Virtual Colour Analysis - Yes I have Changed my Mind !!

Since I launched the “Create your own Seasonal Palettes” more and more clients are asking for advice on which colours are right for them. Over the past six months I have been looking at their photographs and directing them towards their best colours. It never really felt as good as seeing someone in the studio - there I see the drapes react with clients’ skin tones and eyes. I still would recommend having a personal colour analysis with a colour analyst in person - if you are in the studio I can assess so much more about your lifestyle and personality - I can see how you react to the colours as well as seeing how the colours react with your features.

I had a bit of a breakthrough recently when I started to send colours back to clients to confirm their natural features and get feedback on how accurate my colours were. Tweaking the colours until the client was completely happy that I had an accurate representation of their features I could then create a palette for them knowing that it would be a good representation. This is what the first step looks like :

Once I have the colours agreed, I start to use them as a base. I can enhance the eye colour, find lipstick colours, create a base for neutrals and find complimentary colours. I can create a small palette or large according to what the client wishes. Shantae in the next photograph bought all of my Dark Autumn swatches at a cost of £110. It is a pregnancy treat so that she can plan her post pregnancy wardrobe - what a fabulous idea! We discovered from several photographs of Shontae that when she tans she becomes golden, but in the winter (especially in lockdown) she becomes a little paler and cooler. It took us a couple of days to pin down her natural features which were Dark Autumn, but with a couple of significant changes. She has more contrast and is more like a Dark Winter in that she can wear black or near blacks with soft white or lights. Most Dark Autumn palettes do not have any lights in them. We also needed to add some brights for highlights for this young mum to give her some energy to cope with those long sleepless nights. Bright Spring gave us the lights which Shontae loves, and Warm Spring gave us the brighter highlights which really compliment the palette. Step two below:

Being the detailed person that I am, I love to understand where each client fits into a season and how the palette needs to be tweaked to give their unique features the perfect palette. I look at their value, hue, chroma and contrast comparing them to the typical dimensions of the seasonal tone. Writing a short report to give guidelines on the dimensions of colour, how to combine the colours, guidance on make up colours (I am not a make up artist), and even a personalised colour wheel all gives the client more information than they would absorb in a personal colour analysis in my studio. I am now going to have to rethink my studio sessions to add in a report as I think it is so good to have the detail in hard copy.

This is the report that I sent to first client after we had finished her palette. She gave me a fantastic review and started shopping online straight away. Result !

The report comes as a PDF document ready to print on A4 paper. These clients all found the process enjoyable and felt involved throughout. I got to connect with clients and create unique palettes which is what I enjoy to do most. All of the clients started their journey with me because they wanted to buy swatches. It was easy to choose from the palette as I put names of swatches under any colour that I had fabric swatches available to make. The whole process took about five days with many Emails.

Due to the time involved, I am only going to do three a week for the short term and then review. I have put a listing onto my shop with three units of stock and I will restock as I get free time.

Lockdown has just moved my business into yet another direction.

Would love to hear what you think

Anni x