I was recently at a summer party, surrounded by beautiful women looking fabulous in their finery. As I sat down at the table, I looked up and noticed the lady sitting down opposite me. My first thought was, “wow”. She looked incredible, in a striking red dress and gold jewellery, red lips and blonde hair.
We got chatting and she introduced herself as Jane and told me that she is an image consultant. She explained to me that her red dress wasn’t anything super special, but simply in the shade of red that best suited her warm skin and hair tones. She also told me that she added some ‘fairydust’ to her look with the sprinklings of gold jewellery, another hue that suits her colouring. She told me that each person suits one of four colour palettes which is categorised by season – spring, summer, autumn or winter.
For example, winter colours are clear, bright, vivid and icy. Summer colours are soft, blue, smoky and rose.
Another guest at the party said she’d had her colours done years ago and still carried around the wallet with swatches of fabric in the shades she can wear, so when she’s shopping she can check the colours are right. That was it. I was SOLD on getting my colours done.
Goodbye dull, hello sparkle
I was so excited. I’d never heard of anything like this before, that you can go and see what colours suit you. Never again would I buy a gorgeous dress in a beautiful colour, without knowing why I didn’t look quite right in it. This happened to me all the time. Now I understand that sometimes I was buying clothes in the wrong colour for me and they were washing me out or making my skin look dull.
This was me before Jane worked her magic
I booked my colour consultation through Jane’s website, which was so easy, and went along for my appointment to her stunning home studio in Chiswick. We had a cup of tea, there were breakfast nibbles and then Jane explained what we were going to do.
Jane showed me a colour wheel of many shades split into four groups – spring, summer, autumn and winter. I secretly hoped I was a winter because it’s the only season that features black (and I love black), but thought I’d probably end up as an autumn.
I sat down in front of a large mirror, under a skylight in the studio roof, so that Jane could assess me in natural daylight, which is important. Electric lights can alter the way colours look, so natural light for this was a must. Jane explained that, as I have dye in my hair, she would cover it up for the consultation. This was so we could see what colours made my skin and eyes look the best without my unnatural hair colour interfering. We laughed that I looked like a girl from the Handmaid’s Tale when she put the white linen cover-up on my head.
One by one, Jane draped pieces of coloured material around my neck and shoulders and it was immediately obvious that I was more suited to cool tones (colours with a cool blue undertone, as opposed to a warm yellow one).
Goodies from my consultation, including the coveted swatch wallet
It was fascinating how a deep navy drape, contrasted with a crisp white one underneath it, made my face and eyes come alive and sparkle, whereas anything yellow or brown made me look sallow and as though my jaw was bigger.
She made sure I didn’t look like Kermit the Frog – and made me realise I’m a winter
We really laughed when Jane held a shade of green to me that made me look full-on terrible – we nicknamed this drape Kermit. However, that wasn’t to say that green wasn’t my colour, just not the shade of Kermit. In fact, two of my ‘wow colours’ turned out to be shades of emerald and pine green.
After Jane had found I suited cool tones, she then narrowed down what season I was by draping me with the colours from both winter and summer, the cool-toned seasons. I was thrilled to discover that I am winter.
The next part of the session was to show me what makeup colours suited me best. Jane explained that she was going to do a 90 second makeover on me that I could replicate every day if I wanted to, as I never usually wear makeup in the day unless I’m going out to a restaurant or a meeting. She showed me some mineral foundation that brushed on so quickly and covered a multitude of sins.
This shade of wine burgundy really suits my skin tone
My skin looked as though it was bare, just without any blemishes, which I loved. I hate feeling caked in makeup. She then swept some blush over the tops of my cheekbones which really complimented my skin and gave me back the hollows I had before I turned 30 and formed a love affair with beige carbohydrates. Lastly, Jane gave me a few different lipsticks to try. I seldom wear lipstick, but after today I am going to try to wear it more. It totally complimented my face.
With my makeup done and a lovely shade of burgundy on my lips, Jane then told me we were going to find out what my ‘wow colours’ were by draping the winter colours over me, one by one, and seeing which ones looked exceptional. She made notes in a little book for me to take home and refer to, so that I would know which colours I could wear in their entirety and which I should keep for patterns or below the waist. It was so interesting, as there were some colours in there that I would never have thought looked good on me, like magenta and fuchsia pinks for example.
It turned out that I am a jewel winter, as my wow colours were tones of ruby, emerald, sapphire and the like. I always knew I liked precious stones.
At the end with my jewel winter colours - Jane tied my hair back so she could really see my skin tone
At the end of my session Jane showed me my before and after pictures and it’s so obvious that the colours make such a difference to how I look. She also gave me the coveted wallet with swatches of each of the colours of the winter palette that I can wear, so that when I’m out shopping I can use it to help me decide if something is going to suit me or not.
Now I feel like I can take on the world
I’ve always loved clothes and have spent a small fortune on them over the years (much to my husband’s dismay), but I believe that wearing good clothes that really suit you makes you feel so empowered and confident. When I know I look good then I can take on the world and have the best time doing it, full of smiles and confidence. If I feel I look frumpy or don’t feel good in what I’m wearing because I feel scruffy, then I want to disappear into a corner and be largely unnoticed.
I think discovering what looks good on you goes so much deeper than a person’s vanity, it is an investment in yourself and a method of self-care that will have positive benefits for you for the rest of your life.