Have you ever seen someone wearing a bold color and it looks like it was made for them? Have you ever worn a certain outfit and you just felt so incredibly confident and you received countless compliments? Or have you ever put on a top you love but it just feels blah on you?
Owning a branding and marketing agency, I always knew the importance of color but I had never associated it with myself, my clothes, and such. Did you know black doesn't look good on everyone? I didn't. I thought everyone could wear black and look good and slim. Turns out I was wrong. I was also told to wear warm colors my whole life because of my dark hair, green eyes and olive complexion but it turns out I'm supposed to wear blue-based colors. I never would have believed that if I hadn't gone through the House Of Colour consultation process.
I typically found myself wearing olive green, coral and camel tones. During the color finding process as I watched the comparison on myself from cool to warm, I was shocked. An emerald green made my features pop - the whites of my eyes looked whiter, my green eyes popped, my cheekbones looked more defined, my lips looked like they had more color in them, my face had more color and I just looked prettier. Then when we put on the more olive color I looked almost jaundiced, my face became a little more moon-like, I lost the sparkle and pop in my eyes, I lost some color in my face and it was just very drab on me. I watched this process on myself and then on 2 other ladies. They had very different color seasons than I did so it was neat to see the whole process.
I've never felt more confident than now knowing my exact wow colors. I came home and cleaned out my closet and gathered almost half of my closet to take for resale or donation. I had so many pieces I loved, that were pretty, but I never wore. I kept them because I liked them but everytime I tried them on, I never liked how they looked on me. Turns out it was primarily because they weren't my colors.
After clearing out my closet, I went shopping and I was shocked with how knowing my colors completely changed my shopping process. I could quickly scan the area and look for my colors. If my colors weren't there, I could quickly move along rather than wasting time sorting through things to see if there was something I liked. I'm also now thinking about outfits in totally new ways. I am pairing colors together I never would have before and they look fantastic.
What to expect with a House Of Colour color consultation
When you go in to your color consultation, you'll likely have 1 to 3 people in your consultation with you. It's actually a fantastic thing to do for a girls day or with the ladies in your family. I chose to go for my consultation while I was back in Oklahoma visiting. Crystal Hahn Smith and Rachel Young have a House of Colour business they run together just outside of Tulsa. There are locations across the country though and you can search for a consultant near you on their website. Their studio is a gorgeous set up inside Crystal's beautiful home. When you come inside, you'll fill out a short questionnaire and then shortly they will dive into understanding the concepts and process. Crystal popped in to say hi but Rachel led our session. Honestly, Rachel is the perfect person to run those consultations. She has a background in elementary education and it shows. She is a great teacher and has such a cheerful disposition.
After going through the information portion, you move into the individual consultation. Rachel had us sit in chairs, facing the window with a lot of natural light and there were slim mirrors in front of us. She'd drape you in a neutral basic white smock and if your hair is died, cover your hair with one as well. I joked that we looked very Handsmaid Tale. From there, she will start with going through the color spectrum. She will drape you with a cool version of a color and then it's compatible warm color. Sometimes you won't see the difference immediately at first but as she works her way through it becomes pretty evident. It's really crazy to start seeing the difference, especially in colors I previously thought were colors that looked good on me. Once it's been determined whether you're a cool or warm-based color spectrum, you'll move on to determining which of the 4 seasons you are. Winter & Summer are blue-based or cool, and Autumn & Spring are yellow-based or warm. You'll receive a wallet with the swatches of the 36 colors in your color palette. Technically, you can wear all of the colors within that palette but each person has their wow colors. These are show stopping colors for that person and you can essentially wear them from head to toe. Rachel is a lot of fun during this process because once you know your color palette you go through and find your wow colors but you also find out the percentages of how you should wear each color. For example, 100% double star is a wow color and you can wear from head to toe but 75% you would just wear as a coat, sundress or suit. Then for 50% you would wear the color for a top or pants or a jacket. And then for 25% you would wear it as a pattern, scarf, belt, shoe, bag, etc. Rachel goes through and drapes you with each of the 36 colors in your palette and when she hits a "double star 100," she says it so emphatically and makes you feel fantastic about yourself. I kept smiling as she would excitedly announce which color made me pop the most and I could see it as she was going through. This part of the process also helps you determine your subtype. I am a winter but I am a combination subtype - sultry jewel tone. My wow colors are black (only winter's can wear black but the other seasons actually have a "better than black), indigo, royal purple, electric blue, fuschia, magenta, damson, burgundy, scarlet, dark emerald and pine green.
During the consultation she'll also do a quick mineral makeup application that is perfect for your skin color and pair it with your ideal blush and let you test out 3 points of your perfect lipstick options. My lipstick points are a fuschia pink, red and burgundy. I have a bit of rosacea and super red cheeks so I didn't love how light the mineral makeup was but it was a really nice product and I loved how it looked on some of the other girls.
I can't express enough how life-changing this process is. I feel extremely confident and sure when I'm getting dressed, when I am shopping and more. I also know that silver jewelry looks better on me than gold. I was taught why certain colors look classy, regal and stunning on me while others look cheap and tacky. I learned that as a winter, unlike other seasons, I have to focus on contrast and I have to remember to combine light, dark and a pop of color. I learned that eyeglasses in my colors make my face pop. Most of all, I learned what makes me feel most confident and beautiful and how to stand out in the best way.
Benefits of finding your colors with the House of Colour process: • Putting an outfit together is simpler • Shopping is much easier and efficient
• Knowing exactly which lipsticks to wear
• Pairing down your closet is easier • Finding something to wear happens faster
• Your skin is more vibrant looking • You'll wear colors you wouldn't have thought of before • You feel an insane amount of confidence
• You'll find the perfect jewelry and accessories that look great on you
If you're in the Tulsa area, schedule a consultation with Crystal and Rachel. Otherwise, check out the House of Colour website for a consultant in your state and city. I have no doubt the process will change your life.