Welcome to the year of Tangerine Tango. The global authority on colour, Pantone, has designated the reddish orange as its colour of the year in succession to Honeysuckle pink.

The vibrant shade is now being touted as a go-to in cosmetics because of its versatility. It’s exotic but in a friendly, non-threatening way, according to the Pantone colour gurus.

But whether you dance to the tune of Tangerine Tango for your lips, nails or even eyes, it’s clear the 2012 tone won’t be for everyone.

When refreshing your make-up bag for January, the key to finding your own colour of the year lies in your hair and complexion.

“Understanding your colouring is the next step in helping you to achieve a perfect make-up look,” explains Pat Henshaw, co-author of new book Colour Me Beautiful Make-up Manual.

“The aim is to create balance and harmony between your natural colouring and the colours of clothes and make-up you wear.”

By wearing your own bespoke brand of make-up shades, Henshaw believes you will not only feel good but look younger, healthier and fitter.

Here’s how to discover your colour palette for 2012 and beyond:

Light

Your overall look is pale and delicate. The undertone of your colouring can be warm, with golden tints to your hair and a few freckles on your skin, or cool, with ash tones to your hair and a slight pinkish tint to your skin.

Light celebrities: Uma Thurman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Meryl Streep.

Make-up mantra: It’s all about adding subtle definition to your Light features. “Give a hint of colour to eyebrows and eyelashes – a warm brown mascara will be more flattering than black,” Henshaw advises.

“Try not to overpower your delicate colouring with strong shades of eye shadow or lipstick, even when it comes to more glamorous make-up. Instead, use the right colours from your palette and apply them in different ways.”

Palette: Medium grey, light navy, cocoa and taupe for neutrals. Pastel pink, geranium, sky blue and apple green for accents.

Deep

Your skin can be porcelain to black but all your features – hair, eyebrows, eyes and lashes – are dark and defined so your make-up should be similarly deep and rich in tone.

Deep celebrities: Halle Berry, Penelope Cruz, Audrey Tautou.

Make-up mantra: Your features have a lot of depth to them and stand out on their own. “Accentuate your look by complementing it with dark, rich colours, even when it comes to more subtle daytime looks,” Henshaw suggests.

“Blushers will add some depth to balance your colouring. Lipsticks in rich shades will look fantastic on you. However, if you prefer softer colours, you will need to ensure that your face is balanced with strong make-up.”

Palette: Black, aubergine, chocolate and pine for neutrals. Royal purple, scarlet, emerald green and true blue for accents.

Warm

You’re the golden girl of complexions with skin tone ranging from porcelain with freckles to golden brown. Auburn hair tones go as light as strawberry blonde to dark rich red.

Warm celebrities: Christina Hendricks, Susan Sarandon, Florence Welch.

Make-up mantra: To enhance your warm and rich colouring, your make-up should always have yellow undertones. Henshaw advises: “Brown eye pencils and mascara flatter more than black for both day and night.

“Choose a blush powder with a warm undertone and simply apply with a bit more depth depending on the time of day or occasion. Whether you want subtle lip colour or more dramatic lips, keep your lip colour warm with lovely, golden earthy tones.”

Palette: Bronze, olive, pewter and camel for neutrals. Apricot, primrose, terracotta and lime for accents.

Cool

You have blue, grey or cool brown eyes and ash tones to your hair, be it blonde, white, grey, salt and pepper, dark brown or black. Your colouring may have become cooler as you’ve aged.

Cool celebrities: Jamie Lee Curtis, Dame Helen Mirren, Dame Judi Dench.

Make-up mantra: Make the most of your distinctive colouring by wearing make-up colours with a cool or blue undertone. “Most cools have a striking look, so don’t be afraid to use brighter shades of lipstick and colours that will define your eyes,” says Henshaw.

“Cool, blue-based tones of eye shadows, blush and lipstick will always look best on you regardless of what look you are trying to achieve. Take your barely-there make-up up a notch by defining the eye area and do so with grey, blue and lilac shades of eye shadows and eye pencils.”

Palette: Charcoal, dark navy, spruce and purple for neutrals. Light teal, rose pink, cornflower and blue red for accents.

Clear

Your most outstanding features are your eyes, which are highlighted because of the contrast to your dark hair. They will have a clear, jewel-like quality to them.

Clear celebrities: Carla Bruni, Kate Middleton, Mila Kunis.

Make-up mantra: Your eye make-up shades should always enhance and not detract from your eye colour. “As a Clear, you can have the choice of making a feature of your eye make-up or your lipstick but not both,” warns Henshaw.

“Forget the rules about matching your eye shadow to your eye colour – it will only make your eyes blend in with your look and you really should make them pop. Bright colours are great during the day, whereas an aubergine pencil with purple eye shadow will be more glamorous for evenings.”

Palette: Black, black brown, royal blue and soft white for neutrals. Blush pink, ruby, Chinese blue and evergreen for accents.

Soft

You may have found a little of yourself in each of the previous colouring types, but didn’t fit exactly. You have medium depth of skin tone, blonde to dark brown eyebrows and mousy blonde to light brown hair – often with highlights.

Soft celebrities: Scarlett Johansson, Beyonce, Kim Cattrall.

Make-up mantra: The gentle combination of your hair, skin and eyes means that your make-up needs to be soft and subtle – but you still need colour and definition. Henshaw advises: “Your Soft colouring needs to be complemented with muted tones. Anything that is too bright or dark will detract from your face.

“Your eyebrows should always be defined with a blonde eyebrow pencil, while your eyes need to be lined with soft browns or mossy shades, not black.”

Palette: Rose brown, charcoal, charcoal blue and stone for neutrals. Claret, sage, soft violet and lavender for accents.

Henshaw’s money saving tip: “Once you understand your colouring type and your best make-up shades, you can limit the cosmetics that you buy, investing only in those that will make you look fabulous.”

• Colour Me Beautiful Make-up Manual by Pat Henshaw and Audrey Hanna is published by Hamlyn, priced £12.99. Available now

Tried & Tested

• Rodial Crash Diet Body Detox, from £50 for 45 mins, at The House of Rush, Piccadilly, London (020 7042 3200/www.rush.co.uk). At-home Rodial Crash Diet Kit, £99 (www.rodial.co.uk).

Buy it now

From shoes to make-up, Cheryl Cole is putting her (red) stamp on planet beauty with a new limited edition lippy for L’Oreal Paris. She describes the Color Riche Lipstick in Red Passion as her “perfect dramatic accessory”. Available at Boots, priced £8.16, £1 from every sale is donated to The Cheryl Cole Foundation in aid of The Prince’s Trust.

Beauty bulletin

• MS fake world

• Recessionista alert

• Colour Me Beautiful Make-up Manual by Pat Henshaw and Audrey Hanna is published by Hamlyn, priced £12.99. Available now