While doing color analysis in Boston in June, I had the pleasure of meeting Danielle Burton and giving her a 12-Season Color Analysis Consultation. Danielle had recently experienced a 4-Season Color Analysis with a House of Colour consultant and was told she was a Winter. I was skeptical that she was any type of Winter (in the 12 season system, there are actually 3 Winters - Dark Winter, Cool Winter and Bright Winter). Her light eyes, natural lighter and soft brownish hair and skin tone were much more consistent with my clients who fall into the lighter seasons, especially Summer.
Since her hair had been highlighted, we covered it with a neutral gray cap to do the testing portion of the analysis, ensuring that the lighter color did not sway the results of the analysis. It was clear from the beginning that Danielle was responding more harmoniously to the cool tones even some of the lighter Cool Winter drapes which was consistent with her 4 season color analysis.
But, while she contrasted with any drapes that were dark and bright, she was softened and balanced by the lighter cool tones, particularly Summer. The dark colors brought out shadows under her eyes and the brighter colors overwhelmed her and brought attention to themselves. The warm tones turned her completely yellow so we steered clear of those. In the end, she looked lovely and perfectly harmonious in the Cool Summer colors!
Enjoy reading more about Danielle’s experience with both systems and her reaction to her diagnosis as a Cool Summer:
I first learned of color theory through my friend Rachel, who was a client and close family friend to Kerry. I was so inspired by Rachel’s color-nosis that I couldn’t wait to try it for myself and for my Mother as a Mother’s Day gift. Instead of waiting a couple months to meet with Kerry in Boston, I visited a local House of Color expert to have our colors done. We both had a great time, visibly saw the differenced colors made on our skin, hair and eyes. It wasn’t until a few weeks later did I meet Kerry in person and proudly proclaimed myself to be a winter. Immediately Kerry knew that I was not a winter, but somewhere more likely in the spring or summer season.
Now having gone through the color analysis process twice, I can confidently say that I am a Cool Summer. My experiences with House of Color and Indigo Tones had many similarities but striking differences.
Both color experts spent time educating me about color theory, what the 4 different seasons meant and the difference between blue vs yellow undertones. With House of Colour, once determining that I had blue undertones, we then progressed to see if I was a Winter or Summer. This is where House of Color matched me to be a winter instead of summer. The process of winter vs summer we flew through 36 drapes of Winter vs 36 drapes of Summer. From there we compared each drape between winter or summer, for myself, most of the drapes pulled winter, so I was a winter. From there, we determined my top 10 best winter colors out of the 36 drapes. Once that was complete we moved onto makeup and sampled many different foundations, blush, lipstick and mascara options.
In the moment, I was thrilled to be a winter, but was a bit surprised by how dark my palette was and thought that my lipstick shades were a bit too dramatic for my fair hair and eyes.
My experience with Kerry and Indigo Tones was very different. Once we determined that I have a blue undertone, we then discussed the differences between the 4 seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) and the 3 subcategories of each (Bright Spring, Warm Spring, Light Spring, Cool Summer, Light Summer, Soft Summer, Warm Autumn, Dark Autumn, Soft Autumn, Cool Winter, Bright Winter and Dark Winter).
House of Color never mentioned that there were actually 12 color categories, only 4. I was shocked to learn that I hadn’t been identified as a Cool, Bright or Dark Winter, our color analysis never once mentioned it!
With my fair skin, blue eyes and bleached ash blonde hair, Kerry couldn’t see me as a Winter at all, let alone a Cool or Bright Winter. We set to work comparing Bright Spring, Light Summer and Cool Summer. It was pretty tricky, as I looked really nice in a few shades of each, but when it came down to it, I was a Cool Summer.
Kerry was so precise, knowledgeable, and caring, she wouldn’t let me leave until we were 110% certain that I was correctly matched. Kerry and I went through makeup, which shades of foundation, eyeliner, eyeshadow, blush, mascara and virtually any other product I apply, we moved onto my personal style.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that most people fall into one personality dress style. These include Classic, Creative, Romantic, Natural, and Dramatic. This was never discussed with House of Colour but would have been a complimentary discussion. Kerry and I discussed my personal style and decided I was creative. Once I had that final piece of the puzzle, it all clicked. Creative Cool Summer!
While I had a great experience at House of Colour, I do think they are missing out on a ton of research and color science by not including the 12 seasons and variants. The added layer of cool vs bright vs dark was a huge difference for me and really solidified which category I best fit.
Thank you, Kerry, for finding my true color, I am so excited to wear my color just in time for my season -cool summer July!
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It is my pleasure to introduce you to this month’s Dark Winter feature, eyebrow, skincare and permanent hair removal expert, Gia Pauldine. Gia was one of my first clients when I started my color analysis business nearly 20 years ago. It was around that time that she also founded her business, Restoration Electrolysis, LLC.
Gia was easy to analyze. Her deep brown hair worked well with black and dark brown neutrals that were then and still are so easy to shop for. A few pops of rich reds, deep greens and purples and she was good to go for many years. When she decided to go gray more recently and wondered how to incorporate it with her clothing choices, we had the pleasure of reconnecting and working on her wardrobe and closet. I was amazed at how gorgeous her skin looked and she introduced me to some of the skin revitalization services she offers now including light therapy. Learn more about her unique, wholistic eyebrow makeovers and skincare maintenance to the process she went through in letting her hair go naturally from a dark brown to a multi-hued gray and how it impacted her clothing choices.
It’s a treat to introduce you to this month's colorful lives feature, Soft Autumn Tim Stich who is also my son!! Tim’s experience with shopping for clothing and wearing color is unique as I become a color analyst when he was quite young. When he and his sister Clare were little, I tried dressing them in bright colors with strong patterns as was the style then.....but even before learning about personal color harmony, I started to sense that the clothes overwhelmed them and began dressing them in softer colors and solids. I was even shocked the other day to discover when I pulled out his school photos that every single photo (even before I learned of his color palette) was taken in a Soft Autumn color. You can see how his life has evolved wearing the soft, earthy colors that suit his ruddy hair, freckles and soft blue/green eyes.
Over the years, he has mostly been very eager to wear what suits him and looked to me to help him distinguish soft autumn colors from the two seasons nearby - warm autumn and soft summer. We enjoy shopping together, especially now that he lives in Manhattan and the shopping is abundant. It can be a challenge to find his colors in sizes and style that fit but when its perfect, it feels great and he knows it. Read on to learn more about what it’s like to be a guy whose mom is a color consultant!
I am so excited to introduce you the “entertainingly irreverent” (Associated Press) Soft Summer, Valerie Peterson. Valerie is an extraordinary storyteller in a variety of media including scriptwriting, screenplays, fiction, non-fiction and book publishing/consulting. I analyzed her colors years ago in Rhode Island at a girls weekend hosted by a mutual friend (color analysis and girls weekends make a great combo!). In the years since, Valerie has embraced her Soft Summer colors in spite of living and working in New York City where black is a standard and practical.
It was a thrill when her publisher chose a photo of my family for her wonderfully spirited book, Peterson’s Happy Hour. On page 46, you can find me with my family - brothers, Mike and Tim and my parents Marcia and J. Michael Jones circa 1970. The book features many more photographic gems and recipes for a fabulous social gathering!
In this month’s colorful lives blog, Valerie shares her journey with her color palette. As with all her writing projects, she is humorous, colorful and entertaining! She has kept in great condition and still uses the Sci Art swatch book that I provided back in those days!! Be sure to check out her large body of work on valeriepeterson.net and read more in the blog:
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