I know I have had a really a hard year, probably the worst in my life, losing both my mom and mother-in-law and turning the big 5-0. But really, is this what getting dressed is going to be every day? I might as well pull on the black yoga pants and stay home.
But then it happened. (I truly believe that everything in life happens for a reason.) Out of no where I got an email from Linda Davis. She had gotten my name from a Macaroni Kid publisher in New York City. Linda is the most amazing, attractive and lovely image coach, speaker and color specialist from House of Colour. House of Colour is a British company with over 25 years in the industry. Linda is a Johnson County mom with years of experience in the fashion and style industry. She offered to provide my personal Color Analysis in exchange for this review.
I was a bit nervous deciding what to wear for our session in her Leawood-based studio. But it didn't matter, because Linda made me into a clean slate (no makeup with hair and clothes covered) and totally put my mind at ease. The goal of my personal seasonal color analysis was to find the best colors for my coloring. I learned that:
- Color analysis is science-based.
- Certain clothing colors make your face glow: you look vibrant and your dark circles and wrinkles are diminished. Other colors make you look horrible!
- People look better in either yellow-based or blue-based colors.
- Everyone has a best neutral, and it is usually not black or stark white.
Linda provides an amazing education. As she draped me in individual color scarves, I could see in the mirror how certain colors just made me look (and feel) better. My skin had a natural pink glow. Other colors made my skin look yellowish-green. After going through tons of colors, I learned that my best colors are soft and muted summer colors. I need to wear soft colors with blue and rose undertones.
During the session Linda also chose and applied the best foundation color for my skin and selected my 3 best lipstick colors. Amazing how I have always bought the same colors of lipsticks or glosses, out of habit, and they were not my best. She also provides separate makeup classes and has a full line of cosmetics for purchase at her studio.
After seeing the 36 summer colors, Linda goes back through each one and rates them as outstanding, excellent, very good or good and determines if how much of the color you should wear from just an accent (accessory scarf) or if you could pull it off from head to toe. All the info is written down in a purse-size booklet to take home. At quick glance of the list, I could easily see that delph blue, cornflower blue, smoked grape, french navy and rose brown were some of my best! I actually had 10 colors listed at outstanding!
At the end of the session, I felt educated and got to go home, not only with my Colors of Summer rating chart but a swatch wallet containing fabric samples of all my colors!
So when I got home, what did I find?
- 85% of the clothes in my closet were not my best colors
- I have a lot of black & white
Needing a specialty size (petite) and refusing to pay full price, makes shopping a challenge for me. First I hit some of my favorite stores, both in person and online, which carry petite lines (Banana Republic, Gap, The Loft, Old Navy) and I hit all the discount stores (TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Stein Mart). I bought some key clothes on clearance for spring (cami's, short sleeve tops) and am slowly filling in my winter wardrobe. It is comforting to walk past racks and racks of black clothes in the stores, and say "don't need that!"
Services
I highly recommend Linda's color analysis service! I can see so many great reasons to purchase this service as a gift (college graduation, turning 40, anniversary, etc). Linda also offers individual and group workshops of Wake Up Your Makeup, Personal Style, The Perfect Bride, Accessorizing and Scarf Tying, Wardrobe Review & Declutter, and is available for public speaking engagements.
You can check out all the services on her website and contact Linda Davis today!
linda.davis@houseofcolour.com
913.689.8501
