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?

mil I get the feeling now that you're just enjoying ruffling those feathers. There is lots of advice on here which could be seen as advertising. Hands up how many of us now own babyliss big hair or seche vite etc. Having colours done has worked for many so why shouldn't we share that?

And no, not everyone can work out their colours by being aware of colour formulas and reading lots. I did lots of reading around colours and style and because of my fair hair and low-ish contrast I thought I was a summer. But by being draped I saw that the brighter colours of winter looked better on me. I would never have ventured to wear some of those colours before and it's opened up a whole new world for me.

I can paint my own nails, wax my own eyebrows and even do my own cleaning. But sometimes it's just nice to pay for someone else to do it.

And please don't tar all colour consultants with the same brush. Admittedly some do look very scary but the one I saw certainly knew how to dress herself.

Delurking here to say I'm loving your work, Milminge. I find colour analysis fascinating, and I think if you can find the palette that works for you it's great. But the thing I don't like- exactly as you've said- is the dogmatic approach. It's all subjective, and it's irritating the way consultants claim to be in possession of some kind of secret power that allows them to know you better than you know yourself.
And yes, FWIW, I have been draped, and I didn't agree with what the consultant said. Or think that she was better dressed than me, so I chose to ignore her and stick with my own diagnosis that I picked online.

please can i join in?

I have brown hair with a hint of red - used to be quite a redhead but its got darker as I've got older. I have pale skin which burns, but quite a lot of freckles which mean i don't really look pale from a distance (unless I am in a bikini, when I could possibly blind someone). I have medium brown eyes.

I probably look best in olive greens, burgundy.

I look hideous in white or most pastels, esp pale blue

I wear black more than I probably should.

I've got to be some kind of autumn, right? But which kind?

Thank you Milmingebag :)

Mil you're not anti colour analysis itself though, are you? You've been doing it on this thread.

I haven't had my colours done by any company so I can't say what it would be like for sure, but why does it have to be dogmatic? Surely it is up to the customer what they take from it and how they apply it. I also dispute this idea that the consultants say they have a secret power to judge colour, from what I've read it is the opposite. I have read articles where several different consultants have all said that they don't tell people things, they let them see things and often the client and the others present are clear on their response without being told at all.

Perhaps very biddable people shouldn't go if they will feel they have to apply rules and yet don't want to have rules. On the other hand, I've never been 'told' so I think I could take what ideas and advice I get and apply it as I see fit.

I think I could be "pro" some kind of diagnosis but also feel that in some cases the people doing it were a bit crap at doing it. I don't think that's entirely incompatible.

mil- you may possibly have identified the colours that work for you. Perhaps this is because you are interested in colour/ have chosen to spend lots of time researching this/ fall easily into a standard category. It is simply incorrect to assume that others can do the same. Plenty of people have written on these recent threads saying that the were unable to 'diagnose' themselves. You seem to be choosing to ignore these people and are being dogmatic in your own opinions.
The reason that HOC, etc is recommended on here so frequently is obviously because a lot of people have found it very helpful. There a couple of colour consultants but lots of happy customers. I don't see any dogma but a lot of people who have paid for a service and been happy with the results.

Agree whostime, I'd not heard of HOC till I saw it mentioned on here. What I saw here was lots of actual real life reviews, and I don't think people here are that easily taken in or are reluctant to say they didn't like something. A minority haven't been as pleased, but I think you have to go into things like this knowing you can't guarantee loving the results. The feedback is positive though.

Forget about HOC and CMB. Have a look through this: miles more interesting.

www.12blueprints.com

Her book is excellent and you can find all the palettes on Pinterest. There is recently trained English Sci/Art analyst setting up here but I can't remember her name. Will post link when I do. I started here, had an online analysis, then a face 2 face one with someone who came over from the States who turned out to be a bit slapdash (quite a lot of unhappiness in the colour FB community about her analyses). Have had a personal colour fan done by this lady who came over from San Franscisco for the first time this summer, which blew me away. Absolutely beautiful, completely unique and absolutely affordable in comparison to many others who offer a personalised colour palette beautyvalued.com And she's a really lovely woman to boot.

Hi there, would you mind assessing me mil? Would really appreciate as I haven't a clue lol..... Dark brown hair , eyes are blue ring around the iris with blue-green in the middle and some gold around the pupil. My skin is say is pale, I always use the lightest foundation. My veins are greeny blue and the whites of my eyes are quite dull. Any ideas ? Xxx

Could you do me too pretty please

Mid-brown to dark-brown hair with a touch of red sometimes in bright sunlight. Eyes are green, skin v pale, I don't wear foundation so can't advise re that, but the veins in my wrist are bluey purple.

I think I look ok in black, like wearing turquoise, buy a lot of navy. Wouldn't dare wear yellow!!

Any idea for me?

There are tons of sites on the web that help you decide stuff like this for free google is your friend!

Beauty Valued woman has no drapes, done by eye. She pulls colours from your eyes, skin and hair. She is 100% a millioniles away from any of these 'consultants'. She makes no reference to seasons. It's all very intuitive. I'm enthusiastic about her simply because she offers something so different. On FB I'vecome across so many women who have seen a multitude of these so called consultants and are still searching for their ideal colours. It turns into an obsession and they spend so much money it's unreal - here as well as the US. I don 't want to post my photo here but thecours feel right for me,like she got me. I couldn't care less what season my colours fall into, they don't fit neatly in a box anyway because they come from me not from a system. I spoke to the local HOC woman a few years ago and she sounded both appalling and terrifying. I also had a CMB style session a few years which was the biggest waste of time with a strident overpowering woman. Cour has a massive effect on us psychologically and psychically and if you're interested in exploring it for yourself surely it's worth finding someone who is coming from that position rather than the superficial?

Mils, pretty please would you do me?
I've got a South American brown complexion, dark brown hair with slight dark red tones. Eyes are chestnut brown. Lips dark/medium pink.

I look dire in pastels and love red. I can wear black if I have red or dark pink lipstick on. Blue is too cool and makes me look ill, so I have to wear that as jeans and not near my face.

Thank you heaps

Rubbish that's really interesting. I think every colour analysis system has pros and cons, and I love reading about other ones. I am always tempted to get analyses from other companies just because I find the process so fascinating, even though I know exactly which colours work for me .

I don't get why it is made out to be so mysterious / complicated / confusing.

If there were a gallery with a load of pictures of women who have had their colours done and what they were assessed as, I'm sure most of us could find the people who look most like them and work it out easily...

Or am I missing something?

There is too much variation. Life is not like a game of Guess Who