Post by Pursuit of Essence
What if I told you there’s a reason that an outfit can look in harmony on another person, but doesn’t have the same effect on you? Maybe you want to try a trendy makeup look, but when you apply it with the exact same technique and style, you end up looking better before you even put anything on.
Unflattering outfits or makeup go beyond the issue of fit or application. The real culprit of these struggles can often be the use of the wrong colours. Yes, it’s a simple as that!
For those who are unfamiliar with Colour Analysis, it is a system where people can be typed as one of four seasons (spring, summer, autumn or winter) based on the natural colouring of their features and skin undertone. There are different systems that have been created in Colour Analysis, but the one I focus on is the 12 Season system. This Colour Analysis system was highly popularized in the 80’s, and has since made a comeback on social media among gen z audience. While some believe that Colour Analysis is just a dated trend that makes people feel limited in what they can wear, many who have experienced the power of discovering their best colours say it is a timeless tool that guides you toward confidence and security in your natural beauty. Alternatively, let me share three more advantages to learning your colour season that you may not have considered.
- It’s Science!
You can’t argue with objective truth, even in fashion. Colour Analysis uses hue, value and chroma of the skin to categorize individuals into 12 different sub seasons. This is a reliable and objective approach to achieving beauty and harmony in your appearance. Using coloured drapes and natural lighting, it becomes obvious whether our faces have high contrast or low contrast, and lightness or darkness, because the colours that match it will make us look more vibrant and youthful. In your best colours, you may notice more skin evenness and brightness, natural rosy cheeks and lips, whiter eyes, and a more contoured jawline. On the contrary, your worst colours can dull your look by enhancing eye bags and hyperpigmentation, taking colour from your lips and cheeks, making eyes look tired, and overall giving you a drained and sickly appearance. What I find so helpful about colour analysis is that we never need to question if a colour really looks good on us-we know the science doesn’t lie.
2. Intentional and Conscience Consumerism
In a world where consumerism is out of control and so many give in to the latest fashion trends, advocation of individualistic style is fading away. Young teens and adults buy into these trends with no concept of whether or not the items honours their personal beauty. When used correctly, Colour Analysis fights consumerism by making shopping more intentional and personalized. No more impulse shopping, it’s time to make informed decisions!
Purchasing clothes is much easier when you can weed out the colours that don’t go with your skin. Not to mention, Colour Analysis is great knowledge to have when decluttering your own wardrobe, or building a capsule wardrobe that allows you to mix and match different items. For example, when you focus on purchasing or keeping clothes that are specifically warm/cool colours, it becomes easier to build a capsule wardrobe since the colours just make sense together.
Not everyone feels they can justify the cost of a professional Colour Analyst as some charge much higher for their services than others, but booking a reasonably priced service is an easily justified one-time cost when you receive the results that open doors to unlimited fashion and beauty advice from the internet that help elevate your style.
3. Personalize Your Brand the Right Way
Brand isn’t just a concept related to owning a company. We all have a personal brand that is expressed through our energy and outward projected style. It affects the way we are perceived by others and our first impressions. The colours we choose the wear on our bodies to express ourselves, or use as signature business brand colours can evoke different emotions and feelings in others and ourselves. Specifically in regards to a business, when you choose signature colours from your own personal colour palette to represent your brand, it can be a tool used to give a more authentic and genuine appeal to your audience. No colours are completely off limits for any Colour Analysis subseason, but there are shades in each colour that work and don’t work depending on the season.
Let me give you some examples of celebrities that may have studied their season and used it to their business and personal brands advantage.
-Hailey Bieber and her makeup/skincare brand Rhode is the first one that comes to mind. Though not confirmed, Hailey is widely thought to fit into the autumn season of Colour Analysis, leaning more toward true or soft autumn. The colours chosen to represent Rhode are soft and leaning warm, perfectly aligning with the autumn season. Think soft neutral grey, creamy beige, muted pinks and brown. When we see Hailey surrounded by these colours, she looks cohesive and well-integrated.
-Audrey Hepburn is widely recognized as a winter. Her most iconic outfits include her little black dress from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), as well as her red dress featured in the musical Funny Face (1957). Even outside of iconic film roles, she was often styled in bright and cool toned colours which seemed to really work with the high contrast of her features, and made her the style icon we still admire today.
-Elle fanning is easily recognizable as a light season, with most agreeing that she leans more toward light spring than light summer. Pastels and off whites are a staple in most of her styled outfits. Her portrayal of Aurora in the film Maleficent (2014) felt very natural for Elle because her hair, makeup and outfits were light in colour, which was a representation of Auroras young and innocent nature. Elle Fanning was arguably the best casting for this live action adaptation of the classic Disney film Sleeping Beauty (1959).
Whether you’re dressing up for a social event, job interview or date night, consider what colours you choose to wear and how they reflect your individual beauty. Without even realizing, you may be dressing or doing your makeup in colours that fight against you, giving the opposite effect of what all the effort was meant to do. Your beauty deserves to be celebrated and accentuated, and there is no better way than to compliment it with the right colours. Beauty becomes easy and natural when we customize our routines and outfits to our own unique look, so let this be your sign to book an appointment with a professional Colour Analyst and discover how you shine!
Pursuit of Essence 