How hues shape what we feel, remember & become.

When Colour Chooses You

Yesterday morning, I stood in front of my wardrobe, coffee in one hand and a mild existential crisis in the other, debating between a deep teal blazer and a vibrant coral one. My reflection looked unimpressed. I sighed, rolled my eyes and reached for the coral. The moment I slipped it on the mirror and I both gasped. Dang, I look banging.

It was not just the cut. It was the colour. It made me feel awake, almost electric, as if my skin had borrowed light. On my way out, I caught myself smiling at the passing windows. The day had not changed but my mood had.

That little moment reminded me that colours are never neutral. They are quiet messengers that touch the brain, stir the pulse, and tell the world something about how we feel even before we have said a word.

The Science of Colour and Emotion

Light enters the eye as simple vibration and by the time it reaches the brain it has already become feeling. Certain wavelengths stir the emotional circuits where memory and mood live. Contemporary research has observed consistent patterns across many studies. Warm colours such as red, orange and yellow tend to raise arousal and energise behaviour. Cooler tones such as blue and green steady the breath and invite calm attention. Bright and saturated hues often feel vivid and powerful. Softer and desaturated hues invite reflection and rest.

Some recent work also shows that blue and green settings can reduce mental fatigue and gently restore focus. That is why a blue guided meditation screen can feel soothing and why a mint robe in a spa seems to lower the shoulders before a single word is spoken. The details of shade and culture still matter, yet the broader melody repeats across time.

Now for the type of science we test in the mirror. Think about the last time you put on red lipstick. You did not just add colour. You changed your internal temperature. The brain reads red as vitality, power and boldness. You stand taller and move with a different tempo. Taking yourself for the next catwoman and thinking out loud "Looking this good should be illegal. But I guess I'll take the risk." The same principle explains why a pair of glossy heels can feel like armour or why slipping into a pale blue blouse on a tired morning steadies the mind. The body and the mind talk in colour. We are simply learning to listen.

The Colours We Remember

Beyond biology, colour carries story. The scarlet of your mother’s favourite scarf. The faded mint tiles of a childhood kitchen. The gold light that poured through a first apartment at sunset. Each shade lingers like a scent that knows the way back home.

Cultures add their own meanings. White may whisper purity at a Western wedding and grief in parts of Asia. Green might signal renewal for one person and envy for another. Beneath these differences runs a shared thread. Lighter hues often feel open and warm. Darker ones feel deep and mysterious. Yet every person retunes the spectrum through lived experience. The colours we return to are rarely accidents. They are emotional echoes that remind us of when we felt most alive, safe or most seen.

A Soft Ritual: Living in Colour

Try this as a gentle practice for emotional awareness.

Stand before your wardrobe or vanity tomorrow morning. Before you reach for anything just pause. Take one slow breath and ask yourself, How do I want to feel today? Do not think of what looks best. Think of what feels true.

If you need calm, invite the ocean in. A soft blue scarf, a hint of green in your earrings, a whisper of lavender on your skin. If you want energy and courage, welcome warmth. Coral, amber, saffron or a bold red lip. For moments that ask for introspection reach for depth. Charcoal, plum, deep teal. Choose one anchor colour and let it accompany you.

As you move through your day, notice how colour shapes your mood and how people respond. In the evening, write a single line in your journal. What colour carried you today. Did it lift you or settle you. Over time you will see a small map forming. A quiet conversation between your emotions and your palette.

The Palette Within

When I slipped into that coral blazer yesterday, I was not just getting dressed. I was answering something in myself that wanted to be seen, a little louder and a little braver. Colour is a language that is ancient and intimate. The research shows how it stirs the brain. The soul shows why it matters. Each shade we choose becomes a small act of self communication. A way of saying this is how I feel today, this is who I am becoming.

Tomorrow, when you open your wardrobe or your heart, ask not what colour suits you. Ask which hue your spirit is asking for.

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Sources: Research on colour–emotion correspondences adapted from Jonauskaite & Mohr (2025), Cognitive Science Review; Study on blue and green tones reducing mental fatigue referenced from Cognifit Research, 2025; Semantic review on colour perception and cultural context based on findings published via ResearchGate, 2024.

Continue exploring Essence:

• Essence - First Page
• Between Reality and Illusion: A Study of the Mind
• Reading Room in Silence
• No Intention
• The Day I Learned My Skin Had Emotions
• Skin: Myths vs Facts