I'm having my colours done on Monday

[TeaOneSugar]

I'm just a bit concerned there will be pressure to buy scarves, make up etc, you know like when a neighbour invites you to a body shop party and you feel you have to buy something before you leave.

I don't want to spend loads of money, the workshop is £95 and I'm saving up to buy a new wardrobe when I get to my target weight. I don't mind buying maybe a lipstick or an eyeshadow but I don't want to spend ££££.

Can anyone reassure me?

I've had my colours done, I bought a foundation that is the perfect colour and a lipstick, neither were expensive, I think the foudnation was £14. That was House of Colour

You can buy make up and scarves etc but I just said I wasn't interested and the consultant was fine about it. It wasn't a hard sell or anything.

This was with House of Colour also, it was a really good experience, don't worry it'll be good.

That sounds OK, thanks, I would definately buy an item or two of make up if it really did something for me.

I looked at the on-line shop earlier and found the £60+ silk scarves a bit alarming, tbh I find the thought of silk scarves a bit alarming, I am looking forward to the experience though.

the fact you've paid for the experience/ advice (unloike at body shop parties) should strengthen your resolve!

if you decide you do need a scarf take your swatch card round the shops afterwrads and buy a cheap one

i went to house of colour too. got a terrifyingly bright lipstick which i've only just got around to wearing (with sunglasses to be in disguise).

ask lots of questions about hair colour and makeup.

you are paying quite enough for consultation, extras are just that.

agree with fishie - although the whole thing won't be too much about hair colour and make up I found that when I asked questions I got some good advice.

wasn't pressured to but anything when I went (HOC) but did buy lipstick (again terrifyingly bright)and tinted moisturiser/nail varnish. None of it was expensive - I bought just to know I was getting the right colour really. As it's available on their web site you can always but it later if you want it.

although some of the people running the sessions can be a bit weird twas a great day out and has been really useful to "save money" by buying the right things nowadays

Thanks everyone, I feel better about it now.

oh and rememebr to ask that if you ever have to wear a colour that doesn;t suit you (work uniform, funeral etc), what you should do to mitigate the effect

I have to wear black for concerts and she gave me makeup tips that help me look less shite in it.

Great tip, MrsBadger, thanks.

MrsB that's a great tip about wearing black - did you have your's done in Witney by any chance?

I was worried about this too as I absolutely hate feeling pressured to buy anything. However my lady (HOC) was absolutely fine and didn't do the hard sell. I chose some makeup (lipstick, lip gloss, eye shadows, blusher) as the colours were so much more flattering than my usual stuff and am thinking of ordering some other things now. I did tell her though that I am not girly and don't like looking "made up" which to her credit she took on board willingly.

Incidentally it has made shopping a whole load quicker (and cheaper in the sense of no more expensive mistakes) - you can tell at a glance what's worth a second look and what just won't suit you.

I wasn't put under any pressure at all to buy anthing, in fact my woman didn't seem to have anything for sale.

She did me a full make-up which gave me some useful tips but she didn't offer to sell me anything.

Possibly she had lipsticks but she used a lot of high street stuff and told me where to buy it.

I also asked for tips about my glasses and hair colour/style.

I wish I'd asked for a little more practice or advice about putting colours together.

We had no pressure to buy any make-up or tops, although the lady was a bit scathing when i said i didn't wear make-up to work.

has anyone done the house of colour style day? what did you think?

I ahve heard about having your colors done loads since I've moved to the uk. What does this mean exactly?

It's a consultation with a colour 'expert'. A few companies do it but House of Colour is one of the main ones.

They basically put about 50 different coloured scarves against your face whilst you wear a white smock and a white headband and see which colours make you look your best - most defined and healthy etc

House of Colour use a Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter system so you are told you are a for example a Winter and then given a swatch book of colours which suit you. It's slightly more complicated than that as not all winter colurs will be 100% colours for you so each colour gets a rating. I'm a jewel winter so need to wear green/red/blue and bright not muted shades.

Is all a bit mad, but fun and v. helpful i found.

it sounds weird but really does work, and you can then see why you love that green jumper so much, but hate the green t-shirt that isn't quite the same green.

however you do find yourself in shops saying 'it's a nice top but is it grape or not?

yy - I constantly dither in shops over whether pinks and reds are 'too blue' for me

then I buy the green instead

Yep I did style too. Very different to the colour one but equally good. If you go make sure you ask a lot of questions as they cover some good stuff but miss out a few obvious things and some things can seem a bit unclear.

Afterwards I wasn't quite sure how to apply it but have found that over time it's been useful. I now can see what suits me very quickly in a shop (but still take hours to buy stuff .

I've also done the style day.

It's taken me a long time to get the hang of it, I think because the consultant was quite a bit older than me, so clothes she was saying were my style I was thinking 'not likely.'
But if you're not a slow learner like me you can soon translate your style into what's age-and fashion-appropriate for you.
< nosey > What 'style peronality' were you, IfYou'reHappy? I was told I was a Classic Ingenue but the consultant I saw recently to have my make up done said I was more Natural than Classic, which I think is probably true.
I agree that there's no pressure to buy anything - the woman I saw about the make up actually recommended a different range of skincare from HoC's, but you can get discount online once you have a password, from other recommended firms as well as HoC.

What questions should one ask? Can I have a list please?

I do think it's definitely worth having the style consultation if you possibly can.
I hardly ever contribute to s&b threads because, unless you can see the person and know which style of clothes suits them, it's pointless saying 'yes, I like that,' or 'no, don't like that.'

I couldn't put some of the stuff that gets linked to on these threads anywhere near me, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't look lovely on someone else.
Likewise, I might link to, say, a top I'm thinking of buying, and someone might hate it, but that doesn't mean it won't suit me.
High-heeled gladiator sandals, for example: they look hideous on me because I'm supposed to go for a pretty, almost girlish look, but they look fab on a dramatic type (like, say, Davina McCall or Madonna.)
Oh, stop rambling and go to bed.

I can't remember all of the types and I don't think there's a link actually explaining it all as I suppose we could then do it ourselves so they'd lose business.
Afair the HoC website does mention the 'types' in passing.
When you go for the consult, they ask a lot of seemingly bizarre questions, nothing to do with clothes, but more to give an indication of your character type and hence 'clothing personality.'
You've got your Ingenue, Romantic, Dramatic, Natural, Gamine and Classic types and some people are totally the one type whereas others have leanings into other territories.
Bet you wish you hadn't asked .