When it comes to creating a beauty brand that stands out, color is one of your most powerful tools. The right color palette doesn’t just make your products look beautiful—it communicates your brand’s personality, values, and evokes the emotions you want your customers to feel. But here’s the secret: You don’t always have to play by the rules.

While there are tried-and-true strategies for selecting a color palette, beauty brands today are breaking free from conventions and experimenting with bold, unexpected color combinations to set themselves apart. In this article, we’ll explore how to choose the perfect color palette for your beauty brand—while encouraging you to step out of the box and get creative.

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1. Understand the Psychology of Color—But Feel Free to Disrupt It

Color psychology is a critical starting point when choosing your brand colors. Different colors evoke specific emotions, and understanding these associations can guide you in selecting colors that align with your brand’s message. For example:

• White: Purity, cleanliness, simplicity
• Black: Luxury, sophistication, elegance
• Pink: Femininity, warmth, playfulness
• Green: Nature, calm, eco-friendliness
• Gold: Opulence, prestige, luxury

Break the rules: While these associations are helpful, they aren’t set in stone. If you’re building a luxury skincare brand, black and gold aren’t your only options. Consider brands like Byoma, which defies traditional expectations with its use of vibrant, candy-colored hues. Byoma’s pastel yellows, blues, and pinks create a fun, approachable vibe while still maintaining a sense of sophistication and quality, showing that even bright, playful colors can convey premium quality.

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2. Consider Your Brand’s Personality and Target Audience—And Dazzle Them with Unconventional Colors

Your color palette should reflect your brand’s personality and connect with your target audience. Are you a clean, minimalist brand, or are you edgy and vibrant? Knowing who you are and who you’re speaking to will help shape your choices.

For example:

• A minimalist skincare brand might lean into a muted palette of whites and neutrals.
• A makeup brand targeting Gen Z could explore brighter colors, such as neon pinks and electric blues.

Break the rules: Just because you’re creating a natural, organic brand doesn’t mean you have to stick with earthy greens and browns. Sallve, a Brazilian skincare brand, uses an eye-catching palette of vivid, playful tones—think electric yellows and soft pinks—contrasted with clean white packaging. This unexpected use of bold colors gives the brand a fun, youthful edge while remaining aligned with its skincare-focused mission.

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3. Define Your Brand’s Core Values—But Don’t Be Afraid to Express Them Differently

Your color palette should communicate your brand’s core values. For example:

• Sustainability: Earthy greens, muted tones, or natural colors.
• Luxury: Rich tones like black, deep purples, or gold.
• Innovation: Sleek silvers, metallics, or bold color accents.

Break the rules: If sustainability is central to your brand, you don’t have to rely on green alone. Consider colors like vibrant coral or deep teal, which can evoke a fresh, modern take on eco-consciousness. EADEM, a skincare brand focused on women of color, uses warm brown tones, soft pastels, and muted oranges to reflect both inclusivity and natural beauty in a contemporary, unique way, showing that eco-conscious doesn’t have to mean predictable shades of green.

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4. Build a Balanced Color Palette—But Play with Unexpected Color Combos

A typical balanced color palette consists of:

• Primary color: Your dominant color, representing your brand.
• Secondary colors: Supporting colors that add variety.
• Accent colors: Used sparingly for visual interest.

Break the rules: Instead of sticking with a traditional three-color palette, consider using an unexpected mix of bold colors—even colors that clash a little can create a powerful statement if done strategically. Tower 28, a beauty brand that emphasizes inclusivity and clean products, incorporates a cheerful, beachy color palette with soft oranges, purples, and pinks that make the brand feel both laid-back and inviting. These colors evoke the carefree nature of the California lifestyle that the brand is inspired by, while still feeling elevated and professional.

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5. Test Your Colors Across Mediums—But Also Think Outside of Packaging

While it’s essential to test your palette across mediums (digital, print, packaging), think beyond the basics. Your color palette isn’t just for your website or product box—it can extend to every visual touchpoint of your brand, including pop-up events, store designs, or social media layouts.

Break the rules: Experiment with creative applications like transparent packaging or holographic foil that shifts colors in different lighting. A brand like Drunk Elephant does this brilliantly by using bold, neon-colored caps on otherwise minimalist packaging, creating a stark and playful contrast that has made the brand easily recognizable. Their use of color isn’t traditional for high-end skincare, but it has become part of their brand identity and appeal.

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6. Look at Your Competitors—But Dare to Be Different

It’s essential to survey your competitors and analyze their color choices to ensure that you’re differentiating yourself. Most luxury beauty brands like Chanel, Dior, and YSL stick to classic black, gold, or silver tones.

Break the rules: Why not rebel against the norm? If everyone in your niche is using soft pastels or gold accents, go for unexpected hues like turquoise, mustard yellow, or plum. Topicals, a brand addressing skin conditions like hyperpigmentation and eczema, uses a vibrant mix of pinks and yellows in their packaging—a choice that feels bold and fresh in the often clinical world of skincare. By opting for an energetic, youthful color palette, Topicals stands out from the more subdued palettes that dominate the market.

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7. Create a Color Hierarchy—But Have Fun with Placement

Once you’ve selected your colors, creating a color hierarchy ensures consistency in your brand’s visual identity. Typically, this hierarchy defines how you’ll use primary, secondary, and accent colors across your branding.

Break the rules: Who says your primary color has to be the most dominant on your packaging? Experiment by using accent colors in unexpected places, like the interior of your packaging, or for surprise elements like tissue paper or seals. Byoma, for example, uses its bright colors strategically, not only on packaging but also in digital touchpoints, blending its pastel color scheme seamlessly into every part of its brand experience.

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8. Tools to Help You Create a Standout Color Palette

Now that you're ready to build your unique color palette, here are some tools to help you create, explore, and test different combinations:

• Coolors.co: A popular and user-friendly tool that helps you generate color schemes instantly. You can lock in a color and shuffle to find harmonious shades or create entirely new combinations.
• Adobe Color: This tool allows you to create, save, and test color palettes with various color harmony rules.
• Paletton: Offers a visually intuitive way to explore and refine color combinations using color wheels.
• Canva: Canva’s color palette generator helps you create palettes based on images, allowing you to see how your colors might look in the real world.
• Colormind: An AI-powered palette generator that helps you create beautiful, cohesive color schemes based on deep learning models.

These tools are perfect for both exploring traditional palettes and pushing the boundaries of color combinations.

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9. Trust Your Instincts—Be Bold and Consistent

The best color palettes are those that feel authentic to your brand. While it's important to take inspiration from color psychology, competitor analysis, and customer preferences, don't be afraid to trust your gut. Bold, creative choices can pay off in a big way if they align with your overall brand vision.

Once you've chosen your colors, consistency is key. Apply your palette across your website, social media, packaging, and in-store displays to build strong brand recognition. Remember, a well-chosen palette is one of the most effective ways to establish a cohesive, memorable brand identity.

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Conclusion: Color Is Your Creative Playground

Choosing the right color palette for your beauty brand is about more than just following the rules—it’s about tapping into your creativity and using color as a tool to express your unique brand identity. Whether you decide to follow traditional color psychology or throw out the rulebook entirely and experiment with unexpected combinations, your color choices will be central to how customers perceive and connect with your brand.

At Owlsome Studio, we specialize in helping beauty and lifestyle brands push creative boundaries with color. Whether you're looking to craft a fresh, minimal palette or something bold and daring, we’re here to guide you in building a color story that captures your audience's attention and imagination.

Ready to build a color palette that turns heads? Contact Owlsome Studio today to start your branding journey! Let’s create a color scheme that’s not only visually stunning but truly unique to your beauty brand.

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