I have always thought that during each season of the year, you wear that seasons colors. So light colors in the Spring like blush or baby blue, in the Summer Bright colors with some white mixed in, in Fall oranges, army greens, and mustard yellows, and then in Winter dark colors like navy blue and black. I was wrong about multiple things. First, which colors fell into the season categories, and when and what colors I should be wearing.
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of getting my colors done. Now for those of you who don’t know our skin tone, eye color, and natural hair color can all play a role in which season of colors we look best in. This is a process that was originally from the UK and has been around for a long time. It has been clearly analyzed and really does make a lot of sense.
Here is a picture of my color consultant Karen Blanc telling my dad (he got his colors done too!) and I about the history and process of knowing your colors.
Knowing your colors can help you to stand out more. It can help you to be more influential, professional, and can make things look more expensive on you. Here is the list of what the right colors and what the wrong colors can do for you.
The consultant will put many color swatch bibs around your neck and use that list from above to tell first if you look better in yellow tones (Autumn or Spring) or in blue tones (Winter or Summer). I was blue tones (Texas orange was nixed right away, Thank goodness!!) So from there Karen layered the matching tones around my neck alternating Winter and Summer to see which category I fell more into.
There are a few things they look for when deciding between the wrong colors and right colors for you. The wrong colors will make you seem out of focus, sallow, pale , gray, tired, sick, washed out, drained, low mood, older. It also makes your blemishes show more, your skin tone look uneven, and make you look blotchy. The right colors make you look lifted, you have more of a pink tone to your skin, you look healthy , energetic, illuminated, fresh, bright eyed, rested, and happy. Your blemishes don’t show as much, you appear younger, and are more in focus.
From there you can see that I look better in the darker, brighter tones. The WINTER colors. Once you know your category of color you go through their makeup process and try and use makeup that is your exact tone, and then lip stick and mascara that are all the right color. Winter’s are the only color category that can wear true black, and thus black mascara. Karen also tests different lipstick shades on you within your color category to find your best red, pink, and burgundy.
After finding the perfect shade of everything. You then go through each of the colors in your color category and find the ones that look the absolute best on you or the ones that you make look the absolute best. These are your WOW colors. The ones that make you stand out. For guys these are considered to be their POWER colors. The ones that make them more influential. Both show that these are your colors that command the most attention.
These colors around me are my WOW colors!
Here is my before and after. It is also not as bad as it can look in the before since one of my WOW Colors is white. Now there are also categories within each seasonal category. I ended up being a Burnished Winter.
My Dad ended up being a Winter as well, but with his eye color being blue it pulled more of the Jewel tone Winter colors.
Now this post is really just about getting my colors done. I really want to share with you in the future how this impacts what I wear, how I sorted my closet, and how it has changed how I shop in the future.
After Karen or whoever your analyst might end up being has decided on your WOW colors they give you a wallet filled with all the colors in your season, and punch the colors that are your WOW colors.
I was skeptical about the whole thing going in. My step-mom had gotten her’s done a while back and had always talked about it. But, I have to say I am now a believer. I can’t wait to see how it impacts me in the long run.
Color consultant also do style consulting to see what categories your style falls into so that you don’t buy clothes that aren’t you. I now love knowing my colors so much, that I really can’t wait to do a style consult too!
If you want to learn more about knowing your colors you can go to knowyourwowcolors.com.
My consultant was Karen Blanc: karensueblanc@aol.com or karen.blanc@houseofcolour.com
My stepmom now does House of Colour and you can contact her on Facebook at
Authentically Alecia Ann 
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