Colour has such a profound impact on our appearance. It really does. Because of this impact I’m passionate about colour and you will see me wearing colour more of the time than less. It can make you look: younger or older brighter or duller more vibrant or more tired I don’t know about you…
I’ve spent the past week intensely immersed in our Academy of Professional Image Certified Personal Colour Analysis Training. It’s a full on full time course, and we teach our students just so much about colour and how to discover their client’s personal best colours, how to wear their colours plus so much more. Students…
Back in 1981 Colour Me Beautiful was published and really brought the idea of personal colour analysis to the masses. It was a huge hit and I remember going through the book and figuring out that I was a winter and being fascinated all that time ago about the concept of personal colour analysis. Now…
One of the things I’ve discovered tends to confuse people is that they think that they can only wear colours that are the same value as them, so if they are overall lighter in value they can only wear light colours, and if they are deep/dark, they have to wear dark colours only. Ideally we…
Your eyes are one of the features that I think is important to highlight every time you get dressed. They are at the centre of your communication centre (that’s a fancy term for your face). If people are drawn to looking at your eyes, they don’t notice much else about your body, and are certainly…
12345678910111 1. High Value Contrast, Low Colour Contrast Brown eyes, brown hair, neutral but fair skin, you are most likely to fall into this category. So what should Michelle wear? You want to put together a high value contrast – so light and dark colours together, then a low colour contrast – so either all…
Colour is a subject that fascinates many of you. And I know I’ve written some posts on it before such as this one on understanding colour properties, but here is a picture I’ve put together to help try and explain the basics of tint, tone and shade. Colour Terminology Basics The value…
Following on from my post on undertones, here are some more examples of the differences between warm and cool undertones of colours. When picking undertones, you want to look at what the colour is made of, as if you were painting it, and think about what colours you’d mix together to create it. If…
I have often heard that freckles are only found on warm people, not cool, but I’m here to bust that myth. In fact there are many cool people who have freckling and today I’m going to share with you a photo of a recent client who has cool colouring who is definitely freckled. Now…
How to Pick the Undertone of Grey Grey is either made from mixing pure black and white, or more commonly, from mixing all colours together. This muddled up mix of colours is the reason it can be so hard to mix shades of grey together, as depending on how it’s made, it may be a…
There are so many ways to use colour in your outfit. Pink is a versatile colour, the right shade of pink will make you look fabulous as it’s a skin enhancer. How to Choose a Warm or Cool Pink Pink comes in many guises – there are both warm and cool versions so choose…
Have you ever wondered what your signature colours are? How you can figure out what they might be? In this short video with Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe , we discuss signature colours and how to wear them. Did you know that one of your signature colours is the best colour for those multipurpose…
Jill Chivers of Shop Your Wardrobe and I got together recently and made a series of videos about colour. The first video is an introduction to colour systems – from the 4 Seasons through to the 18 directional Absolute Colour System. One of the aspects we discuss is Albert Munsell’s colour properties and how that…
Do you think that you’d love to do what I do for a career? Or maybe you’re already working as a personal stylist and are smart enough to realise that training could really take your skills to the next level. If so, why not check out our training courses. We have both classroom training in…
Neutrals are not universal. There are warm and cool neutrals just as there are warm and cool colours. Watch this short video to help you choose the most flattering neutrals that will work with the colours that suit you.
And finally to no. 6 from the colour personality quiz, the Elegant Chic and sportive style. Elegant Chic Colours This style is more mature and refined than any other. Classy and traditional though not overly businesslike, you always look polished and put-together. It’s not so high contrast and bold as the Dramatic. It’s brighter than the Feminine…
Did you choose number 5 in my colour personality quiz as your overriding preference in colour choice? This is from the feminine style (some call it romantic). Feminine Personality Style Colours Colours are soft and pretty, not harsh or bold. Light blues, purples, pinks, greens, lemons. Champagne, mushroom and cream, fawn, light grey and beige are…
Was Number 3 your first choice in the Personality of Colour Quiz? Understanding the Dramatic Personality Dressing Style Colours Do you like brighter or bold colours? Bold patterns? Shiny fabrics? Then you may be choosing your colour and fabric choices from the Dramatic personality style. Do you love head to toe black, teamed with a…
Following on from yesterday’s post on finding your colour personality preferences, today we’re going to look at the first category – the neutrals. What are the Classic Personality Style Colours? Those of you who tend to choose traditional neutral colours such as black and white, grey and navy, shying away from most colours of the…
Ok, so hopefully you now have some idea of whether you are warm or cool and your undertone vs overtone from these posts. Now it’s time to figure out your intensity – what is intensity? It’s the saturation or brightness or dullness of the colour. Albert Munsell was the man who figured out that colour…
Yesterday in the comments of the first part of Discover Your Colours – Warm or Cool – this comment was left by rb: This is such a complicated thing. I have about the pinkest skin on earth so am a cool, but I have reddish brunette hair and blue eyes with gold flecks, so I’m…
