There is no doubt that 2012 is officially the year in which the UK is officially ‘trending’. Following on from last years’ Royal Wedding, we have just enjoyed the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and are preparing ourselves to host the Olympics. The colours red, white and blue have manifested themselves across all manner of product design and memorabilia.

However, it’s not just the colours of our national flag that have been trending for a while now, but attention has turned towards the personal colour palette of the Queen herself. Whilst Pantone and London advertising agency Leo Burnett have launched a limited edition Diamond Jubilee colour guide commemorating some of the Queen’s most memorable fashion colour choices, D.I.Y store and paint retailer Homebase have identified several paint colours inspired by the Queen’s colour choices that have been “flying off the store’s shelves”.

All these colours share common characteristics in that they are soft, light, blueish tones. These are typical colours we describe as being a ‘summer’ palette, their slightly ‘bleached’ out delicacy mirrors many of the colours we see around us in the natural world at this time of year. A summer personality is described as calm, balanced and understated. Classic, they appreciate quality and good design.

The colours blue and pink appear to dominate the Queen’s palette and the palette as a whole expresses her personality. Whilst blue can appear quite authoritative, softer hues can be soothing and inspire trust. Soft and approachable, a summer pink, (the ultimate feminine colour!) expresses the part of one’s personality that is nurturing and empathetic.

This palette of colours work well for a sophisticated, perhaps classically inspired interior. Softer blue can be mentally calming and so useful to consider in rooms where rest or quiet contemplation is required. Pink is physically soothing, and worth considering for bedrooms and bathrooms .

Other colours from the Homebase range that work well with this palette are: Meadow, Sky, Summer jasmine, Oyster, Mocha, Pebble, Dove grey and Putty.

Find out more about colour and your personality at in:colour’s ‘Exploring Colour in Your World’ workshop Saturday 21st July 2012! Click here for details!

Hello! Have any of your New Year resolutions included the one about watching what you eat? Thought so! However, it seems that no sooner have we got over the excess of Christmas than we are surrounded by the further temptation of the ‘choc-fest’ that is Valentines. This is the day that we celebrate romance and associate with declarations of love and the giving of hearts and flowers.

I thought you might be interested to know a little of the background to this tradition.The origin of the celebration of Valentines Day is said to have had its roots in the times of the Roman Empire and the pagan Feast of Lupercalia. Each year in the month of February the shepherds would gather to praise their god Lupercus, in the hope that he would protect their flocks from the wolves that prowled around Rome.

The fertility goddess Juno was also honoured as part of this ritual. Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses, Juno was associated with the moon and with all aspects and cycles of womanhood. The festival of Matronalia celebrated this goddess of childbirth, motherhood and women in general. Women would participate in rituals at the temple and would receive gifts from their daughters and husbands whom were expected to offer prayers for their wives(!).

In these times the lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. But, on the eve of the festival of Lupercalia a match-making custom took place where the names of young girls would be written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and they both would then be partners for the duration of the festival.

However it was the actions of Saint Valentine, a priest in Rome at this time, whose name also became synonymous with this ancient custom when coming to the aid of marrying couples in secret, led to his death at the hands of  Emperor Claudius II in 270AD.

Through the ages many different ‘Valentines’ traditions have continued including the custom of sending our ‘sweethearts’ loving messages on this day. The colour that we associate with ‘love’ and it’s qualities of nurture, romance and compassion is the ultimate universal ‘feminine’ colour – pink.

Wearing shades or tones of pink emphasise our approachable, soft and caring qualities and wearing the right pink will make you appear quite ‘alluring’ – even attracting the attention of a possible mate! Lighter pinks seem to us softer and sweeter, perhaps more gentle. Brighter, clearer pinks can be seen as more youthful and fun. Dynamic hot fuchsia or magenta pinks are stronger and more assertive. Deeper pinks or red-pinks can seem more passionate.

More likely than not when we think of romantic thoughts our mood can be described as ‘in the pink’ meaning happy and in the best possible health. Many cosmetic and some skin related healthcare products will be packaged in pink. In colour psychology the colour pink also represents the physical self, reminding us of skin it is physically soothing so it can be a colour to think about using for the bathroom where of course we are in the ‘psychological mode’ of thinking about our bodies. Similarly you might like to consider using shades of pink in your bedroom where you get dressed, apply skincare and make-up. Warmer orangey-pink tones are more ‘sensual’ colours to use in the bedroom and can remind us of warm sunsets before the darkness of night-time settles in.

 

Warm orangey-pink tones are more sensual

Which are your most ‘romantic’ colours?

 

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