Is there another way to know your colours?

[myotherusernameiswittyandgreat]

I can't afford a consultation yet but I want to stop wasting money on clothes that probably don't suit me.

I'm 5ft4, size 16 so quite big. I'm pale skinned with dark hair.
I have no idea what I should be wearing. Has anyone managed to teach themselves without paying HOC?

Good Q that I want the answer to also! I'm not freaky looking, there are plenty of people with the same colouring, eyes, hair, etc, as me so why the need of a personal consultation?

I just picked a colour palette and ran with it and if all the compliments are to be believed, I picked right. I've long thought I was a winter of some kind so I wear winter colours. I like them so i feel good in them and other people have told me they look good so I'm sticking with it. If it helps, I have very pale, cool toned skin, green and blue eyes with very white whites IYSWIM, dark eyebrows and lashes and my natural hair colour is a mid toned brown with auburn in it, though it is dyed a cool toned red right now

I can give an educated guess.

What is your natural hair colour, eye colour and level of contrast.

What colours do you think best suit and what ones do you think look hideous?

Ooo, milmingeba would you mind having a go at me too!!
I don't have the money spare but would love to have my 'colours' done.

I have dark brown hair with pale blue eyes and fair, freckly skin that burns in the sun, 5ft 3 and size 10 (don't know if this is relevant?). Rosy cheeks.

I think I suit deep blues and greens but look a bit washed out in pastels. I wear a lot of black and grey at work but don't really know if they suit me.

Hope you don't mind me asking, or jumping on your thread myother...It seems a few of us are in the same boat.

May I be cheeky Milmingebag & myother & ask too?

I think I'm a CMB clear/cool winter - haven't looked at HOC at all

Greying very dark brown hair
Green eyes
Olive skin (sallow in winter) that tans well

Suit bright/dark colours - particularly like turquoise
Awful in yellow/brown/orange - particularly vomit-looking in mustard

I would do as One has done and pick a palette that appeals to you. Your wardrobe will look more together and will work as a capsule wardrobe etc really well, so it will still be a vast improvement.

Honestly, you've as much chance of getting it right. Most of us can eliminate one or maybe two palettes, but TBH it's just not possible to know without a consultation. Obi I am a consultant and have a vested interest, but I certainly know that literally every single person I've had through the door who has 'worked out' their season before coming has been wrong apart from my bloody mother who has to get everything right

The enchanted forest - sounds like you have a clear colouring with high contrast that would suit either bright/clear Spring or bright/clear winter (depending on how warm or cool you lean). My money is on clear/bright spring from the freckles/rosy cheeks info. Google pinterest palettes and see if that's about right.

Witch way- you sound like a deep winter. See if that seems about right.

I found this website quite helpful:

into-mind.com/2013/09/24/colour-analysis-part-i-finding-your-type/

into-mind.com/2013/09/28/colour-analysis-part-ii-your-colours/

into-mind.com/2013/10/06/colour-analysis-part-iii-how-to-use-your-colours/

In case it's not clear from my post, I should probably say am a consultant, so you may wish to disregard everything I say as sales speak .

Witchway: if you're a CMB deep / cool / clear (same as me :)) then you should be a HOC winter.
Are you asking which colours suit you?

I went through a phase of wearing a lot of different nail varnish colours and it was obvious that some were terrible against my skin. You can see your hands all the time and in different lighting so it helps to see how colours suit you. I look awful in blue-green, lilac, teal, cool pink, and silver. When I thought about it this it was true for clothes and makeup, too.

I had my colours done at CMB and the consultant said I was probably a warm autumn, but she was torn between that and a deep autumn.

I really don't get on with the brighter colours she suggested so am starting to doubt her!

You can work this out for yourself. You can drape yourself and trust your own judgement. It's just a process of elimination after all. You are just paying for the personal opinion of the colour consultant who follows the formula.

tugamommy - I know some of what suits me (I think!) like turquoise, bright blue, bright/dark red, some greens - particularly like sludgy green but not sure if that's a no-no.

I suited browns before I started greying - still have some lovely brown-based tunics but feel they probably don't do much for me.

Off to look at Pinterest...

I find it really difficult to tell whether a colour doesn't suit me - I can tell if it looks great, it's the not-so-flattering ones I seem to struggle with!

Socially -really good point about the nail varnish. In those muted pinky minks I look as if I have corpse hands!

I've no idea if this works

Various brands or MAC lipsticks.

Witch way if you are more of a neutral you probably look great in all sorts of colours. If you don't think it looks awful then it probably looks good.

You know several that definitely don't work. You could probably get away with the brown ones you like if you wear a rich berry lipstick.

Hello OP

I bought a cheap book called colour me beautiful from a charity shop for about £1 they are also on amazon.
It wasn't as good as the many £ people spend on consultations but you can easily find out your season, colours and what make up shades to wear.
It changed my life completely and didn't need anything else.
The only negative was the style of clothes they suggested as these are well out of date, but you can find out about clothes freely on the high street.
Good luck and see if you can find the book, well worth a £1 of anybody's money. The shop was British heart foundation, they had lots of them.

Milminge - no I suspect I look awful but can't tell!

The is everyone. I'm going to have a look at the links that Curtains posted and I'll look for the book that Morethan.
The problem I have is I don't really know what suits me and I want to look a little more 'together'. I'm rubbish at this kind of thing :-)

witch

I had my colours revamped today (not HOC)

I was an autumn and looked good in brown but as I am going grey she has suggested I look at bright winter and spring.

Your colouring and colour choices sound like mine so you probably are some sort of winter as has been suggested

I worked mine out too from a 'color me beautiful' book from the library. The fashions are a bit 80s but the colours are the same, however ancient the book. I am a spring

I noticed I suited certain colours, read a few magazine articles (pre-Internet) and have more recently looked at a few websites.

Then taken it all with a pinch of salt and stuck with colours I know suit me.

Thanks Rufus