Valentine’s Day 2020: Try These Valentine’s Day Colors to Show Your Love

Love is in the air, and there’s no better time to show that than Valentines Day!

Having just survived many weeks of holiday celebrations, entertaining and gift-giving, a new study suggests that for Valentine’s Day 2020, 4 out of 5 Americans are excited… more excited than they were for Christmas, even!

The same study showed that a great majority of people are using Valentine’s Day to celebrate all kinds of love. Love for family, friends, pets and, of course, significant others. 

In order to show your loved ones you care, as a color expert I believe it’s crucial that your gifts, cards, flowers, or whatever you choose to give should accurately represent that love through color. Valentine’s Day colors can be the perfect symbolism for your feelings for someone. 

How? Keep reading. I’m going to go over some standard Valentine’s colors, their meanings and how they can apply to your celebration of love.

Romantic Love

Romantic love can be shown in a number of ways. Do you want to be romantic and sweet? Or do you want to go the more sensual and intimate route?

Red and Deep Purple

Passion and intimacy are best represented with deep reds, purples and darker & dustier pinks. There’s a reason why these colors are most often seen on romantic cards, in intimate date spots, on Valentine’s cards and candy. 

Red roses are a common symbol of Valentine’s Day colors thanks to the connection to romance along with their deep red color representing passion and sensuality. 

If you want to make a bold proposal or declaration of your feelings, you really can’t go wrong with red, especially red roses. As I detailed in my Color911 post on the topic, red roses also symbolize courage along with romance, which is why they’re such a great choice for lovers on Valentine’s Day.

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Pink and Lavender

Lighter pinks and purples are another option for displaying romantic love in a bit more of a sweet, tender and intimate way. Going for lavenders and soft pinks is less intense than a passionate deep red or maroon, but it also can come across as a bit more authentic and real.

White

White is another common option. Here in the US, white often is thought to represent purity as it looks clean and fresh. Because of that, it often represents new beginnings and pure, innocent love. 

If you’re a bit too nervous to go with a somewhat sensual red or purple, then opting for gifts, flowers, or cards that feature whites could be your best bet. This shows your interest without being too bold, which can be great for getting things started with a new partner.

Platonic and Familial Love

Numerous studies have shown that platonic and familial love, aka non-romantic love with friends & family, can provide you with the same boosts of dopamine, health benefits and social benefits as romantic love. 

Taking the time to show your friends and family that you love them this Valentine’s Day is a great way to show that you appreciate them, perhaps especially if you (or they) don’t have a significant other.

Creams

Beige, creams and tans represent warmth, calm and comfort. They also can represent similar feelings as white can (purity, innocence, clarity) without the same romantic or marital connotations, making these colors a bit more appropriate for platonic gifts compared to white.

Sweet Pastels

Unlike more sensual and obviously romantic reds, light pinks can make the jump between romantic and platonic representation. 

Light pinks, pastels, rose golds and peach tones appear as sweet representations of love. Paper hearts, candies, cards and other traditional Valentine’s gifts are often in pastels or light pink for this reason: they’re great gifts for everyone!

Yellow

Traditionally, yellows are representative of happiness, friendship, joy and optimism. What better way to show someone how happy they make you, or how happy you are to have them in your life, than with a bright and happy color like yellow! 

I would definitely caution you from sending yellow roses or flowers to a significant other since some say that in that context they mean infidelity. Even if they don’t come across poorly in that regard, yellow is definitely more of a platonic color, so sending them to a love interest could give the wrong impression.

Valentine’s Day Colors to Show Your Love

All that being said, there’s one more thing to keep in mind: all of this can vary! As a color consultant, I’ve noticed a definite trend in color for 2020 that people are not following trends as strictly anymore.

So if you know that your boyfriend loves yellow roses, get him those! If you know that your mom looks forward to her red and pink card every year, go ahead and send her that! You know yourself and your loved ones best, so use these color suggestions as guidance instead of as strict rules.

Want to learn more about how I choose colors based on what they symbolize? Learn more about me and my process here. 

Let me know what you’re going to do on Valentine’s Day 2020 with a comment below!

Photo by Ruth Ochoa on Unsplash