I’ve often heard, “But that’s not allowed, right?” when people look at my curated ear and see all three metal colours in it. My general response is, “Who’s going to arrest me? The Fashion Police?!”
Yes, there are technically some “rules” when it comes to skin tones and what metals look best or most complimentary and what I often refer to is a an old adage that I heard once upon a time by some fab stylist somewhere on a set… In order to break the rules, and break them well, you have to at least know them. So here are some tips when it comes to mixing metals and figuring out what looks best on you.
Complimenting your skin tone
Generally speaking, if you want a warmer tone you opt for yellow or rose gold. If you are looking for a cooler tone you would choose white gold or silver. What you should choose has less to do with how much melanin you have in your skin and more to do with your skin’s undertone.
A simple way to deduce your skin’s undertone is by placing a white sheet of paper next to your arm and seeing what colour your veins appear. If your veins appear blue you must likely have a cool undertone. Greener looking veins usually indicate a warmer undertone while some people can swing either way and have a more neutral skin tone if their veins have no obvious hue to them or remain looking red.
Now what?
As you may have guessed, the obvious answer is people with warmer undertones are complemented by warm toned jewellery such as yellow or rose gold and those with cooler tones should wear silver or white gold.
But how would I switch up?
If you’re wanting to mix it up my personal suggestion is to go with what I call the “two thirds” rule. Stick with your complimentary colour for 2/3 of your curation and then add an opposite colour for 1/3. That way, the metal that supposedly “clashes” with your skin won’t overpower your curation. For example, if you stack a lobe we always advise that you stack in three’s – so in this instance, if you’re a warm skin tone make sure two of the studs are yellow gold and only one is white gold.
Size DOES count
When you’re mixing metals rather keep your complimentary metal as the larger of your curation – make it the dominant piece – and wear the opposite metal in a smaller size. Again, this way your “opposite” colour won’t wash you out or overpower you.
Back to black
The great thing about The Piercery’s piercing range is that we stock Black PVD plated Surgical Steel and Titanium jewellery. This colour is a great neutralizer! Black and Gold? Great! Black and Silver? Chic! Black and Rose Gold? Fab! It’s a funky way to mix things up and have some fun.
Throw the baby out with the bath water If all else fails, just do what you like! At the end of the day… who cares! If YOU love it, if YOU feel beautiful and if YOU are happy, then that’s what counts.
At the end of the day don’t be a slave to fashion… do you boo! That’s what self-expression is all about.
Much love
Roxy
