Colors Analysis

There is book from the 70’s called Color Me Beautiful by by Carole Jackson that is all about color analysis.  At first glance it seems mostly shag haircuts, models named Barb and Terri, and an extensive section on the selection of appropriate panty hose. When you actually get into it the book there is actually a lot of great information about color theory and how it applies to our appearance.

 On a recent girls trip, I got the opportunity to have a consultation with a color analysis with House of Colour. It was such a fun and helpful experience! Our consultant Caitlin Markham with House of Colour Park Circle started the day by talking to our group about color theory and how identifying your season and its associated colors helps with curating your closet, packing for trips and looking your best!

The Process 

After this basic introduction to the process we got started. Caitlin had our first friend sit in a chair in front of a window with great natural light. She used dozens of fabric drapes to get the colors close to her face. The process started with neutrals first. She draped whites with either yellow or blue undertones (if you’ve ever selected white paint you can appreciate just how many “whites” there are!) She then brought in a warm, earthy brown and a cool navy to decide if someone was either a blue or yellow base. It was amazing in this simple step to see someone’s skin look smoother, eyes seemingly pop forward, or bone structure appear more pronounced.   After establishing this warm/ cool basis she got into determining our specificseason. 

Those with blue undertones fell into either the winter or summer categories. People with warm undertones fell into the spring or autumn season. She alternated jewel tones, pastels, cool greys and navys to tease out if someone who had blue under tones was a winter or a summer. For our other friends with yellow undertones she brought out rich earthy neutrals or bright, light colors to see if they fit into the autumn or spring category. As she draped the colors around our shoulders it was really amazing to see each person’s natural beauty enhanced. It’s kind of one of those things you once you see it you can’t unsee it!! 

There were some funny things along the way. One friend who has been wearing jewel tones and black for years. These are winter season colors. Shad to bite her tongue as we saw her skin come alive as Caitlin draped the rich, natural shades of moss green and burnt orange. She was an Autumn!! She clearly has a lot of closet editing to do.  There were some of us whose season was obvious. With others in our group, the draping color comparison took longer. I ended up being a “brown” summer (this is a subtype). My Subtype has some over lap with certain autumn subtypes and it took a little longer to tease out.

Color Analysis in everyday life

One thing I really appreciated about the whole process was that it started with the premise that we are all have our own natural and unique beauty. Not only that, but there is a wide range of natural beauty and that each skin tone, shade of hair and eye color should be highlighted and celebrated. Instead of focusing on covering our natural skin tone, dying our hair, or trying to change other intrinsic features the emphasis during the consultation was to use color analysis and minimal make up to highlight natural beauty

It was such a fun experience! I can’t say enough great things about our House of Colour a consultant Caitlin. She made the process so enjoyable. The color consultation itself was not all she had to offer that day. She applyed make up that highlighted our season. She also gave great recommendations about brands that frequently use certain colors/seasons (I ran to buy this top from one of my favorite brands I’d had my eye on) and Instagram accounts to follow to see how other women of our season use knowledge knowledge of color to put their best foot forward.  Over the last few months it has helped me to streamline my wardrobe and simplify packing.

Check out the original Color Me Beautiful My Carole Jackson here: https://www.amazon.com/Color-Me-Beautiful-Discover-Fabulous/dp/0345345886