I went in to get my nails done one rainy Saturday afternoon and stumbled across a gold I liked – it’s literally the color of hefeweisen.   Mimi, the lady at the nail place, looked at me and said, “This is a good color, but an unusual choice.”  She wasn’t joking…The gold was unusual, but somehow it didn’t clash with my skin tone like I thought it would.  Magic?  Alchemy.

Later that evening I went and picked up a box of dye and decided that after 4 months of copper, I wanted to be a little bolder.  I have an orange Studio 54-style dress that half screams olympic gymnast and half screams roller disco.  I picked a shade that I thought would work with the dress, cus let’s face it – that copper color that my hair had faded to just wasn’t going to cut it.  I needed something versatile… my old standby…

I’ve found myself wearing a lot of black (a reflection of this season’s looks – but come spring, just you wait!) and the combo is striking.  On top of the black,  I’ve been mixing accessories, like pairing gold rings and horn earrings, or acrylic bracelets and this gorgeous vintage bib necklace.  I feel like I’ve performed a little color alchemy by going and bold with my accessories, hair and nails – a polished combo of funky color magic.

To complement this color alchemy, I used a L’Oreal HIP eye pigment (which I picked up for a shoot), and paired their metallic gold/smoke color with a golden pink by Clinique, resulting in a metallic combination that totally catches the eye.

The gold was smudged below the crease, with a little dark pewter  shading in the outer crease, a shimmery rose gold above the crease and white on the inner corners and right under the brow.  The gold eyeshadow felt a little disco-70′s and I wore a shiny, glossy nude lip.

The look was solid gold and though my skin color is warm – I fear using too warm of colors will bring out yellow undertones – I’m intrigued with the results.  I feel evolved.

To create your own color alchemy, go with metallic eye-shades: bronze, gold, copper, silver.  Try a hair color (if you do hair color) that’s slightly different and more bold but still complementary – in  a cooler color if you’re warm toned, and in a warmer color if you’re cool toned.  Work with a nude lip, or pick something with a little shine in it. Dust on rosy bronze blush to bring out that winter flush.  GO for the gold – with your nails!  I’ve had so many complements on the gold nails.  Pick something brassy and exciting.  If you’re used to golds and pinks, try silvers and blues.  A line of shimmery blue at the outer corners of the eye will make your eye color pop.

What kind of color magic do you experiment with?