Getting my “colours done” on the cheap?

[OnceAgainWithFeeling]

I have the chance to get my colours done for a bargain price (£50 - on a voucher site). Will mean about 3 hours round trip for a 1ish hour appt. online reviews are good but no mention of getting fabric/color samples to take away afterwards. I can’t really afford to go to the fancier places that charge £150-200.

So, I guess I’m wondering how good it can be without the take home bits? Any thoughts?

I'm trying the app on my computer now (yay accesses my pictures) but I get a variety of answers - mainly I get "classic summer" or "cool winter" depending on where I seem to click. Or the photo.... but had other summer and winter options. I want to know now!

I'm still getting both!!

@colourlady

The best book on this is called "Colour me beautiful" and tbh, If you study it, you can do your own colours.

Friends and I tried to do it from the book years ago but gave up and decided to invest in a consultation. We went with House of Colour. The consultant put a white cloth over us and then went through a range of scarves to help determine which season we were. As PP said, she had a pretty good idea where to start from experience, although a couple of us she found harder to decide between 2 seasons. Once she'd established which season, she went back through all the colours in our season and told us which of the colours in our palette would be best for large items (coats and dresses), which to use for smaller items (blouses/jumpers/skirts), and which to use only for accents eg scarves/belts. The colour swatch was really useful, even now I have an occasional flick through and am reminded of colours I'd forgotten about. Can you find out if you are provided with swatches? Seems a shame to miss out on the offer if they do provide it, equally I don't think you'll get as much value from it without the swatches. Many years on, I'd still recommend it even though it seems expensive. Shopping is quicker as you can scan the rails for your colours; your wardrobe will work better together and you will look fab in the right colours so will be happier with what you've got. Both of these things reduce what you spend on clothes so you more than recoup your investment over the years.

Re your hair colour: I asked about that as have very dark hair and asked her whether I'd need to have my colours redone when I go grey. She said no because it was on skin tone, and the underlying tone doesn't change. I did go much lighter for a while and the same colours worked.
If you can find a friend who also wants it done, I'd recommend having it done with someone else. It was much easier to see the effect of the different colours on the others than on ourselves - eg some colours drained them, whereas other colours brought their faces to life.
A tip once you've had it done: some colours you see more of at different times of the year, but difficult at others. Eg lots of pastels available in spring and summer, not so much in autumn and winter. More difficult to find summer wear if you're autumn or winter. So if your colours do come 'in' for a season where you wouldn't normally be able to find them, stock up, if you can afford it.
Also you don't have to replace everything in your wardrobe that's not in your palette. I'd just bought a lovely, fairly expensive work jacket which turned out to be completely the wrong colour for me. This was pre-eBay days so couldn't easily sell. The consultant said just wear it with something that is your colour nearer your skin - blouse, scarf, chunky jewellery- and that definitely made a difference.
Sorry this got long but it had stood the test of time and I remain hugely enthusiastic about it.

Thank you @RockingMyFiftiesNot. I’m squeezing this in after meetings in London before getting the train home so no chance to take anyone with me, unfortunately.

I’ve looked at the House of Colour website and there are no consultants within an hour of where I live. It’s £150 for the nearest one and she takes 4 people for 3 hours. So £50 for 1-2 hours on my own seems pretty good. I’ll be sure to ask questions if she isn’t forthcoming with detail around what colour coats etc. There is really very little detail about what the session includes but someone has linked to eBay for swatches.

My hair colour must have an impact. I absolutely can’t wear red anywhere near my face. I wear a lot of green but mint green is hideous. As are many yellows/oranges. Although I do have a yellow scarf that I love. (See pic - I think this is okay as an accent with the blue coat…….?)

I suspect my online assessment may be close, although I would avoid hot pink!

I've just been looking at the John Lewis Personal Shopper pages and some of them mention helping clients select the right colours for them. Maybe a session with one of those would be a cheaper option, even if it doesn't give the full seasonal analysis?

@MyBookShelf

I've just been looking at the John Lewis Personal Shopper pages and some of them mention helping clients select the right colours for them. Maybe a session with one of those would be a cheaper option, even if it doesn't give the full seasonal analysis?

Thanks. I’ve booked the session, but good to know this is an option later on.

I literally get these on repeat. And cool summer... depending on which part of hair and which photo...but usually one of the summers!

Or this one but only let me do 3!

Anyone know how to narrow it down?

Useful for interior decorating too. Not just walks but bed linen and sofa colours, and so on - why have a home that doesn’t suit you?

@Supersimkin2

Useful for interior decorating too. Not just walks but bed linen and sofa colours, and so on - why have a home that doesn’t suit you?

Ha. I’ve never bought a sofa. DH had these before he met me (and we’ve been married 18 years!). I’ve just decorated the room around them and had the cushion pads replaced over the years!

My brain still doesnt "see" the differences in palates and understand warm/cool for the same colour. I have no hope for home decorating!

Is there an app where i can take a photo of clothes/sofas and it tell me what season it is?!

Ah I see, your hair colour won't impact the draping. I think normally your natural hair colour blends well with your season but if it's coloured a shade that doesn't blend well, that's not going to change your season, you'll just have hair that's a bit off. I had my hair highlighted for years & when I had my colours done realised that the blond was way too ashy instead of golden so I always looked a bit off or not
Quite right. I've since stopped colouring it &
Am much more fitting to my overall colours.

As pps say though it's not something to stress over. I'll still sometimes wear a colour not in my season. For me it's the tone & depth/saturation of colour that matter most

Soooooo, I went, and I really enjoyed myself. Was just under an hour. Pleased to hear that my hair colour is within the best pallette for me: Winter Bright Cool. She took photos of the various drapes and sent them to me so I can see the effect they have on my face (including those that doesn’t work as well). Which I thought was great.

And she gave me the swatch wallet in exchange for a review.

And there were a few colours that really didn’t look brilliant with the hair.

Glad you had a good time and found it useful. Now the real fun starts - sorting your wardrobe and shopping!

Brilliant OP!

I really fancy this - can I ask roughly where she’s now working @OnceAgainWithFeeling if it’s not in central London at the moment.

@colourlady

The best book on this is called "Colour me beautiful" and tbh, If you study it, you can do your own colours.

This is how I did it, more than 20 years ago. You can do it by draping towels and clothes, and comparing how expensive they look. A cheap towel in the right colour will look more expensive than an equally cheap towel in the wrong one.

It transformed my charity shopping (I found the book in a charity shop when times were hard). Instead of looking for clothes I liked, I looked for clothes in the right size and colour and tried them on, no matter the style.

John Lewis are offering something similar, £100 but you get it back as a voucher they said. I've not booked yet but very tempted

I just used the website suggested and was pleasantly surprised that it gave me the same response with two completely different photos - one taken in the height of summer on a beach, and one taken on a grey winter afternoon. I'm a cool summer. Funnily enough I'm wearing a favourite top today that features two of the colours on the chart. Maybe I'm a natural at this

@lazybutton

I really fancy this - can I ask roughly where she’s now working *@OnceAgainWithFeeling* if it’s not in central London at the moment.

Purley, Surrey. 30 min train ride and a 10 min bus trip from London Victoria.

Colour me Beautiful no longer uses the seasonal system. I think they call it the tonal system now. I prefer it, as I fit into it better. I'm soft light and warm. I have a pretty neutral skin colour.