Can anyone help me work out which ‘season’ colouring I am

[LesFlamandes]

Because every quiz I do gives me a different answer but I’d be interested to know to explore make up shades and maybe try some new colour combinations that might work well on me.

I’ve got mid brown hair, with a warm undertone (was a redheaded toddler), light (quite striking) blue eyes, my skin tans quite easily and is more olive than pink but not dark. My skin, hair, eyes are medium contrast, they used to be higher contrast.

I’m a mishmash of backgrounds. Southern French (but not Mediterranean looking) mother, Anglo Irish-Lithuanian (ethnically Ashkenazi Jewish) father.

The colour that I always get compliments on is a deep cornflower blue. I think I also suit navy, mid blue, cobalt, cream, warm brown and look best in deep but not too bright colours.

DD and I were trying to work out my colouring from online quizzes and I’ve come out so far as variants of all four seasons!

Any ideas of what palette I might be closest to? Or even just different clothes/ make up colours I could try based on my (odd!) colouring.

Thanks everyone. Spring would explain why I’ve lately realised I look good in cream and browns and pretty dreadful in bright white, black and grey, despite them feeling ‘sophisticated’ shades.

My heart did sink a little when you all suggested spring, as I imagined it all being turquoise, sky blue, fish is and lawn green which are very much not my preferred shades.

However, I can see there are lots of browns in that colour palette, which I used to love wearing and would like to start wearing again, and some really lovely bright, warm blues. As well as navy as a base shade which I’m already ahead of the game on as that’s half my wardrobe!

It is 2024 and women still think they have to wear certain colours to look good. Wow.

Maybe the style and beauty thread is not for you?

It’s 2024 and some people’s reading comprehension is still this poor. Wow.

No one said that you “have to wear certain colours to look good.” You can look great wearing colours that aren’t in your palette but colours in your season will look more harmonious with your colouring and make you look less tired and more healthy.

I don’t always wear my colours and find that if I’m wearing something with a bolder shape, wearing more makeup or it’s not directly by my face then it matters less. I do find it particularly helpful to wear colours from my season when I just want to wear something plain and casual. A t shirt and jeans will look a million times better if it’s in a colour that suits you rather than one that washes you out.

You don't have to wear any particular colours. Sometimes people enjoy seeing which colours are most flattering for them. That is all. If I am spending a lot of money on a wedding dress or evening dress I like to know what suits me. It isn't compulsory or necessary for anyone who doesn't want it.

Style isn't subscribing to a set of rules. It's the opposite of that. Vivienne Westwood will be rolling in her grave at this thread.

I am not engaging with you any further.

No, it's proof that no one, least of all someone who professes to have been a Colour Consultant in a previous life, should guess based on a written account online, without even a photo.
It's not about just liking colours, either. The majority of people who wear black "shouldn't." My sil likes pale grey. It ages her ten years and makes her look ill.
Wearing colours (or rather, tones/shades) that suit you can make you look fab even on days when you feel like death.
OP, pay for a proper consultation. It will always be money well-spent, as you won't be wasting it on buying clothes that you are reluctant to wear because you know deep-down they don't suit you.

@LesFlamandes Rather than do the quizzes, look at the pallets for each season and see which one draws your eye.

Start with a couple of shades that you know look good on you, then see which pallets they appear in. There are sub-sections within each season so explore those too. I really like this website - though I’m sure you’ve already looked at it as it appears high in search results.

Or look at celebrities and see what they are coded as.
So, Joan Collins for instance, would be a typical Winter (to use the old terminology). The Queen (Elizabeth!) was a Summer. Julia Roberts = Autumn and Cameron Diaz - Spring.

Maybe look at the palette for Soft Autumn here.

theconceptwardrobe.com/colour-analysis-comprehensive-guides/soft-autumn-a-comprehensive-guide

If you have warm undertones then you are spring or autumn. Low contrast skin/hair is spring (sounds like you); high contrast is autumn.

I thought it was the other way round? Autumn (warm) and summer (cool) are the low contrast ones, whereas spring (warm) and winter (cool) are high contrast?

Sorry you are quite right!

Sorry I can't help you with your question OP, as I am equally confused about mine too.

@tissueboxandcandles if you don't mind me asking, how does finding your colouring work when your hair is dyed? Do you use the colour at the time or what is was as a youngster?

As if my hair is darker I think I look better in certain colours compared to when I went natural over lockdown (when I looked washed out all the time) . And what when one goes grey?

It was a rough guess. As I said in my pp. There are some very basic clues that are pretty reliable. That is all. I described them in my post.
Honestly! I wasn't charging the OP money or anything.

What I used to do was to cover hair completely with a white turban.
Daylight bulbs and 6 sets of drapes.

Also I always ask about hair colour when a child. I don't do it now and haven't for years. I used to do wedding make up too. As I said, life before children. It was a nice, enjoyable thing to do and people enjoyed it.

tissueboxandcandles,

I'm grateful! I asked for a guess, I got several people guessing, all the same and am inclined to think everyone correct. You are very kind to do it.

You are very welcome.

I cannot work out my palette for the life of me. There are colours that definitely don't suit me on all of the palettes. I look best in royal blue (this colour REALLY suits me which is annoying as I don't like it that much), greens, and navy. Definitely can't wear orange, lime, yellows or most mustards but can get away with a dark mustard. I also look ok in very pale yellow. Beiges tend to just blend in with my skin colour and look meh. I look better in stronger colours that give me some differentiation as my natural colouring is all a bit blendy with not much differentiation. I am cool toned with a lot of redness. I have mousy brown (used to be mousy blonde but has weirdly darkened as I've got older) hair with red undertones and hazel eyes (muddy/olive looking). I'd like to know but not enough to spend £££s on a colour consultant though. So I just wear colours that I know suit me and a few that I know don't look that great as I like them 😬

@AbraAbraCadabra mousy hair, hazel/olive eyes and cool skin with red undertones sound like a soft season- summer, as you say blues and greens are good but oranges and browns not.

Sounds similar to me, although my eyes are blue, and I’m a summer

I'd agree with a spring. Worth having a good look at your eyes to see how much green is in them (most blue eyes have some green but it doesn't always show up). Start by draping a grey or brown piece of fabric/scarf/item of clothing around your neck and then really look at your eyes. Can you see any green in them? Then try with green - do they suddenly pop out as green. I have green blue eyes which look as if they change colour depending on whether I'm wearing blue or green. The less green the brighter your colouring is likely to be.

Funny but utter bollocks all the same.

Going against 'your colours' is also a style choice and can be really striking in the contrast of it. Same as wearing shapes or cuts that aren't traditionally associated with your body type, it can look really subversive, a la Westwood.

Sometimes though, we want to wear shapes and colours that make the best of what we have naturally. We don't necessarily want to be subversive or striking all the time (or even some of the time). Harmony is a perfectly legitimate style choice.

It can be a total pain in the arse though when 'your' shapes and shades aren't in fashion, therefore aren't in the shops. Annoying.