Red

There is much excitement in the Perkins' household because we’re flying north to see if we can find the big man himself, you know, the one who wears the red suit.  Great debate has reigned as to whether the one at the school Advent fair was real or not – apparently if there is no sleigh, he’s not the real one – the one we saw the following day in the market square, celebrating the turning on of the Christmas lights, was real, proven by the presence of his sleigh (and a wonderful explanation for why the reindeer wasn’t real)! 

Debate rages in other circles regarding the red suit yet, debate aside, there is no doubt the imagery is so powerful, we would probably struggle to convince anyone that he was anything if not dressed in the familiar red suit with fur trim. Try green for example! 

Red is probably one of the most emotive colours, having many associations with danger and warnings (stop signs), fire/heat, violence, ripeness (fruit) and blood.  It is said to be the colour of energy and drive, with dark red implying success achieved.  When working with my son recently he was very clear that while yellow is a happy colour, red relates to anger – he must feel this at some instinctive level. 

In researching this blog the power of red is obvious, arguably, the most powerful.

·         Seeing Red - becoming angry, losing self-control

·         Red Rag to a Bull – deliberate provocation sure to bring an adverse reaction

·         Caught Red-Handed – caught in the act of a misdemeanour or crime with visible
     evidence

·         Red Herring – a distraction from the real issue

·         Red Tape - rules and regulations especially involving excessive or unnecessary
     paperwork

·         In the Red - in debt

·         Scarlet Woman 

      o   Prostitute or

      o   Symbol of Pagan Rome

And my favourite, because it reminds me of my childhood and the Cornish skylines:

·         Red Sky at Night – an indication of the weather.

It is a colour associated with passion and confidence so wear it with pride but equally be aware that some will see it as an angry colour. 

A conversation with a bank manager recently related to her early years’ training and a recommendation to avoid wearing red because it is an angry colour.  With ‘anger’ being the energy in Eastern philosophy which drives a snowdrop up through the frozen ground, I think passionate would interchange well here.  Maybe with the stiff upper lip synonymous with the British culture, we need to keep a lid on ‘passion’ as much as anger lest we can’t handle it!

Having spent 12 years demonstrating how amazing the right red lipstick for you looks in spite of fears and opinions, it was really refreshing to see two women at a recent function proudly and confidently wearing strong red lipstick.  It also reminded me of the L’Oreal campaign earlier this Autumn.

Reds in the House of Colour range are fabulous - use the table below to identify from your skin tone which are your best colours:

Ideal Reds
Spring (warm & clear)	Poppy / Geranium
Summer (cool & soft)	Cherry / Coral Red
Autumn (warm & soft)	Brick / Geranium
Winter (cool & clear)	Burgundy / Carmine / Scarlet

Great Reds for your Season	Soft	Clear
Warm	Autumn – L12, L606	Spring – L12, L55, L606
Cool	Summer  - L28, L50, L307	Winter – L27, L28, L50, L55, L302, L307, L499, L512, L673

As the colour at the centre of the colour wheel, the most adaptable of all colours and the first colour the eye sees, resulting in it being the colour of ‘sale’ signs to attract spending customers in a retail environment; in the words of Bill Blass, 'When in doubt, wear red.'