

[kipper616]

Red, Green, and Blue are the three primary colors a human can see. The normal human retina has rods and cones. The the cones are Red, Green, and Blue cones.

The only way we can see things is from the available light from the sun. Color is an illusion. There is no light in pitch black.

But Red + Green = Yellow, Green + Blue = Cyan, Red + Blue = Magenta, Red + Green + Blue = White, and nothing makes pitch black since no light is in it.

That's just how it is.

[PurpleNightButterfly]

actually "shade" is more reconized as tone of color in the arts field...

a color's tone can be lighten with white

or darken by using its complimentary color(NOT using black since black is NOT a color)

[lunarnebulus]

well explained tnx :)

[ccdvn]

this helped so much thanks!

[CaicedoDaBunny]

this was defintely helpful and so true!!! I have alot of blue eyeshadows cuz theyre my favorite. Now i know why! I have brown eyes lol =)

[xPorcelaineTearsx]

The primary colors are: Cyan, Yellow and Magenta.

Red can be formed in with Yellow and Magenta.

Red, Green, Blue are the matter primary

versus the Light primaries

Cyan, Yellow and Magenta.

;) Graphic designer here.

[athens54a]

@xPorcelaineTearsx Magenta isn't really applicable in terms of makeup/skin so that's probably why she stuck to the traditional/layman primary colors... cuz we're not talking about graphic design : )

[lyssaurus]

primary colors is respect to graphic design, or anything having to do with a computer and its pixels really, are slightly different than normal primary colors.

cyan, yellow, and magenta are the three basic colors on a computer screen. red, blue, and green, are the three basic colors that make up a television.

now in respect to makeup/painting/traditional art red, yellow, and blue are the three primary.

[TruthSurge]

@lyssaurus man, blind leading the blind. hehehe

CYMK is used in printing as well as graphics apps. RGB is used in tvs and graphics apps but printing is almost always CYMK because it provides a wider range of colors since cyan and magenta are actually the primary colors, not red and blue. Red and blue are made by mixing magenta and yellow and magenta and cyan.

[Vaxliscious]

Lyssaurus: Cyan, yellow, and magenta are the primary colours of pigment. They may or may not be used digitally.

RBG is used for computers, too.

[Narutel]

good video!! very informative thankssss =)

[wicreed]

you can get one of those color wheels at you local art supply store.

[ganamoha]

5:20

[IceSk8r227]

Hey thanks for the vid.

my eyes are green, sometimes hazel. I have been struggling with colors that compliment me for the longest time and this was rather helpful. But, from my experience purple is the only color that did anything much for me...and that is b/c i heard it is a universally flattering color. Do you think gold, silver, or khaki color does anything for my eyes?

[alepink17]

Thanks soooo much it made sence to me :)

[myettitude]

So then what color(s) for correcting brown spots on warm fair skin? Thanks so much. I really appreciate your video.

[makeupmom77]

nice tutorial, explained alot for me!

[thechinesebonbon]

the opposite are contrasting, not complimentary colours.

[MakeupByRisa]

the contrast, is what makes them complimentary actually. Look up color theory on wikipedia.

[flygirl0]

where did you get your color wheel?

[makeupmom77]

I also want to know where she got the wheel too!

[flygirl0]

i just recently found one you can get them at walmart!

[Wherestommorrow]

i can totally see what you mean with your lips

[xoxocandice17xoxo]

i learned about this in cosmetology school last year lol. It's super interesting and it also helps me know what colors look good together when they are blended.

also, when someone has red flushed skin, a green color corrector works best because it tones it down.

[Itarisita]

great job explaining!

[AleciaAnne27]

I just wanted to tell you this has been one of the most helpful videos I have watched regarding makeup! Thanks for explaining all of this, it all really makes sense now! your great keep the videos coming :)

[foreveryoung921]

thanks this helped a lot!

[lilysmom72]

you are the most adorable person EVER.

[AZarmywife]

you just taught me more in the last 10 mins then anyone has about make up ever. I didnt really realize how important that the color wheel is to make up looks until I saw this video. You are so wounderful. I know I comment on every video but that just shows how good you are. Again thank you so much for the time you take to teach us what you know...

[bonitablack]

i just love your lipstick.... gorgeousss

[ctsgirl78]

this is THE THE THE BEST video on youtube!! A BASIC for everybody!!!!! THANKS hun for making it hun!!

[ksugar5]

honestly,

Im my opinion.

Purple drains all the color from my brown eyes:|

[Obsessed247]

you can find one of those color wheel at michael's arts and crafts.

[thebirdflulza]

awesome.

i have yellow undertones i want to get rid of, if i get the more violet shade of the make up forver HD Microperfecting Primer will that help cancel it out? and will it intensify and redness i might have?

[golddigger0325]

whats the opposite of grey?

[meep1eats1sheep]

Hi I was wondering what colors should i wear for brownish-black eyes...my eyes are really dark! Should I stick to white to bring out my eyes?

[sdkid90]

omg your pupils dilated really quickly when you shined the light! so cool!

[mzrey]

thank ya!

[gozosa1980]

i am black and medium darkness with a yellow undertone in my skin. but my eyes are so dark brown they are almost black. what colors compliment that?

[LunaOverEden]

gozosa1980 Lucky for you. Just think about it, you can wear any color and anything and it will look good.

[SarahLizbethX]

yeah I have hazel too but they are way more green than yours which seem more brown. This is a pretty interesting vid!

[17christie]

hey i have hazel eyes too!!!although i think that they have a bit more green then brown..so every single time i use purple eyeshadow my eyes just pop and become completely green also i have noticed that everytime i use black eyeshadow my eyes turn to dark brown and i don't really like that so i rarely use black....

[helsbard]

Same! My eyes are like yours and purple is simply amazing for me!

[LatinLexy149]

Hi Risa. This was very helpful. Question: my brown eyes are almost kind of coppery, like a penny. What complements that most? I think you said be purple but not sure. I'm light skinned with yellow undertones (Latina).

Thanks.

[skittles0567]

so under my eyes is like way lighter than the rest of my skin...and im already pale. what kind of color should i use there? cause i dont think i fit into the 9 times out of 10 thing since its not purply. its just like white

[michellybelly24]

awesome video girl!!

[hell0kittylover]

this was very informative :)

[greenckb]

You are amazing! I just subscribed & I plan to make time to watch all of your videos.

[AnimeChicka]

This is amazing! :DD

Thanks so much!

[lisamtheufo]

Found you via Twitter, this video for color theory is perhaps the most helpful info I've seen on this topic! Great job.

Viewers: Get a color wheel at the craft store or office supply for $3 or $4!

[mimzywhimzy]

EXTREMELY informative. AWE. SOME. THANK YOU!!

[Madelin48543]

This was great.

[lunartiste]

Very informative, great video :)

[atlantidaorca]

Really helpful, thanks so much!

[smilekylee]

oh my god!

this is sooooo helpful,

thanks soooo much!!!

[vmpage3]

thank you so much for this vid!!!!! your awesome at explaining it. saw you on petriludes channel and i'm glad you got featured. can't wait to see more of your vids

[stephielaclac]

this was so awesome and informative! thank you so much :)

[pelayopwns1]

this was really informative

excellent job!

[fallenangelforever]

Thats the color wheel i have! great vid! very imformative

[0MariiJane0]

This is the most helpful video i've seen on youtube yet! I'm soo glad Josh made me aware of your channel-yay! hah ;)

[KirstaIsabella]

Wow! Thanks a bunch for your help! You explained things very well, espicially for the brown eyes! Thanks again! Keep up the good work!

[PandaWhing]

my eyes are like every freaking color outside the pupil is yellow then gray then green and brown flecks

[alucyinabucket]

well. i'm jealous. mine are just plain brown :(

[paradimews]

What would be some good blue-toned red lipsticks? Can you name a few just for reference?

[MistiqueMakeup]

Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing. I was thinking about that the other day, and pondering a way to find out more. Perfect timing!

and you did a super-duper job explaning. Madesense and everything :)

[maelynn666blah]

I've been wondering what the difference between nc and nw is. You sort of mentioned it in this video. I'm an nw25 in my Studio Fix Fluid and an nw30 in my Studio Sculpt Concealer. Could you please explain it a little more, or if you have already or know someone who has, let me know where I can go. Thanks.

[LoveMzS]

i pretty sure the difference between nc and nw is cool and warm kinda like how she explains towards the end of the vid =)...BUT i may be wrong so yeah. hehe

[MakeupByRisa]

studio fix fluid is darker than their other foundations and concealers.

[BAMnessMAN]

You're the best, Risa! :]<33

[HoshiHooked]

YOU DID AMAZING RISA! you're so great!

[BlancType6]

you're really sweet and really pretty but your nose ring sticks out?

[MakeupByRisa]

yea it bothers everyone idk why. doesnt bother me! my nostrils are too small for most rings and it pushes out. I change mine periodically though - along with my tongue ring :)

[NappyMACDiva3]

Great video and tips.

[whaddupchunt]

so if my eyes are brown but a little lighter brown, almost yellowish, i should wear.... purple?

[HoshiHooked]

aha. Yes, you got it. Isn't she awesome?

[morningsun28]

I really like the color of your nail polish! What nail polish are you using?

[LoopyLu415]

Wow. thank you very much !!!!

this was very helpful.

you are great.

[MakeupChicaMUA]

====COLOR WHEEL====

FOR ANYONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE THAT SAME EXACT COLOR WHEEL THAT RISA HAS, THEY CAN BE FOUND AT **MICHAEL'S CRAFT STORE** (east coast).

I happen to have the same one and that's where I purchased it at.

HOPE THIS HELPS. :)

[MakeupByRisa]

actually my teeth arent yellow- its the lighting jackass.

[WackyLisa]

Thank you for doing this.

When I first expressed interest in makeup my Mom took me to have my colors done and I was a told I'm a winter with a spring influence. That info helped me but I got rather rigid about it and wanted to 'play it safe.' Hopefully I'll get more daring.

Thanks to you and other people here one YouTube I have some good ideas for dealing with my rosacea and jaundice as well as those 'did someone hit you' eye circles.

[fredafredar]

Thank you so much for this video. I m in makeup school and that was so helpful

[drunkagainnude]

No you dihint!

[ngomai03]

what's your opinion on matching your clothes to your eye make up? well, not match... more like coordinate. i've been told to never match my clothes to my shadow color, but i can never find clothes and shadow colors that compliment nicely. if you feel you can't give a short answer here, could you make a video? thanks!

[MakeupByRisa]

ive never bought into that. A lot of times I match my makeup to clothes and no one has ever said squat to me aside from complimenting me. "Rules" are meant to be broken IMO.

[CrazyKaty101]

i understood it. but im into makeup. but i do have a question. how can u tell if its green based or a different color based consilor.

[JellyJelena]

I have a hat like that.

[lotusmoonrising]

this is very informative and you have explained it sooo well...awesome x

[jabiycaro]

Thanks Risa, I lovee your personality, I just think that you are so down to earth and smart. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and making my day:).

Greetings from Mexico! Hugs.

[kmarquez24]

love all your vids!!!! there so helpful!!!

[SugarSweetVita]

this makes sense now lolz thanks!

[stlxprincess]

Very well said! I learned about colors from Photoshop, but it took some time. It's nice to be able to apply that to makeup, though. I don't know that everyone understands how this works, and how to make all colors work for THEM by finding out if they are warm/cool toned. So helpful!!

[JessKoeh88]

Awesome tips! :)

[piercedchickk]

i went 2 MAC

and they gave me NW 35 for foundation

and NC 42 for concealer.....hmmm

isnt that backwards??

[mullett52]

you seem so much happier now that youre back in cali! im happy for you! I LOVE ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS! They always make my day

[MisfortuneLlama]

I have a question.. .what about gray eyes? My eyes have a tiny bit of blue, so I've tried oranges and peaches and browns, but they never seem to pop and always just look gray. Any ideas?

[MakeupByRisa]

can you link me to a photo of your eyes?

[Ultimatecruegirl]

Awesome job explaining color theory!

Thank you!

[nurita4]

that's soo true!! I have brown eyes and I have noticed that my eyes look really good when I wear blue or purple eyeliner

[ilovemimes]

no it made TOTAL sense! great job =]

[EvEE77]

This was so Helpful and very Informative...Thank you sooooo much for sharing!!

[illa2015]

what nail polish are you wearing?

[MakeupByRisa]

Cream Pink and Pink 4ever both by Sinful

[illa2015]

thanks! its a GORGEOUS color :)

[ladyxharley]

wow!!!!.....your awesome cup cake!!!!!

[pukkaheart]

excellent!you are better than my make up teacher!hehe!you exceeded my expectations!thanks bunch!

[DerrickMayFan]

Very helpful!!! Thanks!!

[engdomofheaven]

this was a great reference! thanks for explaining this. I've known color theory but sometimes I forget when I'm considering make up, especially eyes/lips/cheeks.

[frenchmakeup]

What's an NC or an NW? I can't understand it at all!!!

[missliz06]

Neutral Cool and Neutral Warm

[engdomofheaven]

c=cool w=warm

it's the MAC system for color matching.

[cosmeticnerd]

but blue base lipsticks would also would out the yellows of your teeth, right?

i was talking to another mua about this.

[Kiyishima]

Blue helps hide the yellow ish color in your teeth, and make them look a bit more whiter. Before you try this out, try wearing blue eyeliner on your eyes, and then check out how much the white of your eyes seem more...whiter!

[cosmeticnerd]

yes i know that, BUT blue also pulls out the yellow because of the contrast.

[borrinquena]

Great info, thank you!!!

[4everspink]

ok the whole time im stuck looking at your lips!!!!

that color is so omg wow lol

[PhoenixsArt]

thanks so much- i actually heared about that at school and i often wear violet because i noticed that that color makes my eyes pop but kinda never thought abot complementary :-)

[ktpooh421]

thank you! i'm a mary kay beauty consultant and i'm getting more and more questions about coloring. this helped out a ton! :]

[jblevins8]

very helpful thanks

[spinspinsugah]

wow your lipstick is -perfect- haha. thanks fo rthis video very interesting <3

[beautybybrooke]

great video

[JadisVoid]

what color shadow would work best for my brown eyes? They're a really really dark brown, almost black. What do you think would brighten them up?

[SunnySideUp1518]

You helped me pass my art exam!

[chieove]

thank you for this helpful video xx <3

[medicamina]

Thanks for all your videos, they are extremely helpful!

However, just an FYI, you have your warm/cool tones backwards. You discuss your skintone (red undertones) as being warm versus yellow undertones. However, warm skin is the yellow while yours is cool. MAC's foundation titles are reversed to "counteract" your skintone. Just thought you would want to get that straight. :-)

[mickysantos]

actually, there's a big controvery on that. some people use a "true artist color wheel" and some don't...

[fadyasyarmeen]

hey risa, i just wanna ask something...the color shade that i am right now for foundation is NC35...& the MA at my MAC store gave me an NW25 studio finish concealer to conceal my red spots on the face...& as time goes by, i kept getting confused at whether NC @ NW is needed to conceal red spots @ pimples...'coz diff. MA gave me diff. opinions 'n_n...is my combination correct at the time being...foundation shade in NC concealed with NW for red spots?

cool vid by the way :)...very helpful~

[mickysantos]

so Nc is "pinkish" and if your putting it on top of red spots, it will keep the red there. Yellow (or green) cancels redness :)

[100pixiedust]

thank you!! this was sooo helpful! xx

[lollipop5753]

Great video.

[harmonee143]

This is the ONLY youtube video I've seen on color theory that i actually understood! Favorited and rated and all that good stuff lol. Thanks!

[yinghua]

Hi Risa! Thank you for this extensive explanation of the colour wheel!

I'm one of those exceptions for concealers. I'm using an NC because the underpart of my eye isn't doesn't have that purple/blue undertones. But as for the rest of my face.. (in terms of MAC) I use neither NC or NW. I actually use C.

[BodomScythe]

I love your lip color!

[Sassafras72]

Thank you so much for this video this was really good timing for me personally as I am redoing my whole wardrobe, makeup and look in general and the color wheel plays a big factor in that and I needed a refresher as I have done interior design before and learned the concepts of the color wheel but it was nice to be reminded of it all again so thank you.

[BusigaBecky]

I remember Tyra Banks said that red undertone in your skin is a cold undertone, when yellow is the warm undertone. I thought the red was the warmer one. Oo

[melikeyyeah]

This is probably just me, but "violet" and "purple" aren't the same. To me. Violet is more red-based, and purple is blue-based.

...yeah, I'm a loon

[melikeyyeah]

...Also, violet and purple clash. xD

[MakeupByRisa]

No, I tend to think that way too...but scientifically Violet is equal parts of red and blue. I'm way too loose with the names I use for colors. Though I disagree that purple and violet clash. They're analogous in my mind.

[MetteLine80]

Hi Risa :D

can you explain why the green will cancel out the red on your skin, but when you use a red based shadow on green eyes, it will make he green stand out more?

thank you, you're way cool.

[MakeupByRisa]

ok. Damn youtube just erased my comment. adding green over red neutralizes it. Colors all have different wavelengths and the photoreceptors in your eyes view colors differently. there's certain receptors for certain colors (which is why some people are color blind - theycan't distinguish between green and red). So say you stare at something red for like a minute straight. A truly vibrant red. Then look at a white wall. You'll see a spot of Green (or rather Cyan) instead. This is because the

[MakeupByRisa]

photoreceptors in your eyes that receive red are tired from overload of receiving too much red! So rather than seeing white (which is made up of red, cyan & blue) - you're seeing solely the cyan & blue - which is greenish in color. So now instead of a white wall - think of the white of an eyeball. but instead of looking at a plain white wall - there happens to be a greenish spot in the middle (your iris) - now after your photoreceptors have been worn out by viewing that vibrant red lipstick or

[MakeupByRisa]

red-violet eyeshadow (hepcat-mac) - the green of your iris will only be enhanced THAT much more. Make sense?! Sorry I know it's a little intense scientifically - but that's the only way I can explain it.

[MetteLine80]

Actually I just got to read the first comment as well before it got erased. (weird YT)

You explainesd it perfectly and very detailed. This is very interresting. And this makes PERFECT sense to me. Love intense sience, so that's only to cool :D

Thanks again, you'd just made me smarter here :D

[jazziebabie925]

you did a better job than my cos class.

[bleachblast]

this brings me back to my art class.

[2nigirl32]

hey I really love your videos:)

[sweetiet8591153]

what color do you have on your lips? It looks really good on you!

[MakeupByRisa]

theres a tutorial uploading right now :)

[deannario]

Yeah what a BEAUTIFUL color ...

[illyn]

Hey Risa!

ok so in the video u adressed indian skin tones and thank u soo much for doing so cuz not alot of gurus do! so my problem is my under eye circles which are REALLY bad and there not blue or purple but like grey :S ive tried everything to conceal them and nothing works... i was hoping u could give me some advice and also should i be using and NC or NW concealer for my dark circles?

Thank soo much!

[MakeupByRisa]

Based on what you're saying and from past experience- I would say NC and an NW but I couldn't be sure without seeing you. It depends what the undertone is but normally I would use both but primarily an NC. Not sure where you live but maybe call around to some mac locations and see if there's truly anyone with experience there. Not to bash mac "artists" but very few really seem to know how to deal with color correction such as this.I was extremely lucky to have a truly knowledgable trainer-Daniel

[illyn]

Thank u for ur help really appreciate it!

 :)

[fattiecakes19]

love this vid!!! thank you!

[yvette2988]

Great video!!!! :)

Is there an easy way to determine warm vs. cool undertones on yourself and others?