color consulting for fashion & beauty

Archive for the ‘Lavender’ Category

Brittany Daniel

Today we have another Summer woman featured. Actress Brittany Daniel, who many may know from The Game, but who I personally associate with Sweet Valley High. YAS! Upon first glance, I assumed Brittany would be a Spring. Once I started analyzing her in different colors, it became quite clear that Summer is her season.

Brittany in Spring: The photos in shades of gold, nude, and light yellow. Before I analyzed her, I assumed Brittany would be a Spring. As you can see in these photos of her in Spring colors, she looks washed out to hell.

Brittany in Summer: The photos in gray, lavender, and white. It seems Brittany doesn’t wear much in Summer colors, but she really should. She should also get her makeup done more often in keeping with her Summer season. These are when she looks the freshest (the lavender photo would work perfectly if she had silver earrings instead of gold).

Brittany in Autumn: The photo in navy. The navy does nothing for Brittany. Too dark, and too warm; makes her look too yellow.

Brittany in Winter: The photos in black and fuchsia. Here we see something interesting. As I have mentioned before, sometimes Autumns and Springs can share certain colors and sometimes Summers and Winters can share certain colors. Black is generally not something Summers should wear as a main color, so that’s not news here. However, Brittany looks pretty damned good in fuchsia, a Winter color. Since the color is cool, it has the potential to work and this is one color that *certain* Summers can pull off, and pull off well.

See the difference? Brittany Daniel is a Summer through and through.

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Category:

Black, Brittany Daniel, Cool, Cool in Cool, Cool in Warm, Fuchsia, Gold, Gray, Lavender, Navy, Nude, Summer, White, Yellow

Heather

Today, Glowing Color features Heather from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Heather writes:

I am a stay at home mom to two daughters ages 12 and 9.  I am hoping you can help me with chosing the right colors to wear, I feel like I don’t look good in anything.  I am also always playing with my hair color, I get highlights and then decide they get too light so I think let’s try to get back to my natural haircolor which I think is medium brown but then I get too many red tones in my hair which I don’t like.

Here is Heather’s Q&A:

What color do you wear the most? I wear greys and navys

What color do you wear the least? oranges, reds and yellows

What color do you feel sexy in?  dark grey, if I had to pick a color

What color do you get the most compliments in?  My husband says he likes me in pinks

Heather sent in a ton of photos, which I absolutely love! The more the merrier! I also loved that she did the same backdrop and just changed the shirts. It really makes for a cleaner, more objective analysis. Now, with Heather, I could tell what season she was as soon as I looked at the first photo she sent in. Can you guess? Let’s look at Heather in cooler colors:

In each of these photos, my eyes go directly to her shirt color and then Heather. This is often a classic sign that someone is wearing the wrong colors for their season. Heather also looks a bit washed out in these colors. Let’s look at her in warmer colors.

Did you notice how Heather appears to brighten up in these photos? It’s not just the brighter colors in her shirts. Her face has come alive in the warmer colors. Heather is an Autumn.

I do agree with Heather’s assessment that she has too much red in her hair color. In her Color Shopping List I suggest, among other things that she look for hair colors without the red undertones. I think she would benefit by going a bit darker, in hair AND in her clothes. She should stay warm of course, but she has too many light/bright warm colors in her wardrobe and even more cool colors in her wardrobe.

Heather’s Q&A leads to some very helpful tips for her. She wears oranges, reds, and yellows the least but these are colors she should be incorporating MORE into her wardrobe. Some people shy away from these because they seem so “loud”, but there is a way to find the best shade of each color for your skin. She also feels sexy in dark gray, which was her most telling answer of all. Deep, dark, charcoal gray is a classic Autumn color and one of my favorite substitutes for black (in warmer-toned women). Heather should embrace that and shy away from the lighter-to-medium grays that will just wash her out. Heather’s husband likes her in pinks but I bet if she incorporated some pinkish-peaches into her wardrobe, he would love that as well.

I hope Heather will keep us updated on new color choices! Thanks Heather!

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Category:

Autumn, Black, Brown, Fuchsia, Hair Color, Heather, Lavender, Orange, Taupe, Turquoise, Warm, Warm in Cool, Warm in Warm, White, Yellow

Leila

Today I am featuring Leila! Leila is a pianist, songwriter, and a piano teacher who lives in San Francisco, California. Her band’s name is Rabbit Quinn and their first full album comes out this fall! See her fan page here.

Let’s begin with her Q&A:

What color do you wear the most? Black. Flatters the figure, easy to match.

What color do you wear the least? Stark white. Reds…I am a redhead (not naturally) and reds are tricky with red hair.

What color do you feel sexy in? Earthy greens. Red lipstick,  I feel feminine and soft when I wear peach or blue. Black, of course!

What color do you get the most compliments in? Red Lipstick, Orange, and any shade of green. There’s this blue scarf I got in Paris everyone loves on me. I included a picture….

Very interesting answers! Let’s take a look at Leila’s photos.

First, notice how different Leila looks with the red hair and the brunette hair? It’s almost like looking at a completely different person! I am noticing that Leila is falling into two extremes with her hair. The deep red hair color washes her out and makes her look a bit pasty. The brunette hair makes her look dramatically pale. Not bad, just very pale. We need some kind of balance between the two, but what? Keep in mind that her natural hair color is light brown.

In this first set of photos, Leila does not look bad, but the colors she wears are doing nothing for her. They are sitting on her. Surfing the Internet. Reading books on a Kindle. There is no harmony; no flow. Where is her glow?

Let’s look at Leila in warmer colors.

Are you seeing anything? A glimmer of glow? Yes? Particularly in the 2nd photo. That hint of gold and the general brown tones of the photo are bringing out Leila’s glow. You would be able to see it more clearly if her hair was a different color (especially in the navy dress photo). Leila is an Autumn. A Soft Autumn, just like Jo.

Notice in Leila’s interview that she wears black the most because it flatters the figure and it’s easy to match. This answer is extremely common, both in my color interviews and in general. Black is definitely a safe color. But for Autumns (and Springs), it really doesn’t do us any favors (besides the aforementioned figure-slimming effect). Leila wears stark white and reds the least. That’s a good instinctual move regarding stark white because for Autumns, stark white is a one-way ticket to Deathface-ville. The reds however, we can tweak. Especially if her hair color changes.

Now, Leila’s most telling answer may be when she tells the color she feels sexiest in. Earthy greens! That’s an answer I definitely don’t hear every day and it’s definitely a color that many overlook. However, earthy greens (the ones that lean more toward warm and muted; i.e. have more yellow in them) are one of Autumns’ strongest colors. It has become one of my favorites to wear as an Autumn and I tend to seek it out more. She also mentions she gets complimented in orange, another Autumn all-star color.

Leila loves red lipstick, which is always a sexy classic. In her Color Shopping list, I go over the best reds to look for, and what hair colors would bring out her natural glow. Leila needs to go lighter and warmer with her hair color, and I think the results will be stunning. Keep us updated, Leila!

If you would like me to do a color analysis for you (includes blog feature with pictures and customized color shopping list with your own personal power color) that will bring out your own unique glow, contact me at glowingcolor@gmail.com for rates.

Category:

Autumn, Black, Blue, Gold, Gray, Green, Hair Color, Lavender, Leila, Patterns, Red, Soft Autumn, Warm in Cool, Warm in Warm

True Blood Week: Jessica

Welcome back to True Blood Week at Glowing Color! Today we’ll be looking at Jessica, aka Deborah Ann Woll.

Fans know her as the lovely, awkward, fledgling but seductive, redheaded somewhat “newbie” vampire. But did you know Deborah’s natural hair color is actually blonde? TRUE STORY. This eliminates Autumn and Winter as potential seasons for her. As with Tara/Rutina Wesley, I found an equal number of cool and warm photos of Deborah. Let’s start with the warm first.



By the way in the photo where she has on yellow, you can see her blonde roots. Well, the gold photo isn’t the best but you can still tell she looks super-pale, not in a good way here. The gold is straight cussin’ her out. Also, in the first two photos where Deborah has on yellow and dark blue (muted which reads warm), she doesn’t look BAD but the colors are wearing her. They don’t really mesh or flow with her skin. In the photos where she has on dark red and blush pink (both warm), she looks washed out; just plain BLAH. Shall we venture over to Deborah in cooler colors?





Deborah looks so much better in the cooler colors of white, pale blue, black, red, and smoky lavender. Especially if you imagine her with blonde hair, like we had to do for Christina Hendricks. In the lavender photo (as well as the white photo), if she had her natural blonde hair and a lighter, less severe shade of lipstick? Girl WHAT.

Deborah Ann Woll is a Summer.

Category:

Black, Blue, Christina Hendricks, Cool, Cool in Cool, Cool in Warm, Deborah Ann Woll, Gold, Hair Color, Lavender, Pink, Red, Summer, True Blood, White, Yellow

True Blood Week: Pam

Welcome back to Wednesday of True Blood Week at Glowing Color! This time, we’re going to look at Pam, aka Kristin Bauer.

It appears Kristin favors dressing in cool colors most frequently, so we’ll look at her in those first. By the way, Kristin is a natural blonde which rules out Autumn and Winter for her seasons.





Not looking so hot, right? Kristin’s skin looks tired and washed out in the cool colors of fuschia, white, lavender, black, blue, and pure red. The floral-patterned dress she is wearing is primarily black and white. It’s definitely looking like Kristin is not a Summer. As for photos of Kristin in warm colors, there were barely any to choose from. The 2 photos I found of her in warm AND pale colors (be-fitting the Spring season) show a big difference.

See? The champagne photo on the right is a little far away, but I’m willing to bet she would look stunning in a close-up of that color. The pink photo on the left though? Major difference. It could stand to be a little pinker, a little more blush, but it’s still a vast improvement. Also, go back to the photo of her in clear red. Look at her lipstick. THAT is the kind of red warm seasons can wear and shine in. A more muted, tomato red would look fantastic on Kristin. Kristin is a Spring, and it doesn’t look like she knows it! Pam, girl, go get some Spring colors and fix this!

Category:

Black, Blue, champagne, Fuchsia, Kristin Bauer, Lavender, Patterns, Pink, Red, Spring, True Blood, Warm, Warm in Cool, Warm in Warm, White

True Blood Week: Sookie

Welcome to True Blood week at Glowing Color. Let’s start off with the star of the show, Sookie Stackhouse aka Anna Paquin.

Most of you should know her natural hair color is not blonde but in case you haven’t ever seen her anywhere else, Anna Paquin is a brunette. This eliminates Spring and Summer, so what is she? An Autumn or a Winter?

Most of the usable photographs of Anna I found are of her in warm colors so let’s take a look at those first.




Anna’s looking a bit sickly in these colors. Tomato-red, teal (a “warm” blue), plum (a “warm” purple), navy blue (not a “warm” blue, but a muted blue which reads warm), gold, ivory, and camel are not Anna’s colors. She looks washed out and sallow in all of these. This means she is not an Autumn, which can only mean…Winter!

What a difference, yes? Look out fresh she looks in these colors! In the black, she looks pale but not washed out. She’s glowing. Also, even though she has blonde hair dye and lavender, a Summer color on, she still looks good here. That’s because lavender is still a cool color so it can work with many Winters.

Anna Paquin is a Winter.

Anna? Sookie? Girl go get you some more Winter colors in your wardrobe! And dye your hair back! They have wigs!

Coming up on True Blood Week:
Tuesday: Tara
Wednesday: Pam
Thursday: Jessica
Friday: Arlene

Category:

Anna Paquin, Black, Blue, camel, Cool, Cool in Cool, Cool in Warm, Fuschia, Gold, Ivory, Lavender, Purple, Red, Teal, True Blood, Winter

Christina Hendricks

Mad Men is one of my favorite shows, and Joan, played by Christina Hendricks, is one of my favorite characters. Christina is a drop-dead gorgeous woman but whenever I read celeb news and see her in magazines or at award shows, she often looks like death warmed over. I blame her stylist for this. It seems like everyone wants to accentuate her bewbs and they don’t pay attention to how SHE looks overall. She’s often dressed in cool jewel tones, hideous cool pastels, or black. She would look STUNNING if she wore colors to suit her tone. Most people would assume she is a textbook Autumn, due to her red hair but WRONG. Christina is actually a natural blonde and based on her coloring I would say she’s a Spring. Most of the colors she wears out fall under the Autumn or Winter category (overwhelmingly Winter). Autumn and Spring are both warm seasons, but Autumn can get away with bolder colors than Spring, and Spring can get away with softer colors than Autumn. This explains why, even when wearing Autumn colors as a “redhead”, something still looks off about her. Let’s take a look at some evidence shall we?

Christina in cool colors






If this heffa don’t look like slightly defrosted death in these pictures, I don’t know what…..All of these colors are either too dark/bold or too cool. Unfortunately, these types of colors are what she’s most often seen wearing.

Christina in Autumn colors



These pictures were my first clue that something was a bit off when trying to categorize Christina as an Autumn. She CLEARLY is not a Winter (nor Summer), and after these pics I concluded she’s definitely not an Autumn. These colors definitely look better on her than the cool colors above, but she’s still not really glowing like she could be. Navy and burgundy can work for Autumns or Winters and she looks okay in these colors but not stunning. The red she’s in is a telltale Autumn red. If she hit that one out the park, she’d be an Autumn. While she does look pretty here, the red is still not getting too crunk with her skin tone.

Christina in Spring colors



To me, Christina looks the best in these colors than anything else I’ve seen her in. She looks softer, glowy, fresh, ALIVE. Now in your mind, replace her red hair in these pictures with blonde. The effect would be perfect if she returned to her natural blonde color. Blonde is the best hair color base to start from when you want to go red because it looks more natural (compared to going red from a dark brown or black hair color), hence why many have no idea that isn’t her actual hair color. I’ve always been fascinated by red hair though for some reason, and I can usually tell if it’s natural, completely fake, or enhanced. Which is why even in the warmer colors, Christina often just looks….off. When the hair color, your skin tone, and the color of your outfit come together, hoes can’t tell you ANYTHING. Hopefully she’ll get it right more often in the future.

In conclusion, Christina Hendricks is a Spring who makes people think she’s an Autumn who wears Winter and Summer colors. Lawd.

**Update**
As I was going through my Google Reader, I saw a post on Celebitchy about Christina covering the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar. The post mentions that stylists have no idea what to do with a pale, busty, redhead. I agree and would add to that who’s-natural-hair-color-is-really-blonde. She looks pretty on the cover, but the color and the other photos…she just looks off.

Category:

Autumn, Black, Blue, Burgundy, Christina Hendricks, Gold, Green, Hair Color, Lavender, Peach, Red, Spring, Warm, Warm in Cool, Warm in Warm, White

Amel Larrieux

I thought I’d start off my celebrity profiles with my favorite singer, Amel Larrieux. Amel is a Winter. Let’s take a look at some of her photos and fashion colors.


Usually, the easiest way to tell if your skin has warm or cool undertones is to put on a black or white shirt. For black women, I have found it especially telling with white shirts; black can be tricky sometimes. Here, even with slight touches of gray if you look closely, all you see is Amel looking lovely in white. She makes the white look so crisp yet so soft. She does not look washed out at all; which is common for someone with a warm skin undertone in white. Winters definitely glow in white.


Here, Amel is in a deep jewel-tone purple. Winters look FABULOUS in cool-hued, royal jewel tones. A warm-toned person would look washed out in this and deeper jewel purples (I know because I am warm and I have a deep indigo dress that I look super-pale in).


See how Amel looks like it ain’t no thang to saunter down the street looking all ethereal? The burgundy dress really sets off her skin. Interestingly, burgundy is one of those both-ways colors. Burgundy can work on cool and warm skin tones. I’ll refer to them as Season Neutrals and expand on those in a future post.


This picture is from my trip to San Francisco to see her sing. What’s awesome (color-wise) about this picture is you can start to see the difference in Autumn and Winter in similar colors. I am wearing gray and Amel is wearing a grayish-lavender. See how Amel is holding down that shimmery lavender-gray satin, looking all fresh and I look like a wilted piece of lettuce? That’s color tones at work. I am an Autumn. Amel is a Winter. I am wearing a cool gray and it washed me out to oblivion. Gray is actually another color neutral, but there are definitely warm grays and cool grays. I have no business in a cool gray. Amel on the other hand can work it all day and all night *snaps in a Z formation*

Now for comparison, some photos of Amel in warm colors.

Now, Amel does not look bad in any of these shots. What I see, however, is that these colors do nothing for her skin. Her face looks matte and not glowy in the orange; the orange is the star of the show. The brown washes her face out. The gold is kind of just sitting on her, rather than flowing with her skin tone. Compare these last 3 photos with the ones of her in cool colors. The difference to me is striking, she shines in the cooler tones, making her a clear Winter.

Hopefully, this all made sense to you and you can start to see the difference in wearing colors that flatter your skin tone the best. If you have a black celebrity woman you want featured, e-mail me at bohemianbahamian@gmail.com

Category:

Amel Larrieux, Brown, Burgundy, Cool, Cool in Cool, Cool in Warm, Gold, Gray, Lavender, Me, Orange, Purple, Season Neutrals, Warm in Cool, White, Winter

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