this having one's colours done/seasons business...

[CharlotteBr0nteSaurus]

if you really don't have the money to get a professional consultation, is there any mileage whatsoever in attempting self-diagnosis? and if so how does one go about it?

my new hairdresser today told me the reason my bad highlights (reason for sacking of old hairdresser) look bad is because they don't suit my "cool skin tone". so if you take into account skin tone/hair colour/eye colour is there any rough guide for knowing what season this points to? or least what colours would definitely be wrong?

Do you look better in gold or silver jewellery? If silver is much better, your skintone is probably cool. Is your hair naturally dark? If so, if you have a cool skintone, it's probably best to stick to dark hair.

Disclaimer: I'm sure that's not true for everyone, but it is for me and might be for you - I looked terrible with highlights.

And you can get cool-toned highlights, but on my dark hair it ended up looking a bit like I was going grey!

i do think New Hairdresser is right that my skin is cool (hence the golden highlights looking all wrong, despite being not much lighter than my natural dark blonde ). I wondered where that leaves me in terms of what colour clothes would suit me best?

I am going to see if I look better without the highlights at all though - I am growing out this bad dye job and will have a proper reappraisal when it's gone.

Have a read of this and this. Maybe you'll find it's obvious, maybe not. I'm not 100% convinced that everyone needs to be "professionally" done (I mean, they would say that, wouldn't they?) but I do think some people are probably easier to categorize than others.

Hard to say on the hairdresser. I've had hairdressers and beauty therapists say all kinds of shit that I know to be untrue through my extensive turgid internet research on curly hair and rosacea. I think they just do it reflexively to reassure you you're in good hands, and I just nod along with it.

thanks, those links look interesting
i will have a proper look when dd1 and i have finished this craft project thingy...