So, should I be panic-buying loads of coral coloured stuff or what?

[TattyDevine]

Right so I got my colours done on the weekend (!) and I'm a bright/clear spring and to cut a long story short one of my really good colours is that pinky orange/coral that is about a lot at the moment, or flamingo pink, or a peachy pink. Coral, basically, is what it tends to be called.

Since then I've seen shedloads of coral coloured stuff about, much of it in the sale or about to be. Its possibly passed me by before now but I suspect it has been one of the season's "fashionable" colours - or is it always about of a summertime?

Anyways. I've never been attracted to it on the hanger particularly but it does make me look 10 years younger and light up my face and make my eyes pop out in a good way and generally make me look like there's life in the old girl yet. Obviously there are lots of other colours that also looked good but none of them quite made the lady draping me and her other victim client's jaws drop to the floor quite so much

So is it a temporary thing, will this colour dissapear for approximately a decade till it comes back in again, or is it always about a bit in the summertime? If not, I guess I should buy a few key pieces in the size I ought to be my size?

Have you tried Mac Crosswires lipstick? Its what I'm wearing in my updated pictures that I added today. And the blush is Mac Ladyblush I think

I can't quite get on with the House of Colour lipsticks though I liked them during the draping. Just not sure now. I think it is the texture. I do love their nail varnish though!

I'd go to Mac and have a play I think...

I'm not personally getting rid of black dresses.

However, I suspect as years go on, dresses in red might end up being favoured...

I shall get to mac then - there is one just by me so will check them out thanks tatty. I have got a new lipgloss from them which is quite coral anyway but great to have the names to start from ...

I am not getting rid of things where I have no alternative at the moment but I am clearing out eg tops and getting rid of lots of sludgy greys where I still have other better options. I have hardly any black although lots of navy that happily I can keep. I just need to work on brightening up the sea of blue that's left! Think kettle well will be a good place to start :-)

Aw Rubes!

Soft summer eh, same as Kate Middleton!

I would buy a few things, but be aware that colour fashions do change. When I had my colours done I discovered that acqua really suited me and I love it as a colour so bought loads of things, only to find the following year that it seemed to have become Per Una's shade of the year so loads of older "cruise" type ladies going around in my colour.

I'm a clear/warm apparently, although my hair was darker when it was done. Luckily I am ok to wear black which is good news.

I'm a Blue Spring and have been doing this for about 18 months. I have built up a collection of clothes that cover most of my 100% colours now. I snapped up simple t shirts and tops from kettlewell in colours that are hard to find on the High Street - Hyacinth, violet etc - I find the shops only have Black, drab Grey, White and possibly Poppy if you are lucky. I bought some beads/jewellery in the colours that I want to 'splash' with and also coloured bags and shoes as this is a good way of wearing the bright stuff without looking like a set of traffic lights. I then started to fill in the gaps - I have a Kerry Green dress from Hobbs, a Poppy dress from Phase Eight in a very different style and another in blue from L K Bennett. I have tried to get a spread of colours/styles instead of 20 coral tops . I have bolero style cardigans from Monsoon in any colours in my book as these work well for my archetype, and other cardigans in different colours from (whispers) Boden. In a nutshell I'm just trying to get as much variety in style and colour as possible as I find it all mixes together better that way. Sounds smug, but I can make loads of combinations out of the things I have.
Make up wise I don't do a lot with my eyes as they look after themselves (people ask if I'm wearing coloured contacts - other Springs will know what I mean!), but I find a bright lipstick does balance things up. I wear 347 and 611 from HOC. If I do my eyes it all starts to look a bit heavy, but I think that is to do with my archetype rather than the colour of my eyes (I'm Gamine so I can't 'do' grown up stuff, which is pretty good with all the bright colours).
But in response to the terracotta thing just remember that if the colour is right, people will see YOU, not the colour.

dorothy Has it 'changed your life'? Do you get tons of compliments compared to before you started on this journey? do you feel like you're the best you can be?

Oh Oh Oh, i forgot to report that i bought a terracotta coloured necklace earlier and it really lights me up

i could be swayed over to the summer camp if terracotta is outlawed there, ruby

Wow, you all are much better at being Springs than I am. In two whole months I have managed to buy a Kerry green top, brown knee boots, a brown polo neck I'm not sure I'm keeping, a predominantly green challis scarf and a bright coral pink hoodie for lounging around the house. It takes me a long time to shop -- my friends refuse to shop with me as they claim it's too frustrating.

I like the idea of a Spring support thread. (Go us!) I am a Warm Spring. Not sure what that translates to in HoC. It's not easy being spring . . . in a world where the hip clothes don't really come in our colours.

Tatty, Christine at 12 Blueprints has put up a post about True Springs (aka Warm Springs) here -- lots of makeup suggestions. She is apparently going to do another on "looks" etc. very soon.

Cake, I know just what you mean about googling Spring everything and going totally bezonkers.

Let us gather and exchange makeup ideas . . . MAC "Industry" eyeliner is my first suggestion.

Hi all, I had my colours done eons ago and am a bright summer. Coral is also one of my colours, as is french navy. I was told to avoid black next to my face so I tend to try to wear brigher/warmer things near to my face if I wear black. Scarf or jewellery. A nice chunky coral necklace is a good buy.

Brighthair did anyone reply to you? have you done the online quiz, may help?

Thought I'd link the Colour quiz again. I'm going to do it myself see if I've changed seen as I've aged Or do we stay the same? I think we do change as older ladies suit pastels. I'm 43 though

brighthair Sorry to be a broken record but I really think you need to be draped to really know your season, especially if your colouring has 'off-notes', eg i have black eyebrows which is a bit weird against the rest of my warm colouring and not typical for a Spring. tatty would have never got that she was a Spring from having done a quiz as her dark hair and eyes aren;t typical either.

it is expensive but if it stops you making shopping mistakes then it should pay out down the line

mitten i'm seeing my consultant on sat to have my style done and will quiz her on what my 'paintbox spring' translates to in other systems as it's bloody frustrating googling otherwise! i think i'm a bright spring in the 12blue prints thing but not sure.

can i make a new rule for the thread pretty please? if you mention a product, you have to link to it!

Mac Industry eyeliner: what colour exactly is it mitten? i can;t really see from the pic.

Great thread; thanks all

I would reiterate actually being draped; and more, getting someone good. I was 'done' a few years ago and she got it completely wrong. I was quite pleased at the time, as with my blue eyes and pink cheeks, I really wanted to be a winter, and I was. So I started buying loads of winter colours but I couldn't work out why I didn't feel any better.

Last week I went on a shopping trip with a HoC person/image consultant. She took one look at me in my winter colours and said I was all wrong. We started again - and to my dismay, I discovered I was a 'blue autumn'. My blue eyes and pale skin had obviously distracted the first person.

I was initially horrified as I never ever wear brown and rarely wore warm colours even pre 'colours'. But it's been a complete revelation. I have had SO many compliments since I started wearing autumn colours, I have three fab lipsticks, which I really love. My husband spontaneously told me how pretty and young I looked since I started wearing different colours. I am completely obsessed with a peach lipstick (HoC 410) which I would never have looked at before.

My skin looks so much better - brighter, warmer, really glow-y. I'm really so pleased.

Sorry to crash the spring thread - but there's a bit of overlap with autumn so I'm getting some tips too.

Hi katemiddletonseyebrows (I imagine you are terribly well groomed ) I have a bit of the fear as to what if my consultant got me wrong? I have no real reason to think she did I guess it just seems a big old investment off one persons opinion. And whilst I was being draped I didn't really see it for a bit and even toward the end I struggled.

But then my consultant was really stuck between spring and autumn for me for ages. I am a bit tanned at the moment but not sure that was the reason. And in online quizzes I thought I was either spring or summer so I def agree that getting draped is the best way. Think I will do as tatty suggested and start with make up and a scarf and a couple of tops to go with my dark navy jeans and see how I get on.

CakeandRoses - Yes I do get compliments, often from complete strangers. People say 'You always look nice, I wish I could' ;standing before me in black leggings and tunic. I do also get comments (as opposed to compliments) about the brightness of my clothes, but I do tend to go all out with it as it suits my personality and my archetype. As for being the best I can be...well, there is always room for improvement! I'm in my 50s (look younger) and felt I was getting very beige and invisible before I had my colours done. Now I don't bother too much about fashion but have transferred to looking for my style. What is right for me will look best, not what Vogue says is 'hot'. I just pick what I can from the trends.
Having my style consultation helped a lot as now not only are the colours right but also the proportions of my clothes are right for my body shape and they all interchange much better. My clothes are also right for my personality. I find I wear more of my clothes and enjoy them more.
I wear coloured jeans, nude tights, bright shoes and bags. To be honest I don't use my neutrals much. I use Poppy a lot as it's often easy to get jackets/skirts for work in red. I'm old enough to be happy with Kettlewell and I use a lot of belts and jewellery to bring it more on trend/me.
The down side is that I do spend a lot of time trawling the internet and the shops to find the best things.
I use brown mascara, top lashes only for daytime, but would use blue too. I don't do much eyeliner but my consultant suggested a sort of teal green shade. I also use a bronze one as well. I don't do 'smoky eyes' as they are too grown up & sexy for Gamines. I use pale colours all over the lid with just a hint of something darker in the crease.
I love this thread - if the Wise and Avid ladies can do it, so can we. Come on You Springs!
BTW husband has also been 'done' and he's a Jewel Winter so I know all about that too!

Hi ladies!

Eyeliner and mascara

I am using Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner in Chocolate Shimmer almost exclusively these days - I have found little to compare. I have brown eyes though. Its a brown eyeliner with a bit of a warm metallic glow about it but it isn't as scary as it sounds. And I use any old brown mascara, at the moment its something called Falsifeye but before something called Wild Curls, I don't pay much attention to mascara really except that it must be brown, because if I'm going somewhere nice or proper other than just a bog standard normal day with kids and "mummy friends" then I tend to wear Mac 33's

But I am brown eyed, with jewel like bright brown eyes (apparently!) so these things all make a lot more sense if you consider that.

<a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=mac+33%27s&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&tbm=isch&tbnid=QG5tbYyyHzi_iM:&imgrefurl=www.lollipop26writes.com/2009_12_01_archive.html&docid=5QeX_liJm46w_M&w=320&h=215&ei=vvdATrOtKcKx8QPRs4CrCQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=158&tbnw=225&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0&tx=191&ty=107&biw=1093&bih=491" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Epic link fail on the Mac 33's try this instead

I had my colours done (Colour Me Beautiful) ages ago and was a Spring moving into Summer. Can't recall all of it but just that gold or silver jewellery was OK, and to stick to sweet pea type colours and sea blues and greens. From the earlier posts it seems things have moved on a bit with the system! How would my old 'diagnosis' be interpreted today I wonder, or should I go for another session?

Go for another session Clippity!