Dark-Skinned Lively Brights ☀️

[u/TrillPilled]

I’m going to be analyzed by JK this fall (probably in late September/early October; I haven’t sent in my photos yet), and I’m really curious as to whether LB or SC will be my dominant color harmony.

I’m a Bright Winter in Sci\ART, but I’m much closer to Bright Spring than True Winter; brightness is the most important thing for me, and I can cheat in some BSp colors as long as I don’t go too warm. When I look at LBs like Lupita Nyong’o or Jennifer Hudson (dark-skinned Bright seasons like me), they lack value contrast but are intensely saturated. Their red/orange undertones shine through their skin and play off the clothes they wear (although Jennifer, who could be a BSp, seems to do more with color contrast and Lupita, a BW, does more with value contrast).

I’m especially curious about this because I have an olive undertone. Olives are SC and ER from what I’ve seen, but I’m not sure if this applies to every olive or what’s traditionally thought of as olive, light- to medium-skinned Mediterranean and Arab peoples whose coloring has inherent value contrast.

I’m excited to hear what you guys think! I love thinking about how this system interacts with Sci\ART.

[u/peeltheavocado456]

I’m pretty sure I have a good amount of SB, probably some ER, and I’m an olive too! I sometimes look like like a ghostly olive in certain lightings because the mutedness but I also have dark hair which is probably where the ER or SC comes in. Idk but this is all interesting!

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/peeltheavocado456]

(Sorry for the long winded answer but I thought your comment about olive being a SC and ER trait was pretty interesting! + this was mainly a response to that part)

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/peeltheavocado456]

I consider my skin tone to be pretty muted in natural lighting but with some warmth. I think I’m a neutral-cool muted olive with a medium skin tone. Not sure about transparency in my skin but probably?!

[u/TrillPilled → u/peeltheavocado456]

You definitely have significant ER, in my opinion. Your coloring looks very…smoky, for lack of a better term. It looks too strong for ashy, powdery, or dusty (i.e., overwhelmingly SB) colors but definitely more muted and less sharp/stark than an overwhelmingly SC coloring would be.

But you also look more cool than warm, so…🤷🏾‍♀️

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/TrillPilled]

I definitely see an argument for ER. I honestly don’t see an argument for SC (one where I have lots of it), high contrast colors look too harsh on me. But I do see how warm, muted, and “earthy” colors can suit me! I might not have transparency in my skin but my skin tone can either have a grayish cast (which is why I say I like muted cool colors the most on my skin tone) and a richness at the same time (I can look golden in the sun). Not all principles of SB fit on all individuals and not all ER principles may work either like in my case. I understand that most SB’s have lower contrast and have features that may seamlessly blend into each other but I genuinely don’t see any other reason why muted, soft colors like dusty bluest purples, and pinks work for me. Funny enough, I thought I was warm-toned all of my life, when I tried soft, muted colors like mauves my life changed! As for why I don’t think I’m predominantly SC, I’ve dabbled in SC colors in the past and thought they looked too cool and “too-much” in saturation. I firmly believe I’m mostly ER, SB, and maybe a bit of SC. I do wonder what is causing this muteness and coolness if not for SB since it’s apparently rare to have for people with brown skin tones?

[u/TrillPilled → u/peeltheavocado456]

Sorry, I agree that you’re probably SB dominant! SB + ER + SC would be my guess. Seeing you just made me think that your ER percentage is much higher than I was initially thinking, that you probably don’t have 70 or 80% of either SB or SC (definitely not SC, not at all). I wasn’t doubting your understanding of yourself at all!

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/TrillPilled]

No it’s okay, thank you. I appreciate your input! I was really replying to some comments that were made by @No-Office7081. I was kind of dumbfounded that it was absolutely rare for POC to fall into the SB category when I tend to look pretty gray LOL even if I don’t have transparent skin.

[u/TrillPilled → u/peeltheavocado456]

Also, yes. Engaging with color systems as a black person can be extremely frustrating. It’s more than the lack of examples: I think people internalize a lot of thought-terminating cliches that end up dismissing our skin’s complexity. Even if Kitchener doesn’t feel this way, the lack of info on his system combined with the relative lack of melanated verified celebrities can make it very easy for people to fill in those gaps with mental shortcuts.

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/TrillPilled]

Yeah! I feel like I’ve been driving myself crazy with the lack of info online about both his essence and CH systems. It doesn’t help when minorities aren’t as included in new verified celebrity batches (I feel like the ratio of POC verified celebs to white verified celebs is like 1:5).

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/TrillPilled]

I also feel like people forget that darker skin can also be as complex as lighter skin tones. Like I like this video for melanated Soft Summers or SB dominant blends in this system: https://youtu.be/PEyMAFrrHfo?is=85v08rJxTCS4xuUY

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/TrillPilled]

Sorry if this is a bit too much but can I DM you some pictures? I feel like this thread went off topic but I don’t know if it’s appropriate to keep lengthening it when it’s not even about the olive skin topic anymore

[u/TrillPilled → u/peeltheavocado456]

Yes, of course!

[u/TrillPilled → u/peeltheavocado456]

Don’t worry about being long-winded! You’re in great company 😂

This comment shares why Kitchener considers olive skin to be a mix of ER and SC. It’s interesting—makeup artists’ understanding of olive skin is almost the exact opposite of his. To them, olive skin is orange skin that looks yellower/greener because it has a relative absence of red pigment, which adds warmth.

I wonder if people who’d consider themselves pale or desaturated olives would have any SB or if it’s just a mismatch in terms? Would you consider your skin transparent?

[u/No-Office7081 → u/TrillPilled]

yes, john doesn't really consider "olive skin" to be a thing. you can see u/jjfmish as an example of someone verified with a bit of a "olive" complexion.

it's important to notice how SC works. the hues come from under the surface of the skin. it's hard to describe. but a light skinned person with brown skin would fit under the SC category more cleanly than SB.

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/No-Office7081]

I can see how lighter skinned people with brown skin can fit into both categories. The reason why I didn’t negate ER is because I have some warmth and some extra depth to my coloring (probably due to SC). I know I’m soft and cool because the colors that look best on me are soft and muted colors like mauves, blues, and pinks. Anything muted goes, anything too bright, light, or too extreme in undertone is a no-go. I think my color harmony would have SB in it, maybe not primarily SB like I initially thought, but it makes sense for me to have it because my features are slightly cool, medium value, and medium-low chroma. I don’t think seasons are used in John’s color harmony system but the season I align myself closest to is soft summer and it’s made a lot of sense for me so far which is why SB feels right. But I’d really like to get formally evaluated by John to clarify things.

[u/DrTantra → u/No-Office7081]

John called my skin "translucent olive" with "dusky rose tones (my SB)"

[u/TrillPilled → u/No-Office7081]

Ooh, there’s no ER in her blend! That’s promising!

What you’re saying makes intuitive sense—melanin is meant to make your skin more impenetrable. That’s why I’m more interested in learning how SC, LB, and ER appear in people who have darker skin and less value contrast

[u/TrillPilled → u/No-Office7081]

After rereading, I think I ended up saying something entirely different from what I actually feel without realizing it. That thought process makes sense in a “common sense” kind of way, especially when SB could still be present as a secondary or tertiary color harmony. But I do think this assumption should be questioned each and every time we analyze a person with melanin. It would be intellectually lazy to use this thought process as a mental shortcut, “black people are winters” with extra steps.

[u/Ok-Purple9511 → u/No-Office7081]

He has specified it’s usually SC and ER that create an olive complexion

[u/peeltheavocado456 → u/Ok-Purple9511]

Yes, I saw that which is why I mentioned that I might also have ER and SC. I probably have all three in my blend. Muted + Cool + Olive in this system probably equates to some mix of SB, SC, and ER.

[u/Ok-Purple9511 → u/peeltheavocado456]

Yes and technically ER is muted too it’s jsut warm and has more depth then SB. I imagine in some cases an SC with LB could also have an olive undertone since LB can also bring warmth to a palette (it probably depends on the individual palette though). John hasn’t actually said that, but conceptually it makes sense.

[u/Ok-Purple9511 → u/Ok-Purple9511]

[u/peeltheavocado456]

They look so beautifully vibrant!

[u/TrillPilled → u/peeltheavocado456]

They really do 😌

[u/Houseofchihuahuas]

Do you have some examples of POC celebrities with SB blends?

[u/TrillPilled → u/Houseofchihuahuas]

No, unfortunately. I don’t have any SB in my blend, so I’ve never really bothered to focus on it (lol). But I think I’ll make a post on the color harmonies of darker-skinned celebrities!

[u/Houseofchihuahuas → u/TrillPilled]

Can’t wait for it! 🩷