Style Tips You’ve Never Heard Before

Little things aren’t little. I’m starting to appreciate them more and more as I grow older. I had a little a-ha moment a few nights ago when I forgot to salt the stir-fry at dinner. (Don’t judge. Sometimes I get distracted. LOL). I was reminded of the Bible verse about us being the salt of the earth and why that was so significant. Things are pretty bland and tasteless without it. Salt seems like a little thing but it becomes huge when you leave it out.

It’s the same thing with the tips in today’s video. They seem little until you try them and observe their impact. Then, they become huge. Details matter, and they are often the difference between loving how we look and feeling like something is off but not being able to put your finger on it.

I’ve done that for you. I’ve pinpointed some small tweaks that you can make that have big impact. And chances are, one of these is something you’ve never thought of. Here, style tips you’ve never heard before.

Frame Contrast is Important

If you have high contrast coloring (that means there is a big difference between the color of your hair and the color of your skin), then a solid dark frame is going to be most flattering. If you have low-to-medium contrast coloring, a lighter patterned frame is going to be the most flattering. Frames should echo your contrast level.

Use the colors of your eyes and hair to guide you to the best frames for your eyes.

I was excited to work with Aoolia on today’s video and to illustrate these principles through their wide selection of eyewear.

Here are my 3 picks from Aoolia.

Use Your Color Words to Pick Makeup

Shopping for makeup is hard, especially when shopping online or at a drugstore where you can’t try on colors. And while returns are almost always possible, they are annoying. So how do you guess at the right shades? You look for clues. Use the same words that describe your coloring (your “color words”) and look for them in your makeup.

You can shop the best makeup for your color type in this catalog.

Here are some examples:

• Warm: Toasted, earthy rich, umber, golden, warm, burnt, tan, caramel, nutty, rust
• Cool: Icy, frosted, winter, chill, cool, porcelain, clear, pure, smoky
• Deep: Dark, rich, shaded, deep, dramatic, black, velvet, evening
• Light: Pale, rose, light, tinted, sand, nude, desert, sheer, soft
• Soft: Muted, faded, dusty, vintage, smoky, soft, hushed, quiet, subdued, medium
• Clear: Vibrant, true, pure, bright, clear, bold
• Fresh: Bright, medium, true, pure, blended, neutral

The Universal Outfit

If there’s such a thing as a universal outfit, one that flatters every woman of every size, age, and coloring, it would have to be something like this:

• Tailored and well-fitted (not tight and not baggy)
• Monochromatic or medium contrast
• Neutral, preferably navy, a universal neutral

Don’t Highlight Black Hair

Black hair, whether or not it’s paired with fair skin, is a pure and striking shade that, in my opinion, shouldn’t be diluted with highlights, lowlights, or any other shade. Unless you’re going salt and pepper, black hair, especially on women with Clear coloring like Angelina Jolie and Elizabeth Taylor, should stay black. See the difference on even someone as stunning as Angelina Jolie?

Pair Textured Skin With Textured Clothes

Everyone has some skin texture, especially as we age. Wrinkles, scars, discoloration, crepeyness, and dryness all add an uneven quality to our skin. To downplay this, avoid wearing sleek, smooth, and shiny surfaces close to your skin. Instead, stick with matte or textured fabrics right next to your face for a more flattering effect.

Pay Attention to Earring Length

Any detail, including the spot where an item ends, is going to draw attention. This is true of hems, of necklines, and of jewelry. The end of a pair of earrings can highlight a specific part of your face, so make sure that you are not drawing attention to your jawline or neck with your earring length, unless you want to.

Other jewelry pointers? Avoid long necklaces on full bests, so that you don’t have the effect of a necklace hanging over the bustline. And skip chokers if you don’t love the skin on your neck.

White Tops & White Teeth

Along the same lines as a skin texture tip above, it’s sometimes helpful to remember that clothes can amplify certain features and downplay others. One of the things that we rarely think about is how white clothes, especially bright or opaque white clothes, can make our teeth look. A bright white shirt next to ivory or yellowish teeth can make them look darker.

Whitening strips are a quick and affordable way to whiten your teeth a little, especially helpful with summer’s focus on white dresses and crisp white shirts.

Going Gray? Start Wearing Cool Colors

When looking at the longevity of your wardrobe, it’s important to plan ahead, especially when investing in high quality timeless pieces. If you’ve already begun the transition to gray, white, or salt and pepper hair, consider investing in the cooler colors of your wardrobe color palette. This is true of all the color types, except for WARM ladies. If your coloring is Warm, going gray will mean a complete opposite color palette to the one you’ve worked with in the past, and often happens more quickly.

But if you’re a Light, Deep, Clear, Soft, or Fresh color type, start investing in shades from the cool side of your palette in anticipation of the hair color change.

Which of these tips was an aha moment for you? And did this video make you think of anything differently? Let me know in the comments!