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Style and beauty

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Original poster

getting my colours done

25 replies

efeslight · 09/09/2014 21:05

Am 40 and definitely feeling boring, need to lose some weight, which I am determined to do, but what then?
Would love to enjoy shopping again, so need some help - on colours and style I think. Am quite happy to pay for this, but what are the options?
I have seen House of Colour and Colour me beautiful mentioned on here, but is it worth it?
What option do I choose? Style or colour advice sounds fine, but full makeover sounds a bit scary, please help!
What actually happens? Do you meet in a shop, do they visit?
Am grateful for any advice, thanks

OP posts:

heartshapedflux · 09/09/2014 21:16

I got my colours done with House of Colours after a friend raved about it.

i had it done at the representatives house, one on one, which personally was a bit awkward for me as I didn't feel we really gelled.

I was told I was a "winter" which meant that I best suited the jewel colours such as emerald, ruby, magenta,sapphire etc.

This was what I was most of my wardrobe consisted of anyway, which confirmed that I had an eye for what suited me, but also made me feel that the £90 I'd spent wasn't really worth it.

Original poster

efeslight · 09/09/2014 21:22

thanks, just been looking at their website and it looks very corporate/professional, which at the moment is not what I'm looking for. Have 2 young kids and am at home.
So you had an good eye for your own colour anyway... I think pastels don't suit me, but I'm not really sure...

OP posts:

trainersandaches · 09/09/2014 21:28

I had my colours done and it was really good! Not at all corporate, I wanted to know what I suited colour wise.

I do get lots of compliments on some of the more unusual colours I wear now which never happened before!

heartshapedflux · 09/09/2014 21:31

You're right OP, they did have a corporate feel to them, which is not me at all, as I work from home in a creative field.

The representative I met with was wearing stilettos and a fitted business suit and while the colours she was wearing did suit her, she came across as a bit prissy unfortunately.

If pastels don't suit you, you're most definitely not Spring, because pastels make up much of the Spring palete.

Original poster

efeslight · 09/09/2014 21:46

OK, will keep on looking around, found an app that didn't get particularly good reviews on Colour me beautiful...
Will continue to avoid pastels and cake!

OP posts:

QueenCardigan · 09/09/2014 21:49

I didn't find it at all corporate and I'm a sahm. I found it really useful as I didn't really know exactly what colours suited me.

Scarletohello · 09/09/2014 21:52

I had mine done 12 years ago. I hated it at the time as I was sure she was going to tell me I was an Autumn ( which she did) and I wore mainly black at the time. However over time I changed my wardrobe, binned the black and now have a wardrobe of beautiful colours that really suit me and match each other. I'm so glad I did it now and I love colours. In fact I got a compliment just today from a guy working in a shop about my outfit. I think when you are young you can wear what you want but as you get older you need to wear clothes that suit your skin time. Is more flattering and makes you look younger IMO!

minkah · 09/09/2014 21:56

Can't we figure it out here, at MN? I don't want to spend £90 to find out.

I look good in white but meh in cream. Great in black but really rubbish in navy.
French blue, sage, lime, terracotta suit me. Brown hair, brown eyes.
I couldn't wear pastel blue.

What does it sound like I am?

IlonaRN · 09/09/2014 21:57

I had my colours done with HoC. I visited the lady's house, and it was not at all corporate. I was in a small group (a friend and my bf's mum came also).

It was a really nice day, and the good thing about being in a group was that, even if I couldn't "see" my colours on the day, I could see just how much of a difference it made to the others - and they could see the same difference on me (so I believed it a bit more!).

I can "see" the colours now - it just took me a bit of time to believe that I suited much brighter colours than I thought!

I enjoyed the experience, but one of the good side-effects has been just how much easier it is to shop now - I can rule out so many more things immediately just based on colour. It has also been very good to show my bf that a colour is good for me or not - some colours he said were "boring" are actually some of my best colours, so that's probably why I liked them!

PS I thought I was a Summer, and that I suited the softer summer colours. It turns out that I am a Summer, but that I suit the brighter, cooler summer colours most. I have bought some much more "daring" colours than I would have worn before, and got lots of compliments wearing them :)

LadyWithLapdog · 09/09/2014 21:58

I thought it was money well spent. I wore too many colours that didn't really suit me.

Original poster

efeslight · 09/09/2014 22:03

minkah you sound like you've got a pretty good idea of what suits you, this is what I want - I honestly don't know if I look good in white or cream or if I look terrible in both. And I'm 40! Sounds like I'm the ideal candidate.

As pp said, I no longer have my youth to dazzle people with, and have very pale skin tone that seems to show every blemish/hair/pore.

OP posts:

minkah · 09/09/2014 22:10

Efeslight...I just know these few things, from trying stuff on!

The amount of times I've seen a beautiful scarf, tried it on, turned to the mirror..and grimaced!

And then those times when I've picked something up, tried it on and gone 'oh!' And seen it flattered me.

MagicSeeker · 09/09/2014 22:10

I recently had my colours done with HoC and loved it. I could see the difference in 'my' colours compared to other seasons. I've been to CMB too in the past actually. The advantage of HoC for me is the colour ratings they give so that within your seasonal palette you see which colours do you the most favours. I found them much, much more thorough.

I've been trying to work out my style personality myself through lots of internet searching and a great Kindle book called Confident Beauty by Catrina Welch. I ignored the religious bit (!) as this wasn't for me but found the measuring and questionnaires to be very helpful.

I now know I'm a leafy Autumn with a romantic clothing personality and have a good idea about what styles and shapes I should be wearing... The only problem now is finding the right clothes in the right colours, shapes and styles. Not so easy!!!

But I'm feeling SO much more confident about what to look for and I finally understand why I'll never pull off the yoga beach babe (natural) or hard rock chick (dramatic) looks I've admired on others and why I just don't look right in a suit. These looks just don't suit my body shape or personality. And that's ok. Liberating!

Would quite like to do the style day with HoC anyway, just to be sure!

heartshapedflux · 09/09/2014 22:12

Minkah You sound like a Summer to me. You say you suit white but not cream, which to me rules out Spring and Autumn, because they represent the warmer tones. Then the Lime and French Blue rule out Winter because Winter is a rich palatte as opposed to Summer which is Bright.

LaCerbiatta · 09/09/2014 22:16

Minkah: often what we think suit us doesn't always. That was the case with me anyway.

If you suit white instead of cream then you may have cool undertones and probably don't suit terracotta. And if you suit black then you'll probably suit navy as well. Those may be just your preferences :)

Scarletohello · 09/09/2014 22:21

What I also found useful was being given a swatch of the colours that I could take into the shops and compare it to the colours of the clothes so that I could get the shade right. I now wear colours that I would have turned up my nose at before but actually they really suit me. Coral and olive green for example.

minkah · 09/09/2014 22:25

Thanks heartshaped! I can look up summer colours and see what I find!

Tugamommy, I get your reasoning, I do. I have outspoken friends and family, so I know for certain I look rubbish in navy and as for terracotta..it works for me as a scarf, with other colours around it, and with a rust lipstick...it wouldn't work as a block colour.

ocelot41 · 10/09/2014 06:47

I had a Color me Beautiful one donevwhich was great - I came out as a Soft Autumn. But I have wondered whether HoC is more precise as I keep hearing people talking about being leafy autumns or blue autumns and wondering what the heck they are talking about!

One way of working through styles which doesn't involve a style day is to play with Pinterest and see what you are drawn to.

ThePerfectNegroni · 10/09/2014 07:13

I had it done a year ago and it had more than paid for itself. My consultant was early thirties, and the other girl in my group was the same age as me (early thirties) and had just returned to work from maternity leave too. I am much more considered in my purchases now, and think things through much more. I know now why things weren't being worn in my wardrobe.

LiveInABox · 10/09/2014 07:51

Never heard of 'having your colours done' until I came on MN, but it sounds like a no-brainer! However I cannot justify spending £££ on it, is there a website where I can see what colours fall into which 'groups'?
I am dark haired, brown eyes and slightly olive complexion. I definitely suit electric blue, bright green, pillar-box red and mustard yellow (these are things I wear and get complimented on). Pastels are a no-no. Sorry to hijack!!

Hopefully · 10/09/2014 08:10

live you can search Pinterest for different palettes to get an idea of which colours fall into which palette.

Hopefully · 10/09/2014 08:13

And re the corporate-ness, I am a consultant, in my early thirties and have done everything from a group of SAHMs to helping a big employer near here re-brand their sales team, so it varies enormously. I'm a firm believer that (wanky as it sounds) knowing your best colours is a tool to do with what you want, whether it's looking more authoritative in a corporate setting or feeling more confident on the school run. Wankspeak over

SludgeBrown · 10/09/2014 09:07

Hi efeslight I trained with Colour Me Beautiful a few years ago. They no longer work on seasons as sometimes they were restrictive. If you can afford to treat yourself, I'd go now before you embark on a diet. I had a lady who came to me in sheer desperation as a size 20. Her doctor said she had to change her lifestyle. She came shall we say 'unwillingly'. As I showed her, her colours I could see the change in her and by the end of the session she was sparkling. It almost made me cry (I'm a softy). Anyway, it gave her the motivation to lose weight and she came back to do style, personal shopping etc. She looked stunning and at our our last appointment was a healthy size 14. If you go to my blog, the first few posts talk about colour. That might help. CMB also do a few books which are great as they print your colour swatches. If you decide to do a consultation, I'd ring a few consultants up first. You can get a good feel of them just by talking. CMB has a 'find a consultant' page to their website with photos, just type in your location. I'm sure HofC will have similar. Good luck in your quest for a new you. P.s. I have no affiliation with CMB, it's the only one I know!

Stokey · 10/09/2014 09:20

EfesLight I had mine done this summer aged 40 with DM (aged 65) and we both found it very helpful. We went to HoC and didn't find it at all corporate, it's just in someone's house.

LiveinaBox you sound like a winter to me, I have similar colouring, but mustard yellow would be a no as it is too close to the olive tones in your skin. The only yellow that is on the swatch is a very pale lemon. Blue-toned reds are better than yellow-toned reds. Here is the House of Colours wheel which may be helpful.

peaz · 07/10/2014 10:08

Can I give this a bump? I've got Indian skin, perhaps slightly yellowish? Maybe- not sure. I'm not olive (I wouldn't pass for Spanish, Middle eastern, though sometimes I get mistaken for being from South America, which is where my parents are from!)
Dark brown hair, dark brown eyes.
I have no idea what suits me and what doesn't! I'd love a definitive list, if only to get rid of the stuff in my wardrobe(s)!

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