Did you know that the colours you surround yourself with can influence your mood?
It makes sense when you think about it. In winter, we're all about the dark, rich metallics and jewel tones, and then come spring we want pastels and bright hues to match the longer, brighter days. Your clothes, your homewares and even a bunch of flowers in a vase can all contribute to how you feel on a given day.
Right now, we're all in need of a serious mood boost, so we wanted to find out what are the best cheer-us-up shades to choose. We turned to Helen Steele, an artist and fashion designer from Monaghan who uses colour therapy throughout her work.
When designing her Helen Steele X Dunnes Stores athleisure collections, Helen carefully not only selects colours that will give the wearer a boost, but also positions them on the garments for maximum effect. For example, in recent drops she used a pink shade called 'teaberry' that she says is good for connecting and harmonising the brain and gut.
You can watch our video of Helen explaining the attributes of the different colours below, or on
Her's
Instagram.
Unsurprisingly, among the colours that Helen says we can use to cheer us up during the Coronavirus crisis are the sunny shades of yellow and orange. "Yellow is an amazing colour for joy and happiness," she says. Orange, meanwhile, she describes as extremely enthusiastic and "full of optimism". Also in the mix for feeling good are calming purple, nurturing pink and balancing blue.
And the fresh green shoots of spring are good for our wellbeing too, Helen says. "Green is associated with nature and growth, but it's also a colour that's good for grounding you and making you feel safe."
Helen is among the artists who have contributed to this year's Incognito sale, in aid of the Jack & Jill Children's Foundation. There are more than 1,800 artworks included in the sale, each of which will be sold for €50 on April 24. The pictures have been painted by a mix of amateur and professional artists as well as famous faces, and you won't know who the artist is who created your picture until after you've bought it. You can check out the catalogue online now. 
