subject: Color Analysis: My Experience With Finding My Personal Colors And What Not To Do When Getting Your Colors Done [print this page] When I first had a color analysis done, I was around 19 or 20 years old at the time. It was to be a birthday present to myself. The first book I've read on color analysis was "Color Me Beautiful" by Carole Jackson. It was given to me by a friend since she knew about my interest in color analysis. It was quite informative, but I noticed that there were not enough models that looked like me, someone of African decent. I decided that finding my personal colors in a professional setting, would help me determine for certainty what my season was. This is what led me to set up an appointment with a cosmetics company that did Seasonal Color Analysis.
I wore a light lavender cotton scarf that covered my head. When I arrived at the store, the consultant introduced herself and told me where to sit. I asked her if I needed to take off the scarf and she said I could keep it on and that it did not matter. This was confusing to me, because I know that colors can clash throwing off the analysis. This did not seem to concern her.
She began the draping, starting with gold and silver fabric to determine if I had a warm or cool undertone. She thought that I was cool, because as far as she could tell, the silver fabric looked better. The lavender scarf was throwing the analysis off, but I was too shy at the time to tell her that maybe the scarf was interfering somehow, because I do not look good in silver. I decided to trust her expertise, which was quite foolish of me. She was not following the proper procedure.
We went through all the colors, and at the end of the session, I was classified as a winter. This was wrong to me, because I knew that I looked better in warmer colors. I never get complements with cool colors. There are many Color Analyst that assumed that if you are a person with melinated skin of any degree, you are automatically classified a winter. In most cases most of us are warm not cool.
This happened to me twice, even when I was not wearing a headscarf. I believe this is why I started becoming sceptical of having a professional color analysis done. When someone rushes through an analysis assuming that you are a particular season, are they serious about helping you? This is when I started doing my own research.
I know now that a true expert in this field never assumes anything. They make sure to take all of the necessary precaution so that the analysis is done as correctly as possible. This includes using the correct lighting, making sure that your clothing is covered in a neutral white or grey, making sure your hair is covered, etc. This does not mean that a Color Analyst will never be wrong, but at least steps are taken to ensure that mistakes are least likely to occur.
If I had know better at the time, I would have done my research. I would have made sure that the right environment was right, and that the person doing the analysis was properly trained or at least thorough in what she did. I hope this experience will help you when you want to find your personal colors.
Color Analysis: My Experience With Finding My Personal Colors And What Not To Do When Getting Your Colors Done
