RSSMakeup Model : Soft Summer
April 21, 2009
Edit June 23/10 – Just a note to be sure everyone knows that this Makeup Model series of articles was posted before I became a Color Analyst. The articles have been very popular, so I leave them up, but the makeup recommendations are not necessarily those I’d make today. For anyone interested in more accurate Season and color advice, do look at 12blueprints.com or join the 12 Blueprints Fan Club on Facebook.
Soft Summer and Soft Autumn can be similar. You could be Jennifer Aniston or Amanda Bynes, respectively (or, these women give the impression of these Seasons). In the wrong colors, you can look blah. Hair is neither light or dark. Skin is neither either. You can get lost in medium-ness. Getting your colors right is what takes you from medium everything to fabulosity.
These two seasons hold hands to straddle a neutral line very closely. Both have some warmth, but the Autumn season has more. Many Soft Summer women color their brown hair to look warmer when they would look better in a more neutral brown or cooler brown.
If Cool Summer, coolest of all, has enough blue to be look best in lilac-pink,
and Light Summer is so fair that cotton-candy-pink is most appealing,
you’re the next level of warmth.
You are still defined by what is predominantly Summer, so coolness, lightness (but that’s also deepening now), and muted haziness. It’s that color so many companies create in a blush and call it Desert Rose.
Lipstick: Bobbi Brown Italian Rose ; Laura Mercier Gilded Garden collection Hibiscus (English Rose might work too but appears brown enough to be more Soft Autumn), swatched here by the wonderful karlasugar that I’ve introduced before. This woman is saving us time and money, and teaching about color by comparison.
Blush: Dior English Rose ; NARS Deep Throat.
Eyeliner: MAC Technakohl Earthline ; EsteeLauder Automatic Eye Pencil Duo Walnut.
Eyeshadow: Dior Flirty Brown; MAC Malt, Quarry, Copperplate; Just looking for Suede Brown here. Get an idea of the shades from karlasugar’s most amazing MAC eyeshadow swatch post. Vote for her with the Best Blog About Stuff button on her site.
Eye hilite : MAC Vapor, which you can see at MAC’s eyeshadow page or at karlasugar (last box in the MAC eyeshadow article).
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Hi Christine!
Your site is SO helpful! I had my analysis done by SciArt at one of their training sessions, but have been having a bear of a time buying makeup (even with my swatches) but you’ve done the work for me!!!
THANK YOU!
Here’s my new color confusion. My hair has always been an ashy brown, but my hairstylist colored it considerably warmer. Should I start wearing the soft autumn colors now? My soft summer clothes look a little off with my new hair…
Thanks for your help!
Lisa
Lisa,
You are so far ahead of the game if you know you’re a Sci\Art Soft Summer. I’m interested to hear you say that you find it difficult to buy makeup with your swatch book because I believe most women would agree with you. One day, I hope not long from now, I want to be able to give you your makeup in a customized collection.
In the meantime, regarding your color confusion. Your season was determined based on what the colors in that season did for your skin. Your skin doesn’t change when you color your hair but warmer hair may give an overall warmer look and Soft Summer can take some warmth, or at least more neutrality than True Summer. You could choose some slightly warmer colors from your kit and you probably could wear a few Soft Autumn colors. Or, could you foil in some cooler hair chunks? I’ve been in this position before too and I find that a good remedy to buy some time. After a few weeks, the red should be gone from your new hair color and it will be easier to work with. I’m no hair colorist but a pro can help you.
Thank you so much! The Nars blush worked wonders on my skin, and you seem to have me convinced that I am, indeed, a soft summer. But please, please, please: could you recommend additional lip colours, since it is agonisingly hard to get those shades by Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier in Europe. More Dior, Estee Lauder or Mac, perhaps?
Mia,
Let me work on that. I have easy access to Clinique and Estee Lauder. Clinique probably has loads of choices, this is the sort of colour they seem to do a lot of. Can you get that brand? If not, I’ll look at a MAC counter later this month.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Clinique is perfect.
Hi Christine!
Thank you so much for your invaluable articles and recommendations! I am not sure that I am a Soft Summer, but as far as I read somewhere on the net that Angelina Jolie could be a soft summer I am in doubts. Her coloring resembles mine – blue-gray eyes, naturally rather dark, fair-medium neutral skin. She (and me too) doesn’t look really clear, but can`t be dark or light, which leaves us soft. But it seems unbelievable that she shares the same palette with Jennifer Aniston. I think Jolie is somewhere in between Soft summer and Clear winter (if it makes any sense). What do you think of Angelina Jolie`s colortype?
I am looking forward for your lipstick choices from Clinique because we also have problems with finding Laura Mercier and Bobby Brown. Could you please check Clinique Long Last Lipstick No. 95 Tabasco, I see it is a bit warmish, but works wonderful on me, just livens my eyes and face without overpowering. Not for work , rather for evening. Similar but cooler shade Clinique High Impact Lip Colour Cider Berry doesn`t work for me. To which season’s palette could Tabasco belong? I have so many pains with finding the right shade of lipstick for me and I am very sensitive to the wrong lipstick color on my face; maybe your advice will give me some clue if I really could be a Soft Summer? Maybe I am warmer or clearer?
Thank you very much for your wonderful site!
Natalia,
Angelina Jolie, like all the medium-intensity coloring people out there, is very hard to put in a season without seeing the woman herself and trying various colours. As an analyst, I like these people best because it is impossible for me to jump to conclusions about which season they are. I have to let the drapes show me so I’m certain I am not forcing the evidence towards a particular season. With the very light and very dark people, season momentum can take hold and it’s all I can do to truly and objectively convince myself that they are indeed a Light something or a Dark something or a True something. You can most certainly have 2 people who appear to have very different skin be in the same season, most particularly in the medium groups.
Important statement : It’s NOT so much the coloring itself that we look at as how the skin REACTS to colours (which is why hair and eye colour are of no significance in my analyses).
I looked for Cider Berry and Tabasco, neither available here anymore. The saleswoman says Tabasco has been replaced by Paprika, or some similar name, but that’s of no use to us right now.
Mia and Natalia,
Soft Summer is a pretty season. These are the very pretty roses, soft plum, pink-browns, and some dusty colours. I saw less at Clinique than I expected to. This season can handle some brown and that company always seem to do a lot of that, but most of it seemed too warm. I liked Raspberry Glace, possibly a little too cool and sharp, Glazed Berry (really did like this one), Violet Berry. PinkABoo might work but it’s a little too warm and too brownish. This season is still predominantly cool and soft. Cool Pink With A Tan would be a good description of the idea colour (but it wasnt’ there).
There isn’t the choice and organization in cosmetics to find the precise shade in each of the 12 groups, unless you had time to sit down with all the brands and products. Also, there’s great variability among the individuals in any season. Sometimes, the same shade will work across a couple of seasons.
Hi Christine!
Thank you very much! I`ll check the colors you recommend, yet the more I learn about Soft Summer the less I see myself in this season. But your site is very in-depth and really helpful. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the Clinique shades. I got Violet Berry, which is less than half a shade darker than my own lip colour. Putting on all the colours you recommended today (the Nars blush, Mac eyeshadows and Clinique lipstick) made me truly amazed: I looked naturally pretty – not at all made up, since the colours blended perfectly with my own colours, enhancing them without overpowering or making me look harsh.
I am in total awe. This is makeup at its best, as it should be. Thank you ever so much.
Natalia,
Was it you who commented recently that you wondered if you might identify your season in a backwards, but still very viable, way by going from the makeup back to the season? In theory, that would work. I thought about it a lot at one point too, wondering if it might be possible. IRL, there are too many boobytraps.
Soft Summer, in fact all the medium-coloring seasons, in fact all the season blends, are complicated. Still, you might move in a new direction by trying those colours. And I’ll tell you, just because the makeup colours don’t seem good on you (even regardless of whether your clothes or hair or other makeup are interfering), it may be that not every member of each season can wear each colour. I’m still working through that. I just need to get to a point where I’ve draped 10 or so people in each season.
Mia,
I am so very glad that it worked. This was easy! The fact that it FEELS so right means that it probably is. Colour is felt quite viscerally. People don’t know why it feels good to look at right colour but they certainly sense the relief of it, the dissolving of the tension. I feel closer to one of my dreams of being women’s personal makeup shopper. Thanks for this.
Christine, I am that very Natalia. Sorry for delay in replying, I missed your latest posts.
Yes, I am still not sure what my season is – in fact I cannot tell that my coloring is allover medium, I could pass for a winter with my naturally rather dark hair and soft black eyebrows, my skin (with some yellow-rose undertone) looks definitely lighter than my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. Yet my eyes are soft gray-green, not those “winter eyes”.
I am Angelina Jolie type and I think we are both Soft, but not to such extent as Soft Summer. Don’t you think that Soft Summer palette is too muted and muddy for Angelina? I watch her in different colors and compare with my own experience. Though Angie (me too) needs softened colors, but definitely brighter than and not as muted as I see in the Soft Summer palette.
One of the main recommendations for soft Summer is to avoid black. Jennifer Aniston never looks good in black, but Angelina Jolie sometimes does. She looks stunning in certain sorts of black- true black (without grayish or bluish undertone) in velvet texture or velvety looking, like her dress at the British Academy Film Awards -2009. But she doesn’t look her best in more harsh shiny or muddy (grayed) black. I also look my best in such velvety black with minimal makeup (I think it’s because this is the color of my natural eyebrows).
Yet I don’t look good in stark white (I think because the whites of my eyes are not so white). And I look great in some not very harsh deeper reds. I think may be because I have highly pigmented reddish lips and the color of my natural blush is red. Otherwise winter palette is too hard for me.
I know that on the whole I’ll look blah in many of Soft Summer colors and that is because Soft summer palette is the marriage of two seasons – Summer and Autumn, where one (main) is cool and the other is warm and this is exactly what I need, but they are both muted and the resulting palette is too muddy for me. I need one season in this alliance to be muted and the other to be clear, yet if I stay in the Summer basis the only option is Light Summer, but I am not light, so that palette is of no use for me.
It seems to me that the 12 seasons theory though much better than 4-seasons is incomplete because there are many ”Softs” (neutrals) out there who are not so muted as typical softs and need slightly brighter and clearer colors.
As for make-up palettes you work out for different seasons, they are really very useful; I read your recommendations for each season. I think mistakes in make-up colors are much more noticeable than mistakes in clothes` colors.
Raspberry Glace is too cool for my skin tone, PinkABoo doesn`t show up on my highly pigmented lips and I didn’t find Glazed Berry in our stores, but thanks to your site I found the best-looking lipstick for me – Apple Brandy which you meant for Deep Winter. Though I make no conclusion about my season from this, I am fully aware of boobytraps and variability among the individuals. But don’t these details indicate that I really need slightly stronger or brighter colors than I see in the Soft Summer palette?
Natalia,
In general, I’d agree that Soft Summer seems too soft, though not necessarily too cool, to define your features. You know how this works well enough to see the variability that is possible. People of mid-range coloring can swing all over when they’re draped. I have seen a Bright Winter man (during my training, so I know it was done correctly), a Dark Winter (with very light brows, though the dark brows are more often True and Bright Winter), and a Light Spring. Soft and True Autumn people seem to give off more orange tones. Hard to say what you are. I can’t comment on my experience with the variability in Soft seasons, having only draped one. For some reason, I’ve done 6 True Summers, and many of the other 2 Summers as well.
I also agree about Angelina Jolie, that she sometimes gives the impression of being able to pull off stronger colour. Like all celebrities, who knows what they really look like?
I have yet to find any reason to think the 12 season theory will miss anybody or place them incorrectly (speaking only for the Sci\ART system here that I know much better than the others). We need to get you draped.
Each palette, even for the 2 Light seasons which never go particularly dark, have some relatively darker colours. From what I see so far, most women within any season look best at the 1/2 – 3/4 darkness point in their Colours Book choices. The darkest colours do look fine in makeup but would be worn at night or very sheerly. Apple Brandy seems like a lot of colour kick for Soft Summer, though it is fairly sheer and might have application across a few seasons.
And, you are so right that makeup colour mistakes are more obvious than clothes, I suppose because they’re being painted right on the skin. You cannot avoid looking at them.
Saw this terrific base hair colour for Soft Summer:
http://www.reelmovienews.com/gallery/angelina-jolie-pic/
Hi Christine,
I was coloured matched as Soft Summer a few years ago by CMB. I am pretty sure that’s what I am. I am definitely cool rather than warm and my colouring is muted and light to medium – pretty similar to SJP.
What do you think of Clinique’s High Impact shades of Honey Blush, Nearly Violet and Rose Spectrum for someone like me? I’ve got the first two shades and they’re pretty but I’m not sure if they are too warm for a summer person.
Here they are at:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__8kI11wxo2I/SLaXjumtrdI/AAAAAAAAAe8/-4c4sUa4cD0/s1600-h/Clinique+High+Impact+1+(Medium).jpg
and
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__8kI11wxo2I/SLaXjiRa3mI/AAAAAAAAAfE/0wXmugyyP3A/s1600-h/Clinique+High+Impact+2+(Medium).jpg
Oops – forgot to say that I love your site – it’s lovely to read a blog when someone has a real passion about their subject.
Jay
I like Nearly Violet, and maybe Toasted Rose. Karla’s arm is tilted a bit so the Nearly Violet is harder to see. I agree that Honey Blush and Rose Spectrum might be too warm but it depends on your coloring. True Summer’s lip colours are certainly too blue for you and you need some warmth, though not very much in Soft Summer. The warmth is barely noticeable till you get to your neighbor, Soft Autumn.
Thanks for that Christine, i love reading about colours. I mostly know what my best colours are but i find it awful hard finding good stuff for work. I like nice separates but because my look is meant to be blended i.e no strong contrasts it can end up a bit boring and grey. I like wearing pink and there’s a nice medium shade that always gets me compliments when i’m wearing tops in that colour. But finding a good colour for my bottom half when I’m got pink on top is hard. Maybe dresses are the way to go??? (I love wearing trousers though)
I agree, Jay. A work wardrobe is very hard to find. Trust me, even if you can wear black and live near a huge American mall and can spend what you want, it’s still all boring. This really is a service women need refined.
Do you have the Colours Book for your particular season? Even the very light ones have some dark shades for work clothing, browns, blues, grays, etc. As a general rule, repeating the tones in your hair is very successful to create a connected image. You can go as dark as your darkest hair tones. Your description of “no strong contrasts” puts you in a Soft season? You can wear various colours together, not monochromatic at all. Sea-sand-earth-sky colours. And though it may be hard to find clothing, the makeup choices abound.
Oh that’s helpful, thank you. I will keep the sea, sand etc colours in mind the next time I go shopping. I think my best darkest colour is a pewtery mix so I’ll keep trawling through the shopping sites.
Jay
Christine, here’s my observation on wearing out-of-season dark (deep) colors. Have you noticed anything similar?
Some seasons, esp. Summers and Springs, tend to borrow the darker colors of their opposite season for more drama. These colors are not the most naturally complementary, but if they are modified by an open neckline and makeup adjustment, they seem to pass. Some seasons are naturally complemented by black, for example, but other seasons may be fine with only the contrast of lighter hair/skin on black. The features disappear somewhat, but the contrast will stand. For those who borrow darker colors, the more successful seem to be those with medium coloring who wear it off the face and balance with darker eye makeup.
Angelina Jolie has mastered this look–soft, neutral coloring but with a bit of drama–not Elizabeth Taylor level full glam. Maybe a lighter coloring could brighten the makeup more to offset a deep color?
You make some excellent points. My tendency is to be a purist about this, but that attitude seldom can be expected IRL. Angelina is a brilliant example of someone who has learned to work another look passably well, and with more drama than in naturally inherent in her-but I think about her colouring a fair bit. She’s complicated. The photos Brad Pitt took of her with the new twins in Life showed a dark woman. But who knows, ay? She’s coloured and altered beyond belief.
The whole blond woman and black clothes is a great illustration too. As others have mentioned, you can’t help but notice hair colour and contrast with hair colour. It may work for a different set of reasons. Still, I see a lot of pale women with light hair wearing black for this reason, and toned-down makeup looks absolutely nowhere on them, while intensified makeup looks like they tried way too hard. Makeup artists and celebrities can get away with this, but that’s not me (or most of us, I’d venture to say).
Dear Christine,
I am fairly sure that I am a blend of two types–about 45% soft autumn and 55% soft summer . If this is the case, would it be preferable to choose colors from only my primary type: soft summer? Or am I better advised to choose mainly from soft summer colors but also a bit from soft autumn shades, as well? I’m wondering with regard to both clothing and makeup shades. How best to proceed for for less clear-cut, more blended types?
Thanks so much for your help. I love your site!
Adria
Andrea,
In a good PCA system, there is no shade that belongs in more than 1 Season, save black and white. Once you get into the 12 tones, the differences between shades are subtle but observed side by side, they’re obviously not the same.
You entire palette is defined by your exact degree of cool/warm, light/dark, clear/soft for every colour. Wherever you fit on those 3 scales defines your Season. The position on the 3 scales is very different for another Season, so their tones will conflict with your innate colouring and you wouldn’t share between Seasons. Frustrating, I know, and I am really absolute about it because I see how far second-best is from best…but it feels great once you figure out the common thread.
Christine,
I think I understand, now. Thanks for the helpful explanation. I would be surprised if I am other than Soft Summer. Still, I hope to someday take a visit to get draped by you. I may be in Canada sometime in the next 6 months; will email you, perhaps, to get a better sense of where you are located. Your site has become my favorite. Everywhere I go, my eyes, though untrained, seek to find seasonal correlations for the amazing array of colors before me.
Look forward to it, Andrea. I live near Detroit.
On a side note: I have finally found some favorite lipsticks, thanks to your soft summer recommendations. One that I also like is Clinique’s Pink Toffee. Are you familiar with it? I think it could be a good one for many soft summers who lean on the warm side; a rosy pink with a slight tan such as you alluded to in an earlier post.
Oh, yes, of course! I know that colour well and I completely agree with you. I keep lists of good makeup for each Season that I give clients, and that one is certainly on the list. Thank you!
What a fabulous idea. Your clients must love the makeup lists!
Hi Christine!
Oh goodness. A few weeks ago I asked a question on your “Deep Winter” article about which colors I could wear to get that same dark look that you get with black lipstick – and you were so helpful even when my question was badly worded! So anyways, I have since realised I am not a Deep Winter at all! I am just like Miley Cyrus (see the page here http://www.prettyyourworld.com/miley-cyrus.html) in that while at first I seem like I’m a winter I’m actually a soft summer! I agree with VE in that lighter seasons can pull of those deep colors for drama but look better in their season’s colors.
Thanks so much for this list! Especially the NARS Deep Throat blush. I saw it before and went “Ooh, that looks great! But it’s a bit expensive,” but now that you suggested it I’ll definitely get it because I’m sure it will look great.
You’ve probably guessed it already, but I am looking for a bit of advice. This is how I realized I am a Soft Summer too – I look fine in black but I have this soft white top with beautiful multicolored (Soft Summer colors) which I look gorgeous in. The color really flows from my top to my face! The only problem is my hair. Everything looks good together, from my hazel/green eyes to my fair skin; even my black eyebrows don’t look out of place! Then you come to my hair. It’s a fairly dark ash brown, and while it looks natural it’s like when you’re eyes are traveling up my body they are stopped short at my hair. So my question for you is do you think I would it be wise to dye it lighter? I don’t mean much lighter – I’ll probably go only one shade lighter, like a medium ash brown with some depth.
I know that wasn’t the most comprehensible paragraph either, but I’m sure being as knowledgeable as you are you’ll understand what I mean.
Thank you so much!
Boy can I blab. Oh well – I just wanted to mention that I’ve looked around and It seems like I could be between Soft and Cool Summer, which seems to be where people with Summer coloring and dark hair belong – but I don’t think I’m quite that cool. And also that where I am it is NOT actually 1 AM!
Sally,
Without putting drapes on you, I have no idea what Season you are. It makes it very hard to give advice. Some Seasons make a huge mistake colouring their hair. If your natural hair colour doesn’t work, my first thought is that the palette you’ve chosen isn’t right. Once you’ve tried chemical hair colour, natural hair colour will never seem as richly pigmented, but don’t do anything permanent. You might try staying with your own colour but applying a glaze or enriching the shade you have.
Hair colour changes are seldom very flattering, IMO. All the highlights, lowlights, etc, are like too much makeup. They’re trying to create an improvement that wouldn’t be needed if your clothes and makeup colours were right. I can’t think of a single analysis I’ve done who looked better for the busy hair stuff than she did in the colour Nature gave her. Nature will never get your blueprint wrong. She gave you the colour that you are supposed to wear, that most harmonizes with all the other colours already in you.
Almost every woman I analyze has made a decision about her Season, but I’m sad to say they’ve all been off but 1, a True Autumn. I dearly wish I could analyze every one of the wonderful women who write to me, because only a personal analysis can answer the question.
Okay! Thanks for the advice. I’m going to go and get analysed soon so hopefully I’ll know then. I am trying to avoid making any huge mistakes! I just thought I fit the Soft Summer category the best because those colors were the most flattering. Hopefully once I am I will be able to really use your lovely articles. Thanks again Christine!
Hi Christine-
A soft summer with neutralish-ish skin and cool-ish eyes could have naturally reddish hair, correct? And that might throw analysis attempts into a warmer season?
Also, what color are your mascara recommendations for soft summer? Would dark brown work or would one need a dark charcoal type color?
Thanks!
Andi,
I have ONE rule about Colour Analysis. ANY Season of the 12 can have ANY hair colour and ANY eye colour. The instant you start considering hair and eye, you’re moving down the wrong path. This is why so many women have miscast themselves. I know we’ve been taught for years that it matters, but it does NOT.
Not only that, but NOBODY is objective about their own face’s reaction to colour until they’ve proceeded through correct analysis and watched it.
And finally, nobody can describe hair and eye colour precisely enough. Naturally reddish…how red? how cool? a little cool? are you a warm hair/cool skin person? warm hair/warm skin? The answers are all over the map in EVERY Season.
Your second question is easier
Soft Summer could probably wear either dark brown or charcoal. Brown sure is easier to find. If you’re on the warmer side of the Season, brown is good, and as dark as your natural colouring. Some Summers are surprisingly dark. If you’re closer to True Summer, I like charcoal (many companies, like L’Oreal’s Voluminous, make a Soft Black that is not so densely black).
Oh, thank you, thank you! Charcoal mascara is my next stop!
The red (a very almost-red kind of color) did throw me off for quite some time (not to mention, I oh-so-wanted to embrace the warm red haired coloring). But! The soft summer colors make my eyes stand out and my skin fade cleanly to the background, with clear edges in photographs, so while I’ve never been analyzed (it’s on my list!) I’m fairly certain that’s where I fit. The hair seems to almost clash with the recommended pink lipsticks, however. Like they’re fighting each other. I assume that means I’m warm haired, but I can’t really say for sure. If that’s the case, do you have any recommended lipsticks that might not fight so much but still fit the soft summer palette?
On second reading and thought, I think I’ll stick with brown, as I’m not very dark at all, even though I’m not sure I could really say I’m on the warmer side of the season (except for the hair).
Andi,
Get thee draped and every question will be answered.
And then tell us how it turned out.
Christine,
At 12 Blueprints you talked about judging color and season by 3 criteria: Light/Dark, Cool/Warm, Clear/Soft. My question is: what season would apply to a person that is Dark-Cool-Soft?
Good Q, Kristina,
In the Sci\ART system, there is no Winter-Summer blend, which is essentially what you are asking. Other companies do have this, but Sci\ART is very much a scientific company. From a theoretical point of view, such a Season would not follow the natural order of colour. In a practical, IRL setting, it isn’t needed. I analyze many dark True Summers who just cannot wear the blackened darks of Winter. They do fine in the True Summer palette, and can use many darker colours, including black if they’re attentive to how they do it.
Hi Christine,
Thank you for your reply (and sorry for my late one!).
I think I’m beginning to get it. I’m starting to see what you mean when you compare Winter and Summer colors. I’m also starting to believe that’s where I (and the color analysts I’ve seen) have gone wrong. They’ve looked at my brown hair and eyes (=quite dark colors) and thought “Winter or Autumn”. Winter feels right when it comes to its coolness, Autumn feels right when it comes to its softness. However, I can’t do Winter’s “blackened” colors, as you say. I can’t wear Winter’s dark royal blue or pine green, so that would always steer me towards Autumn. But then there were the bronzes and the burnt reds and I’d go totally jaundiced.
I never really considered Summer at all, because the descriptions don’t fit me at all.
I think there must be a lot of “Dark Summers” out there who have been misdiagnosed over and over. I’m not sure I’m one of them. My trial and error continues, but like I wrote in another post today, that lilac shirt with plum butterflies gave me a face I didn’t recognize – in a good way!
Hi Christine,
I was wondering if you know if any of the Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks are for a Soft Summer? Born with It seems like it might fit for a lighter SS like me.
(I’m moving the discussion here to try being tidier with my comments
)
Kristina,
Although Cool Summer (or Cool Winter for that matter, although you seem for have a preference for Summer when it comes to the 12 CMB season-specific colors) could give a greater degree of contrast and color saturation while still being a soft palette (Cool Summer), the main issue for me is the color brown. While you like cocoa, and rose brown, and possibly also chocolate, all in the Soft Summer palette (in addition to stone and natural beige, not really brown, but typical Soft Summer base colors), Cools really only have “honorary browns”–taupe and pewter (again using the CMB colors–CMC book).
It might still be possible for a Cool to wear brown balanced with their cooler colors, but it is more uncertain than with Softs. Also, your connection with Autumn, is more suggestive of Soft Summer than Cool Summer.
Interestingly, cocoa and rose brown, which are less warm browns anyway, are in the Cool Summer palette in the 1991 CMB book. I still like to look at it for comparison and makeup suggestions. For example, on page 165, which of these color groupings would you use to create a capsule wardrobe?
- Blue charcoal/soft white/raspberry/icy pink (Cool Summer) or
- Pewter/amethyst/dusty rose/soft white (Soft Summer)
As far as makeup is concerned, again, brown is the issue. Brown looks good on you, whereas gray doesn’t. As a Cool, the right shade of gray would be one of your best eye shadow colors. With regards to lipstick and blush, your preference is colors that are not too cool/do not have too much blue. I believe it is possible to be a seasonal type without going to the extremes of cool or warm in that palette, but the cooler/blue-er shades were probably made for the Cools.
Another thing that was a bit fuzzy in my mind but is now more clear after I spoke to Irenee, is the fact that the different colors in a given palette may have different uses, and this would depend on a person’s specific characteristics, such that two different people with the exact same seasonal palette may use their colors differently. Irenee talks about colors that one would use for full dress and near the face (this would be one’s best colors), in addition to colors to be used away from the face or as accents. These are the colors that would be used to balance, complement and create contrast with the colors above, and to create a dark accent or an illuminating effect. I understand better now how to use some of my lighter or blah colors, they can actually create a rather beautiful effect when used in the right combination, the right amount, and in the right location.
A thing to do could be to see what percentage of colors in each palette is less you, and then analyze why (too cool, too dark, too soft?), and whether those colors can still be used away from the face, etc.
Cools also have black, dark navy and royal blue in their palette (and charcoal), which may or not work for you (I’m thinking royal blue may be too sharp or cool for you?), whereas Softs have charcoal and chocolate as your darker colors or colors to use as dark neutrals, in addition to a lighter navy and a charcoal blue.
An idea would be to do the free questionnaire on Irenee’s site. When you are done, you’ll have a nice summary of your characteristics, and access to detailed information about the colors in all of the homebase seasons, plus the additional colors in each type, for a total of 12 seasonal palettes, which are so harmonious and gorgeous to look at. She also has different booklets for each homebase, that include the homebase colors plus the additional colors for the different variants, and all sorts of useful tips).
As you suggested, CMB (UK site seems to still be using the 12 seasonal palette season) is a great source for ideas for makeup colors and comparison. I was just looking at the CMB US site, which looks like it has been redesigned since I last looked, seems to be using the 4 season system, but when I looked under makeup, there are some very interesting suggestions. For Summers, they have a number of lipstick colors, including “French Carmelian” and “Soft Plum”, which may give you that more saturated and cooler color effect, without being too cool.
I am still thinking Soft Summer, although if you turned out to be a Cool Summer it would not be a shock. One more thing to consider is CMC’s test to distinguish between Cools and between Softs. It is not a direct comparison but may be helpful: lavender, amethyst (Cool Summer, although they are also Soft Summer colors) vs. orchid and sea green (Soft Summer, ditto). Consider also the color combinations suggested for each type.
I am thoroughly enjoying my current readings on color and lines, and will be sure to share any pertinent bits.
Hi, Louise,
I’ll go look. The thing about these lipsticks is that the colour deposit is heavy so they go on a bit dark and solid. As you know, your Season is guided by gentle colour transitions and a light touch, since the delicacy of the complexion is overwhelmed by dense, solid, heavy, and dark. Still, they make a wide selection and with a gloss over top, it is a good lip product for the price. I’ll get back to you on this.
Kristina,
One more thought. Who says it has to be a 12-palette system? Perhaps some of us need greater fine-tuning than others.
If we think of a 24- or 48-palette system (I’ll do the math another time…
), perhaps you fall between Soft Summer and Cool Summer, with neither extreme (i.e., too cool or too soft) being your best colors, i.e., your full dress or near the face colors.
You may even be able to bring in a few Deep Winter and Clear Winter colors (and perhaps one or two Autumn colors), and then work out your best color combinations from this mix.
Hi Fil,
Sorry for this late reply. Somehow I couldn’t get the time to myself to really read and re-read your comments these past few days.
Hmmmm. OK, I’ll try to sort out my thoughts:
I did the questionnaire on Irenee’s site. According to her, I’d be far too dark to be anything but Winter or possibly Clear Spring (which I know for a fact I’m not, the Kelly green is simply awful on me). Also, it might be my monitor, but the Summer colors on her site look positively garish to my eye, even the softer ones. So not much help there for me, I’m afraid.
Anyone who’d look at me quickly would probably say Winter or Deep Autumn. But you know how good you look when you wear the right colors – and how tired and nervy you look in the wrong ones? The latter is what I feel like in Winter’s colors. Like they “demand” so much of me. There’s no peace.
Something else that I’ve been thinking about these past few days: maybe 12 seasons isn’t too few but actually too many??? You pointed out that Soft Summer has the browns and Cool Summer has the grays (mainly). But when I look at CMB:s Summer palette, it has both the browns and the grays. I look good in rose-beige, cocoa and rose-brown, but I can definitely wear light blue-gray, charcoal blue-gray and grayed navy also! Looking at the 12-season systems in CMC etc, it seems I’d have to choose either-or. Also, in the Cool Summer palette, it feels like too much Winter has been mixed in and the beautiful, clean Summer colors are no longer what distinguishes it from Winter. Similarly, the Soft Summer is a palette where they’ve muddied the Summer colors, if you see what I mean, and it’s not to the CMB Summer palette’s advantage.
It’s true I can’t wear gray eyeshadow. It makes me look tired. I can’t do greens either, not even greenish browns, as those colors bring out my ruddy complexion. I wear mineral makeup mostly, and my favorite eyeshadows from Alima Pure (wonderful, wonderful company in Oregon, US) are Chai, which I’d say is like a light rosy brown-beige, and Chocolate, which is a deep rose-brown. These colors bring out the blue in my brown eyes and turn them into cocoa brown.
When comparing the colors you suggested, I favor orchid and sea green, simply because the amethyst and the lavender look too “grayed” on me. I need “cleaner”, though not necessarily “clearer”.
Christine said somewhere that once you find the right makeup colors you can pile them on, as those colors are already in you and therefore they look great. Well, I can pile on cool browns and roses (deeper shades), but although the base color of my hair is a dark charcoal, I can’t wear that color on my face. It’s too heavy.
I’m going to go through your posts again and get back to you with more thoughts as they come along. I realize it’s a bit controversial wanting the 4 season system back, but somehow I think a lot of what Carole Jackson meant with those pure palettes has gone missing when mixing in the other palettes and leaving out the original ones altogether. (Running for cover.)
I’m linking the discussion to where we left off on the other thread, and then back here on March 4th:
http://www.agreenertea.com/women-and-cosmetic-advertising/#comment-1914
Kristina,
This must be some kind of transatlantic thought sharing. After I wrote my last comment to you, I wondered whether by mixing the Summers in CMC, and leaving certain colors out, one would get the original Summer in the CMB 4-season system. Unfortunately, I gave my Carole Jackson book away many years ago, but I ordered one from Amazon already
). I am very curious to see how the seasonal palettes compare to the original seasons. The oldest CMB book I have from the early 90′s already has the 12-palette system, that it is still in use by CMB UK. By the way, they seem to have updated CMC with a new edition that was out just this month.
The UK CMB company, which I believe no longer has a connection to the US-based CMB, which still uses the 4-season system (not sure if they were ever connected), also operates in Europe and many other countries outside of Europe. I noticed on their website they have a consultant in Sweden. Given all the issues you would be able to raise regarding your particular coloring, you may have a better outcome with them this time around (I came out a Deep Autumn in 1991 because of my black hair and because I don’t do stark white very well, but if I had to do it again today, I would be more aware of the pitfalls and might get to the right conclusion with CMB).
Irenee would be very interested in your particular case, I think. The system in my opinion is more flexible then it looks in terms of hair color determining your season automatically. I think she will also incorporate new information in the questionnaire that will help with its accuracy. For me, her system is more helpul and flexible than CMB. As she says, I am a Winter, but not a very good one, and she is spot on!
Hi again, Fil!
Wow, that’s so funny, we had the same thought simultaneously!
I have the 1991 CMB version and the CMC version, besides the original CMB book from 1980 (I also had to get a new one, because the one I had was falling to pieces and the colors had begun to get really pale). When I got the new copy of CMB I was pleasantly surprised to see so many beautiful, clean Summer colors. They are most definitely different from Winter’s colors, but they are not at all the muddied colors of Soft Summer, nor the very cool, crisp colors of the Cool Summer, and certainly much more powerful than the Light Summer colors.
I realize there must be a need for these “mixed” seasons. I get that. What I can’t understand is why they have left out the original Summer colors (as you will see when you get your book), because there are obviously people who look best in those and who can wear both the browns and the charcoals.
In CMB Carole says: “Many brown-eyed or green-eyed Summers mistakenly think they are warm seasons…” (page 44) and “The dark brunette Summer is expecially good in the vivid colors of her palette and may find that the palest pastels are best mixed with brighter colors. She is the woman who just missed being a Winter.” (page 70) The mixing in of other season colors wasn’t invented at that time (or known to Ms. Jackson) but she didn’t seem to see a need for it, as her suggestion was to just wear the colors accordingly. I have no idea what she would say about the extended version of palettes today, but I’m pretty sure she’d miss the Original Summer! So I guess that would make my opinion the following: there needs to be 16 palettes – or just 4.
Oh wow, this is the closest to rocket science I’ve ever come. LOL.
Oh, and I forgot to say:
I will absolutely contact Irenee to get her opinion, if possible. Thank you for the tip!
That’s the conclusion I’m coming to. In my opinion, the 12-palette system has definitely been very helpful to many people. I see it for example when it comes to Winter women and wearing brown: Cool or True Winter women do brown less well, if at all, Clear or Bright Winter women can do a very dark, blackened brown but not a warmer brown or a lighter brown (other than taupe or pewter, which are gray-browns all Winters can do), and Deep or Dark winter women, with their connection with Autumn, can also do a warmer chocolate, in addition to black-brown. If, as a Winter woman, you are lucky to fall nicely into one of these 3 categories, this is indeed very helpful.
What I started to think, as you did too, was what to do about the people who have connections within their own season, say for example, a number of characteristics from the different Summer types–what are they? If it is too cumbersome to add all sorts of additional categories and combinations to the 12-palette system, might they be better represented by the original 4-season system–as you suggest, a 16-palette system?
It seems the original system was ditched too much in a hurry, but there must be a reason why people continue to find it useful. If you ever do the draping with CMB in Sweden, you could perhaps try to focus also on the colors in the original book to test this for yourself. The description certainly seems to fit you better than any one of the Summer types in CMC.
I was looking at the post below to help make sense of our discussions, and noticed there is indeed a 16-palette system–Color Me a Season!! I hadn’t paid attention before, but isn’t this interesting?
http://www.agreenertea.com/the-season-naming-systems/
Hi again, Fil!
Yes, I certainly agree. I’m starting to think like this:
If my color analysis had been correct from the start (Deep Autumn) or even from the second time (Deep Winter), then I wouldn’t have felt something was wrong. I mean, we all know the difference between what looks good and what doesn’t, and also what looks “kind of right, but not 100%”. I mean, even on days when we’re tired or we feel bad about ourselves or our situation for some reason, the right color looks good. I never got those “highs” in the Winter or Autumn palettes.
I tend to think like you that the original system might have been ditched too quickly. I certainly think that there are 4 palettes missing in the new system (I don’t know the Sci/Art system, so I can’t say anything about it). Also, I tend to think hair and eye color would matter, after all. I’d love to see some blond Deep Winters and some really dark Light Springs, just to get to see the strength of that type of system.
I doubt if I will ever go to another CMB analyst. We don’t have any in my home town and frankly, I think I’ve gotten a LOT more help from you than I did from them! I think I’ll just get some tops in Summer’s colors and see how I feel in them. If they don’t look good I can always pass them on to my daughters…
Kristina,
I believe you are very right at this point to trust your observations, your intuition, your thinking, and that wonderful feeling of being in just the right colors for you. And have some fun dreaming up the wonderful combinations you can create with your favorite colors.
I was browsing through the SCI\Art book, and it seems to me their true seasons are more the equivalent of CMB’s 12-palette Cools (Cool Winter and Cool Summer) and Warms (Warm Spring and Warm Autumn), rather than of the original 4 seasons. It is difficult to assess though, as the book does not show the color palettes, but, instead, an image depicting the overall color feel for a given type, and a listing/description of some of its colors and best combinations. It is all very interesting, and I hope to learn more about the SCI\Art system at some point. I also don’t have Carole Jackson’s book in front of me as I write, it’s been quite a few years since I last saw the 4 seasons in her book.
I would agree with you on the topic of hair and eye color. Actually, for me, it is how the connection with season is presented. I would agree that the draping process seeks to find the colors that will be in harmony with skintone. However, it is also true that a greater percentage of Deeps than of Lights have black or dark brown hair, ditto for Warms vs. Cools having auburn hair, and for Cools vs. Warms having silver or ashy hair. The SCI\Art book has the same descriptions of typical skintone, eye, and natural hair color as the 12-palette 1991 CMB book, which is kind of reassuring, I guess. It also mentions brown as a typical eye color for Soft Summers, which the CMB book does not.
I truly appreciate your kind words. They were especially important to me at this time, as I am contemplating a career change, there is a certain non-profit organization here I would like to work with…
Hi Fil,
First of all let me say, that it is I who should be thanking you for all the help you have given me! You have truly gone out of your way and I am incredibly grateful for all your advice and your clever input. Thank you! A career change… That sounds intriguing. May I say: go for it, and good luck! I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully well, whatever it is.
Thank you also for your description of the Sci/Art book. If it’s more or less the same ideas as the 12 palette system, then I probably won’t bother with the palette. I’ll just go to a print shop and make a copy of the Summer palette from my CMB book, and that will probably do excellently at this point. As you’ll see when you get your new copy, there are so many beautiful colors in the Summer palette (it’s true for all the 4 seasons, although I haven’t compared the others to what the new 12 palette system, so I can’t say what the differences are there). I don’t want too cool (i.e. Summer mixed with Winter) nor muddied (Summer mixed and softened by Autumn), at least not at this point. I may very well be a Soft Summer, in fact it’s probably the most likely option, since I feel more Soft than Cool in terms of personality, but that’s another story…
I’ll have a look at the Color Me a Season, just to see if I can find what I’ve been missing from the 12 palette system.
I wrote to Irenee, but she hasn’t replied yet. I’ll let you know if and when she does.
Spring is coming to our country. The sun is shining, the snow is melting off the roofs, little birds are singing everywhere. And the light! Makes me wonder how we ever get through winter time each year…
Thanks, Kristina! My intended change of direction has to do with women, color, and supporting new beginnings…
I think it’s going to be a wonderful Spring and “Summer”!
OK, just one more thought, I promise…
I was looking at Irenee’s site just now, and it struck me, her system is probably a 16-palette system also. There is nothing to say that one has to be one of the 12 inter-seasons. One may also simply belong in one of the 4 homebases (seasons), without further complication. It is also quite amazing that she came out with the inter-season or balanced season concept as early as the early eighties.
Hi Fil,
Wow, your career move sounds very exciting. Women, color, new beginnings… Judging from all the help you’ve given me on this blog, I’d say that must be the ultimate career for you, it will fit you perfectly. Again, good luck! I think it’s very brave to do what you’re about to do.
Color is truly fascinating – and quite addictive, wouldn’t you say?
Yes, I agree with your thoughts on Irenee’s concept. Nothing states that you have to be an inter-season. (She stil hasn’t replied, by the way.) I’ll have a look again and see if anything new hits me. Have you gotten your new copy of CMB yet?
I’m thinking a lot about color these days, not only my own but thaat of other persons as well. My youngest daughter for example, she would be a hard nut to crack: very, very pale fair skin with pale rosy cheeks and which tans pretty easily into golden, medium brown hair with lots of ginger and auburn, amber eyes – and black eyebrows and lashes. By first glance one would think some kind of Autumn, but peach doesn’t suit her and she looks great in watermelon, dark rose pink and violets. So I’m thinking some kind of Spring or Summer. My oldest daughter is fairly easy, with her very pale olive skin (cool, no warmth at all), dark brown hair with red and wine highlights, dark green eyes with a sunburst of mahogany. She’d be the perfect Deep, although she has a very soft quality to her look as well… DH on the other hand has rosy skin, silvery salt-and-pepper hair, very dark eyebrows and lashes, and clear blue-green eyes. The typical Clear Winter. Or Cool Winter. Or…
Hi again, Fil.
Okay, so I went ahead and printed out the questionnair from Irenees site and finally did it, very thoroughly.
If that test is anything to go by, I’m nowhere near a Soft Summer. In fact, I’m nowhere near Summer at all! I ended up having 11 points on the left side, the one for Intense-Clear-Balanced colors and only 4 on the Soft-Dusty-Balanced.
The result was Spring: 2, Clear: 4, Winter: 5 – and Autumn: 2, Summer: 2, Soft: 0.
I’m not totally sure if that means that I’m a Clear Winter, since I tend towards Balanced but not another “season”. Do you know?
It would explain a few things though:
I need cool, but not too cool.
I need slightly warmer, but not warm.
It’s what Irenee describes as the Goldilocks syndrome!
Please feel free to comment if you want, I’d love to hear your opinion. I’m very, very surprised the left side dominance was so overwhelming (11 to 4).
Hi Kristina,
Interesting… in a comment a few days ago, I mentioned you might be able to borrow some Deep and Clear Winter colors, You may remember from the “Letting things be easy” thread, I first thought you were what Irenee calls a neutral-cool Balanced Intense or Clear (a Clear Winter), as your struggles seemed so much like mine. Over time, with additional information, I am (still…) leaning more toward Soft Summer (perhaps mixed with Cool Summer) in the 12-palette system, or simply a Summer in the 4-season system, given your strong preference for the softer, less intense Summer colors, compared to Winter colors.
It is possible that the choices for hair color in the questionnaire immediately put you in the Winter/Balanced-Clear section, while your hair color(s) might be softer than your base color indicates. If this is something that should be corrected for, it might flip back your clear vs. soft results.
I’ll share some of the things I’ve been thinking about regarding my own colors, as some of these seem to affect the way I wear them:
I have little doubt that Clear Winter is where I belong in the 12-palette system, but was still intrigued by my connection to Cool Summer that I mentioned before. Why did I have this feeling of being a bit softer than I imagined a Clear Winter would be? After I did my questionnaire, I spent a couple of hours on the phone with Irenee to go over it again and discuss my best colors. According to her system, I am a “Balanced Intense/Cool-Neutral”, which is the equivalent of Clear Winter in the CMB system. I also had some colors on the “balanced soft” side, and a few others elsewhere. I think this is where individual characteristics come into play, and certain colors that are “ouside” of one’s palette may still have some “chemistry” with one’s personal coloring (I am also trying to learn a bit more about skin overtones and undertones, and how different pigment mixes lead to them being cool, warm or neutral).
We concluded that I did medium contrast best, as opposed to high contrast, and that helped a few things fall into place for me. I thought I ought to do high contrast well, but always preferred medium contrast. I also am not likely to wear the very bright and lighter colors in my palette as my best/near the face colors, but instead, in prints, where they look wonderful in small amounts, or as small accents.
Just as temperature and hue have a neutral point and various degrees of warm and cool, and depth or value also has a medium point between light and dark, so does intensity or chroma, I.e., there is a neutral point between clear and muted, and everything in between. For me, what works are the Clear Winter colors (better than any other palette), with the darker colors (my hair is soft black) and medium clear (or just, just slightly muted) colors being my best ones (for example, emerald green, emerald turquoise and a deep/bright periwinkle). My best contrast is a medium contrast between my dark and my medium-clear colors, or even a low contrast between my dark colors. Very bright and lighter colors are not my best colors, but are the ones I look for in a print, mixed with medium and dark colors. That is my way of doing High contrast, by having all kinds of contrast going on a print. Bright colors as accents in small amounts also work well.
Clears and Softs have as their predominant characteristic chroma or intensity, Clear colors having high chroma, and Soft colors having low chroma. Just as Clears may do high and/or medium contrast, Softs can do low and medium contrast, and perhaps also a medium-high contrast between their more extreme colors, say chocolate and ivory. Again, this is probably where individual characteristics come into play, so that our best color contrasts in clothing mimic the contrast in our personal coloring, and so another Clear Winter will use their colors in a way that is different from mine. In conclusion, my issue with softness was in fact an issue of contrast in color combinations.
Lora Alexander sent me some notes on Clear Winters some time ago, and just now I am appreciating some of the things I glossed over before. It is possible she has more on contrast in her book “Color Revival”, which I hope to read soon, after the few I’m juggling at the moment.
Hi again, Fil!
Thank you so much for your thorough comment!
No, what put me in Winter’s category was my fair skin (I also checked pale skin in Autumn and light porcelain skin in Summer), a slight widow’s peak, dark eyes and dark eyebrows. I checked Autumn’s warm brown hair, since one is supposed to describe the colors one had in one’s “prime”, and curly hair in Summer’s homebase.
The more I think about this, the more confused I seem to get. I mailed Irenee my question above while waiting for your reply, and she wrote back very quickly “Yes, sounds right, send me a picture”. Which I did, but I haven’t heard back after that. (Maybe she’s as confused as I am…)
I didn’t have a single trait in the Balanced Soft category. Not one.It was the only category where I couldn’t tick a single box.
About chroma and clarity I’m afraid I’m much too ignorant in those subjects to make an intelligent comment. What you write sounds logical though. I’m going to have to go through your reply a few times to understand it better.
I’m sorry I’m pressed for time, so I can’t elaborate further. I’ll be back shortly. Be well!
Kristina,
It is getting interesting-er by the minute!
One of the things I noticed is that Irenee’s descriptions of typical skintones for the different types is a bit different from CMB’s and also from SCI\Art’s, which is basically the exact same descriptions as in CMB (1991). I am all interested in skintones these days, so I’ll be studying that a bit more to see if I an understand these differences, or perhaps at close inspection they are not that different.
When I look at CMB’s and CMC’s descriptions under Soft Summer and Cool Summer, it sounds more how I imagined you from your descriptions:
- Soft Summer: slightly pink tone, blushes easily (CMC) — but it also mentions little contrast between eye, hair and skin tone, although I think that could be stretched a bit depending on hair and eye color; ivory, beige (CMB 1991)
- Cool Summer: skin tone has a softness to it and pink undertones (CMC); soft pink, beige, rose beige (CMB 1991)
but then again, the Winter skintone descriptions could also fit, especially Clear Winter:
- Deep Winter: porcelain, olive, black with slight blue tinge (CMC); black, cool brown, olive, cool beige (CMB 1991)
-Clear Winter: porcelain skin with a pink tone to it, cool black skin (CMC); porcelain, ivory, beige, clear olive (CMB 1991)
The other thing that I am thinking is whether your eyes have that clear/bright quality of Clear Winters, although that might not be the deciding factor, and Clear Winter eyes, green/blue/violet/hazel/clear brown, can have a darkness to them. Soft Summer eyes are described as having more of a soft/muted, smoky quality, and to often change color.
You had mentioned that Winter colors were too intense/sharp/dark for your coloring, and that Soft Summer in the CMC book looked a bit too muted/grayed down, and that the Summer colors in Carole Jackson’s book were the ones that seemed right and looked great on you. I still don’t have the 4-season CMB book, but I was looking in the 1991 CMB book, the Soft Summer palette on page 45 is what I imagine your best colors to be like: the medium blues, blue-greens, pinks, roses, reds, that are a bit muted compared to winter colors, but still have an elegant intensity to them, not at all pale or light, or overly muted. The neutrals and base colors also seem to be good ones, especially if you look at the full list in the back of the book. Compare that to the Clear or Deep Winter palettes, and see what you think.
It could be that you are indeed a Winter, or it could be that you were a Winter when you had fewer silver/ash and warm brown strands. It is possible, I think, to sometimes go to a lighter type within the same season, or to a lighter and more muted type in another season when gray hair appears (as we had talked about before, Deep Winter to Soft Summer, Clear Winter to Cool Summer, and possibly other transitions). It is also possible you are still a Winter, perhaps will be a bona fide Summer one day, but for now all you need is to adjust your contrast levels and such when wearing Winter colors.
Hi Fil,
Yes, interesting-er indeed! LOL
Do you know what I did this afternoon? I hunted down every single Summer color I could find in the household (from the CMB 4 season palette) and tried them on me. I found off-white, lavender, orchid, mauve, denim, powder pink, pastel pink, cocoa, pastel aqua, medium blue-green, medium blue, periwinkle blue and grayed navy (and maybe a few more, I can’t remember now). Towels, the kids’ clothing, even a pair of home-knitted socks… I draped myself with each of those colors, one by one, two by two.
It was amazing. Every single one of those colors, alone or in combination with another, whether it was a light-dark combination or a medium-medium combination, looked absolutely GREAT on me. My double chin disappeared, my complexion cleared, I looked at least ten years younger and ten pounds lighter, like I’d had a long vacation. I’ve done a similar test once before (I think I wrote about it in another post, but I’m not sure) with fewer colors, but I couldn’t quite believe the result at that time, thinking more in terms of “I probably had a good hair day that day”. Well, not this time. It was just amazing.
Christine has pointed out that Summer would be unlikely for me, having seen my eye pattern and the color – but then again, she’s always said that before a draping takes place, no one can tell for sure. That’s what I’m going to hold on to from now on.
I see what you mean about the skin tones. The problem with the descriptions though is that I could be porcelain, pale olive, pale beige, possibly even ivory, depending on who you’d ask. I certainly come across as light-skinned with a lot of contrast, as I presume you do too?
I couldn’t find any of the colors of Soft Summer (CMC) in my home. I had wanted to look at verbena, gray-green and sage in particular. I’m still wondering if they’d really suit me. I know that anything which approaches khaki brings out the red in my face, so that’s not good. But sage and verbena might work.
It’s funny going gray. I actually have a base tone now that’s a lot darker than when I was young. In my late teens and 20′s I was more brown, now I’m more charcoal. In certain lights my hair looks blue-gray with silver strands.
Yes, I might very well have been another season before, that’s altogether possible. Do you feel you’ve been something else when you were younger, or have you always looked good in the colors you wear now? Some analysts say you change season as you age, some say you don’t. I don’t know what to believe. I just know that I was never happy in the palettes I was given before and that maybe, if those analysts had taken the time to think outside the box at those particular times, they would have found something that wasn’t expected but that would have solved the puzzle?
Would you say that the Clear Winter palette of today is more or less the same as the one in the 1991 book? I’m asking this because I will probably eventually invest in a palette, but since the old Summer palette is no longer available, I will have to choose which one comes closest to it. The palette on page 45 sounds about right, but I have the Swedish version of that book and the English version of all the others, so I can’t be sure if the colors correspond.
Oh, one more thing:
The biggest surprise today was the grayed navy. I’ve worn regular navy before, Winter navy, but I’ve always felt I looked stern in it. Well, today I found one of my husbands shirts in a soft, grayed navy. Reluctantly I draped myself in it, convinced I’d look gray and tired. Well, it didn’t happen. On the contrary my skin looked rosy and fresh and the overall effect was just as good as with the other colors. I think that was the biggest revelation of them all, that the subtle difference (subtle to me and my untrained eye) between Winter’s navy and that of Summer could have such a huge impact.
Hi Kristina,
The book is here, so I’m going to take a look and will comment later today.
Kristina,
(OK, this is going to be another long one, I tried to list the colors in comparison to CMC’s palettes to have a better sense.)
Really a trip down memory lane and so pleasant to get re-acquainted with Carole Jackson’s book. As we had discussed, it seems that Summer in the 4-season system is a combination of the Summer types in the 12-palette CMB/CMC system (I will focus mainly on Soft and Cool Summer). There are fewer colors (only 30), compared to the 48 in CMB (1991) and the 42 in CMC.
>>>Colors common to the 4-season Summer palette, and to Cools and Softs in CMC:
- Sky blue
- Soft white
>>>Colors common to the 4-season Summer palette, and to all Summers in CMC:
- Powder pink
- Orchid
- Soft fuchsia
- Lavender
>>>Colors in the 4-season palette and in CMC’s Soft palette:
- Cocoa
- Rose-brown
- Charcoal blue-gray
- Grayed navy (same as Light navy?)
- Pastel blue-green (same as Verbena?)
>>>Colors in the 4-season palette and in CMC’s Cool palette:
- Rose beige
- Light (blue) gray
- Rose pink
- Pastel aqua (same as Light aqua?)
- Blue-greens
- Blue-red
Soft Summer colors not included in the 4-season Summer palette (there may be similar colors by a different name, but it is not easy to say for sure):
- Charcoal
- Pewter
- Taupe
- Stone
- Natural beige
- Chocolate
- Sage
- Grey-green
- Turquoise
- Emerald turquoise
- Spruce
- Mint
- Jade
- Teal
- Light periwinkle
- Sapphire
- Soft violet
- Purple
- Damson
- Blush pink
- Claret
- Geranium
- Shell
Cool Summer colors not included in the 4-season Summer palette:
- Taupe
- Pewter
- Medium gray
- Charcoal
- Black
- Dark navy
- Royal blue
- Sapphire
- Bright periwinkle
- Light periwinkle
- Duck egg
- Icy blue
- Icy green
- Teal
- Light teal
- Pine
- Spruce
- Hot pink
- Baby pink
- Cassis
- Purple
Colors common to all Summers in CMC, but not included in the 4-season Summer palette:
- Eau de nil
- Sea green
- Icy gray
- Bluebell
- Icy pink
- Icy violet
- Rose ??
- Amethyst
>>>Colors in the 4-season Summer palette, but not in CMC’s Soft Summer or Cool Summer palettes:
- Raspberry (in Deep and Clear Winter’s palettes)
- Plum (in Deep and Clear Winter’s palettes)
- Mauve
- Deep rose
- Pastel pink (in Light Summer palette, but looks different)
- Burgundy (in Deep Winter palette)
- Watermelon (all the Springs in CMC)
- Light lemon yellow (in Clear palette?)
- Medium blue (but could be the same as Cornflower in Light and Cool palettes?)
- Powder blue (in Deep and Clear Winter’s palettes)
- Periwinkle (in Deep and Clear Winter’s palettes)
- Cadet blue
Kristina, take a look at the colors excluded from the Soft and Cool Summer palettes in the 4-season palette. Are these colors that you want to keep in some capacity (away from face, accents, etc.)? You may choose either the Soft or Cool Summer palettes and add colors from the other palette (and from the 4-season palette) that you think you should keep, but I am inclined to think the 4-season palette at least works for you, and it does include some CMC Clear and Deep Winter colors that we had speculated you might be able to wear. The description of Summer on pages 48-9 of C.J.’s book also has interesting insights that sound so very you.
That 16-palette system is making more and more sense to me…
Consider also the Soft Summer palette in the 1991 CMB book. It could also work (but is it still available??).
Hi again, Kristina,
I was looking at the list of colors for Soft Summer in the CMB 1991 book and noticed there are no icy colors, compared to the same palette in the CMC book. Rather interesting…
One of the nice things about looking at the 4 palettes in C.J.’s book is that one get’s this nice sense of tonal differences between the seasons. I think this is also a strong point of the SCI\Art 12-palette system, I only wished I could see all their palettes. And I would love to make a side-by-side comparison of SCI\Art and CMC on women of all 12 seasonal types. Wishful thinking…
By the way, I have a feeling SCI\Art’s Soft Summer palette might work well for you. In the book, it sounds very similar to the CMB’s 1991 palette, but it has additional colors (65 in total, vs. 48 in CMB). The full palette list in the back of the CMB book does include some of the colors in the 4-season Summer palette that are not part of CMC’s Soft and Cool Summer palettes (raspberry, blue-red [not in Soft Summer palette], watermelon, deep rose, burgundy, light lemon yellow, cadet blue, periwinkle, medium blue).
The one thing though is that the SCI\Art color books don’t show the color names, which is fine to match colors, but I love to have colors play in my mind, and having a name does help. The makeup colors suggested for each type are also pretty much the same as in the 1991 CMB book. I was also looking on Lora Alexander’s site, her description of Soft Summer colors sounds very much like your best colors.
I would agree that Irenee’s system might work a lot better by working with her in an interactive way. I got my detailed color book that she made for me after we spoke over the phone, while looking at the questionnaire, color ovals, etc., on the website as we went. She does have an intimate knowledge of color that does go outside the box. I was reading in her different materials, she began developing her color system in 1965, and copyrighted her inter-season concept in 1978. One thing to take into account with her palettes is that colors are included to have different functions, and that will also depend on individual characteristics. It is probably also the case with other systems, but perhaps not so explicit.
Kristina, you were asking about my coloring when I was younger. I think I was a bit cooler in my teens and early 20′s. My black hair was shinnier and had a slight blue cast to it. I remember I was a big fan of black patent leather shoes. I am 47 now, no gray hair yet, but my hair is more soft black, and I now prefer soft black accessories also. I may have been a cooler season before, or more likely, I could do Clear Winter even better back then. When I think back about what I used to wear, it was all-out clear winter brightness and high contrast, and I was able to go into the cooler colors of Clear Winter, which now, sometimes I can, and sometimes not so much. My skintone should be close to MAC NC45, and with softer black hair now, I seem to prefer medium contrast these days.
Hi again, Fil.
Wow, I’m so utterly impressed by your comments! You have such a great capacity to see the whole picture, something I find difficult at times. You’re so thorough!
Yes, isn’t it lovely to read CMB again? It’s so full of sound advice that really makes sense. What I like about it is that it’s quite simple, compared to the extended palette systems.
Before I comment on your extensive comparison of colors, let me just say that I found something in the color verbena (the back of a book, to be precise). It didn’t look good, I became very pale and yellow. I couldn’t find any sage yet.
What I’m thinking when I read through your comparison is, that the colors that are in the 4 season Summer’s palette, but that are excluded in the new system, actually look very good on me. I’ve always liked light lemon (and I wear it well), and plum, mauve, deep rose and the blues do look good (I tested them the other day). I’d miss them, I think. The burgundy of Summer is lighter, less clear than the Winter burgundy (in CMB). It’s not a color I particularly like, so I can’t really say what it would do for me.
I do feel a bit hesitant towards the new icy colors. They may look great for contrast though, but I’d have to see it with my own eyes.
From looking at your list, I’d say the colors I’d least favor in addition to Summer’s 30 are the ones listed under Cool Summer. They seem too much Winter for me. But same thing here, I’d have to try them and see. I admit that I do sound most like a Soft Summer in CMC, but maybe that’s only because the other two are not really an option. Yes, the 16 palette system really starts to make sense, doesn’t it! I feel the other three are essential, but one is missing.
Yes, the description on pages 48-49 do sound like me, now that I’ve started to see myself in a different light. I’m starting to see why Winter has always felt like it demands so much of me, if you see what I mean. Like it’s a bit too heavy for comfort. I think what everybody (including myself) missed was the softness of my colors. I think what would be a good approach for me now is getting to know the 30 Summer colors and then see what I can add once I’ve gotten the feel of it. Maybe I’ll need to add browned shades or cooler ones. It will be a trial and error journey, but now at least I know that it’s not a hopeless case. Having 30 different colors to begin with is pretty good for someone like me, who has lived her life in mostly black, red and white for years and years.
The palettes of the 1991 book are no longer available, they have been replaced by the CMC ones. I do get the feeling that in order to get 48 colors for every palette, some were a compromise. But I may be wrong. I agree that Lora’s description of Soft Summer seems to fit really well. I actually first started to look at the Summer possibility having seen her “Type cast” section, where that guy from “The Office” is listed as a Soft Summer. He’s dark-ish, like me. I wish there were more examples of dark Summers around, as the stereotype Summer seems to be blonde and light-eyed.
Your coloring sounds beautiful and very rare! I think Winter coloring in general is very striking. You must be one of those women that can pull off red lipstick really well, something I’ve always been envious of. My two sisters are Winters, one more Deep-looking and the other probably Cool. When I stand next to them, I look a lot less colorful and intense than they do, more rosy and softer.
Thank you so much for all of this, Fil. You know how much I appreciate it, don’t you? How are things coming along with your new career?
PS: Just came to think of it: I’m going to have a look at the American Color Me Beautiful site. They only have 4 seasons still. Do you know them? It seems Carole Jackson “kept the books and sold the cosmetics”, she said in an interview somewhere, so I think that they might be pretty true to the old version of Summer. Might be worth a look.
Hi Kristina,
You are so welcome, consider it part of my training
!
That’s what I’ll be doing these next couple of months, training, getting a certification, learning a bit more, and wrapping up some old stuff so I can move on.
You know my curiosity is going to get the better of me, and I’ll be looking at those 4-season palettes and makeup in no time… I hope to find an opportunity in the next few weeks and will let you know.
These days I love a soft neutral red lipstick (my idea of a yellowed true red that is a bit mellow, not too bright), but can never find one. I found a way to create the effect by mixing a light sweep of a mauve brown lipstick with a sheer clear plum or burgundy. It looks great with that Pink Truffle Bobbi Brown cream blush we talked about before.
Talk to you soon and go be beautiful in your Summer colors!
Hi Fil,
I didn’t even have to put lipstick on to go out, it’s amazing!
Sorry for this late reply. And thank you once again for your comments!
Well, speaking of Summer colors: I just celebrated my 45th birthday, and I received a beautiful orchid colored sweater (among other things). I love it. It’s an exact match to CMB’s Orchid, definitely Summer. It makes my brown eyes pop, but the funniest thing of all is what it does to the color of my lips. They’re always mauve-lilac-bluish, and usually that makes me look like I’m out of oxygen and not feeling very well. However, when I wear this sweater it looks like I have the most beautiful, natural looking lipstick on and I actually look really healthy in that lip color, not dying in the least.
Finding a soft neutral red lipstick is so very hard to do. Trust me, I’ve searched for the perfect red for years, and even when I knew I had to stick to cooler colors they’d still be either too dark, too purple or too fire-engine. I’ve found one that I really like and that looks like the perfect soft red: Guerlain’s Rose Salsa. On my hand it turns into a soft, medium-depth red with a blue undertone and a slight plum-brown twist. I haven’t tried it on my lips though, and here in Sweden it’s something like 60 dollars, so it’s not really an option for me. But sometimes it’s easier once you find a color that you like, you can do a swipe of it on your hand and then compare that to other brands, just to see where it takes you. I hope you’ll find what you’re looking for. Do let us know when you do!
Hey, Summer girl–Happy Birthday!!!
45–how special is that? I wish you a wonderful year savouring each day the beauty of your age and your life.
I looked up Rose Salsa online. Looks so beautiful, it’s now on my list of things to check in person when I’m out and about…
Hi Fil,
Why, thank you!
Yes, it was a great birthday. 45… That used to seem so very old when I was younger. 
Yes, do have a look at Rose Salsa and tell me what you think of it in real life. It’s not what you’d call “red” in the usual sense, and definitely not yellowed red, more like a blueish plum-red. Then again, it might look completely different to you, so let me know what you think!
How’s it going with your new career and everything?
Hi Kristina,
I got a chance to take a good look at the 4-season palettes and compare them with the book. I like them a lot! I will comment again before the end of the week.
Hope all is well. I’m having fun learning about all this, and being a bit more adventurous with my bright colors and contrasts
. Talk to you soon.
Kristina,
The 4-season CMB swatches I saw are probably the 2nd or 3rd version (at least), with a few differences between the latest and previous ones. The original palettes in Carole Jackson’s book had 30 colors each, and the swatch wallets now have 48 colors. JoAnne Richmond’s 2008 book CMB-4 Seasons of Color, Makeup and Style shows 40-42 colors in each palette.
This is how the Summer swatch wallet compares to CJ’s original palette:
Colors not included:
- Orchid (a cross between Soft Fuchsia and Powder Pink in the wallet)
- Pastel Pink (looks like a cross between Powder Pink and Rose in the wallet)
Additional colors:
- Stone
- Taupe
- Pewter
- Medium Gray
- Charcoal
- Light Navy
- True Blue
- Deep Periwinkle
- Amethyst
- Violet
- Purple
- Dusty Rose
- Rose
Other changes:
- Light Blue-Gray is Light Gray in the swatch wallet
- Charcoal Blue-Gray is Blue Charcoal
- Grayed Navy is Gray Blue
- No Pastel Aqua, instead Medium Aqua and Clear Aqua
- Re: other greens and blue-greens: no Pastel, Medium and Deep Blue-Green, instead Mint, Blue-Green, Jade, Spruce, Turquoise, Emerald Turquoise, Chinese Blue, Light Teal, and Soft Teal
As in CJ’s book:
- Soft White
- Rose-Beige
- Cocoa
- Rose-Brown
- Powder Blue
- Sky Blue
- Cadet Blue
- Medium Blue
- Periwinkle
- Light Lemon Yellow
- Powder Pink
- Rose Pink
- Deep Rose
- Watermelon
- Blue-Red
- Burgundy
- Lavender
- Raspberry
- Soft Fuchsia
- Plum (prettier-looking in the swatches)
- Silver
Compared to the palettes in the 12-seasonal types 1991 CMB book (also 48 colors), the 4-season Summer palette is very similar to the Soft Summer palette, except for the following:
- In CMB 1991: Gray-Green, Coffee Brown, Ivory, Orchid, Warm Pink (pastel pink?), Buttermilk, Pastel Blue-Green, Forest Green, Teal (Soft Teal is in both), and Gold.
- Not in CMB 1991, but in the 4-season palette: Medium Aqua, Clear Aqua, Chinese Blue, Light Teal, Powder Blue, True Blue, Lavender, Violet, Plum, Blue Charcoal.
Lora’s Soft Summer palette (in the back of her book) has the same colors listed as in CMB 1991, and in general her palettes are closer to CMB 1991 than to CMC.
(continues…)
And of course, there are other palettes, Color Me a Season, Irene’s (love her color ovals), Color Wonderful (Color 1), and more, I’m sure. Sci\ART may have the more scientific approach to tonal differences, with each palette showing tonally-correct hues in terms of chroma (saturation) and value (depth)–at least, I believe it to be the case, have not had direct experience of the whole system.
With this said, what is a woman to do? I am convinced virtually all of these systems can be useful and provide correct responses, provided they teach us how to look at ourselves. Truly, this is the main goal for me now. I only need to know a handful of my best colors, and understand why they are right for me in terms of hue, chroma and value, and why they are good colors for me (for example, my skin tone could be described as a grayed-down orange-red brown, or a reddish camel. So it is not a big surprise that some of my favorite accent and full dress colors are all sorts of blue-greens, as blue-green and orange-red are complementary colors on the color wheel). Also, and this one was a surprise, I can actually wear a bright orange red, especially in the right color combination. I have found that it really pays to pay some attention to combinations and contrast levels.
What I’m finding now is that I will be in a store and certain colors I would not have even looked at before jump at me, and more often than not, they will look great.
The one thing I really like about the 4-season system is that you look at the palettes and it is immediately obvious which season one is looking at. I think the basic understanding of value, chroma and temperature can be derived from these palettes, and custom-tailored palettes can be made by choosing sub-sets of colors within each season and also by testing for influences from other seasons, which is basically what 12- and 16-palette systems do. It may not be as correct and precise as, say, Sci\ART, but at this point, it is good enough for me. Back to the idea of simplicity and being able to hold information in my brain… Having said that, Sci\ART is probably straightforward enough, but when you think about it, there should be more than 700 different tones, if as they say, no two palettes share the same tone for any given hue. Again, fair enough, if you’re not trying to hold all of this info in your brain… (and how many people are
?, I mean, besides me…).
Obsession aside, what is really appealing to me now is the idea of simplicity and self-awareness. I want to go to the store and place a piece of clothing near my face and know (and know why) it is a good color for me, even if I don’t have my swatches with me (which I always do…). Or for you to look at a top in Orchid and know it is a good color for you, even though it falls between two colors in the Summer palette.
Making any sense??
Kristina,
I got the Clear Winter swatches from Lora’s website yesterday (I “needed” them…), and although I have not engaged in any detailed comparisons with palettes from other systems, I am very impressed.
The swatches now have 60 colors for each type, and the colors have names, which is something I like, although color names mean only so much as different people attribute the same name to all sorts of color variations. Also, the company that makes the swatches sometimes uses different names from what CMB and Lora (in her book) use.
There are many unusual and unexpected (in a good way) colors, and when I place them near my face it just lits up. Truly beautiful set of colors. In addition, the swatches are about 3.5 x 1.5 inches, which of course is far from being a drape, but helpful. They are arranged in a stack that opens like a fan, also very useful for color combination and coordination.
Is there a way to help someone on the fence decide between soft summer, and cool summer? A few SPECIFIC colors I could drape around my neck to say for certain? I feel like a conundrum! Lol!!
For example: My skin has such a warm tone that I have to wear a “warm” foundation, and gold jewelry by itself fades into it. If I wear gold, I do the gold/silver mix. I have to avoid red hair color, and be very careful about warm colors b/c they make me look jaundice! I do have that yellow sunburst around my eye. But just looking at my eyes, they are muddy and my husband says steel gray. Up close and personal, you can see a blue/green mix to them and then the yellow sunburst (no gold flecks though.)
By Lori’s book, if I were a true cool summer I would have no warmth to me at all….correct? Yet, I feel that I have so much warmth, that I have to wear cool colors to “cool me off.”
I definitely see the mix of both warm and cool….but am still not quite sure?????
Thanks,
Danielle
It’s very difficult to do this, Danielle, because I could say “briar rose” or “antique turquoise”, but there would be a different color in my head and in yours.
When you get into the 12 Seasons, the colours are more subtle, so using general categories like “warm yellow” and “pine green” is not helpful.
True Summer wears Lancome lipstick in Provocative and Clinique gloss in Bonfire well. Soft Summer does well in Clinique lipstick in Pink Toffee and Lauder lipstick in Soft Amethyst.
Have you considered sending photos to Lora at her website? She will analyze Season from photos sent by email.
Danielle –
I had the same question as you several weeks back; I was certain was I a Soft or True Summer, but couldn’t figure out which.
After two different virtual analysts typed me, to my horror, as Soft Autumn, I decided to consider the possibility. Having lived with the colors book for a few weeks, I’m now 95% convinced that it’s correct.
Like you, my eyes are muted and often read as grey. I have yellow in them too. My hair is naturally ash brown, and red hair makes my skin look yellow. I can’t pull off oranges or most of the other colors one associates with True Autumn. Gold fabric next to my skin is not pleasant. So I never considered that I could be a warmer season.
When I received the Soft Autumn swatch book, I was surprised and relieved by how little warmth I saw. There are no bright reds or bright yellows and no oranges. A lot of colors that I knew were flattering to me (and that had convinced me I was a Summer) are there: many bluish-greens, a few lovely blues, many neutral-to-warm pinks, and some great greys. The warmer colors are still very neutral.
Something to consider?…
Dear Christine,
I am a CMB Soft Summer (or soft and cool, as they call it now). My hair is naturally dark blonde, highlighted to a light blonde, and my eyes are dark blue-grey. Is there any kind of red lipstick that you know of which I could wear? I love the whole 1950′s Hollywood look, but all the blue-red lipsticks I have tried look awful!
Thanks,
Helen
Ps I LOVE your site!
I don’t actually, Helen. Soft Summer’s entire concept is “no harsh or loud or bright or bold or sudden or dark….” . Red is not in this palette at all, since it is added only once Winter’s signal appears. You are still a Summer, essentially, so it’s a softened plum-mauve or a tan-pink shade that is most believable looking, as though it might just have happened.
If there are colors you’re wondering about, paste the link in a comment and I’ll go look at it.
Thanks for your super fast reply, Christine! Although I am a soft summer, I have lightened my hair since then, so it’s possible I have changed to something else. Here is a link to a pic of me – the entry word is ‘colour’ : are you able to tell from this?
http://s746.photobucket.com/albums/xx102/ladytickle/
The password lets me open the album, Helen, but no photos load. Thing is, I am 100% sure that I won’t be able to tell Season from a photo. I am also 100% sure that coloring your hair will not change your Season. PCA is 100% about how skin reacts to color. I’ll look for a deeper Soft Summer lip this weekend.
Thank you! I took the photo down as it seemed about 50 people accessed it from this site, which is not what I wanted!!!
I am having a hard time deciding what color leather jacket that I would look good in (I am a soft summer). I had a color analysis and was told that forest green/ taupe/ soft white were really good colors for me. My hair is ashy brown, eyes are green/hazel, and I tan easily. I was looking at a “caramel” leather jacket, and now I am confused if that is the right brown? Would you share your thoughts on this “caramel” leather jacket color (or a leather color that would work?) Thanks, Brenda
Hello everybody,
And a special hello to Fil: how are you? How is your training going? I’m sorry I haven’t posted for so long. I hope you’re doing well!
Well, the road to perfection certainly is paved with trial and error, that’s for sure. I still haven’t found what I’m looking for in terms of MY season. It’s beginning to become quite funny, since I’m usually the sort of person who has absolutely NO difficulties whatsoever to take a stand or to make up my mind!
Summer might very well be the one that comes closest to my perfect season, but Soft Summer just isn’t. I can’t get the “faded” aspect of the colors to work for me. It makes my face look ruddier than it is and it demands a lot of makeup (foundation in particular).
I read in another post here (can’t remember which one now) about finding the colors in you and then sort of making a palette out of them. With Christine’s very insightful comments on my irises (having Winter AND Spring and maybe a dash of Autumn in them) and adding my own colors (charcoal, silver, bronze, copper, warm brown as in my hair and lashes, peach and porcelain as in my skin, topaz, yellow, green as in my eyes) that makes me lean towards a Clear after all. Like a few people have stated under the Deep Autumn post, I don’t have the rich skin tone to be a Deep, I’m much more translucent and pale.
My dear daughters looked at Color Me Beautiful’s palettes the other day (the 1981 version of the book) and they exclaimed in unison: “Spring!!!!” when I asked them to choose one of the palettes for me. I immediately wanted to correct them, saying “No, I can’t do the Kelly green” etc, but I resisted the urge to protest and just thanked them for their opinion. They might very well be right. I mean, who knows? Not even the professionals have gotten it right so far!
Christine does point out in her post about Clear Spring that the hair and the eyes can be very dark brown and quite deceptive. Also in her post on Valeria on 12 Blueprints she tells us how Clear Springs can make analysts nervous because of their apparent Autumn-ness, but their total inability to wear Autumn colors. Boy, do I recognize that…!
Anyway, the search for the perfect season goes on. Meanwhile I’m so glad to have a little more time now so that I can catch up on all the wonderful discussions on this site. Wishing you all a wonderful summer!
Hi, Brenda,
Any variation of caramel that comes into my head is too warm and yellow or brown. I would stick with a light to medium – darkness color, and taupe is very good. The color of fog. A very neutral grey-brown. If you find some color swatches or jackets online, post the links and we can look at them.
Chistine: here is a link if you scroll down, it is Eddie Bauer Leather Bomber Jacket – http://www.eddiebauer.com/EB/Women/Clearance/Jackets-Blazers–Outerwear/index.cat#ppl=%7Btype%3A%22hide%22%7D
thanks,
Brenda
Brenda,
I just picked up a maroon leather jacket, and I really love it.
Brenda,
actually it was more of a burgundy color.
I’m a Soft Summer. Makeup colors that look best on me include Jane Iredale Amazing Base in Warm Silk, Jane Iredale PurePressed Blush in Dubonnet, and Clinique Almost Lipstick in Black Honey. These are my everyday “go to” colors.
Have they changed the page? I don’t see it. Open the window on the product specifically and then post the URL.
Black Honey – sheer, so forgiving, but maybe brownish. You might look at Fireberry and Violet Berry next time.
Christine:
(the link for the jacket was up for awhile)
I just checked and it looks like they took the jacket off the website (I wonder if I bought the last one). After reading your description, I’m pretty sure the caramel color is not for me. When it gets here, I am going to return it.
Thanks for your help,
Brenda
OK, 3rd attempt–wish me luck!
—————————————————————————————–
Hi Kristina, I have just commented on the above, but something must have happened after I pressed “submit”, and I think it is now lost. I’ll try to summarize with a few(…) points:
- Something to the effect that seasonal palettes (either 4-season or 12 [or 16] seasonal types) offer great wisdom and guidance but in my personal experience they are not enough–and sometimes they are too much as only a subset of colors will truly become any given individual. Individual characteristics should be part of the equation and at times will override the seasonal palette one is closest to.
- In my case, the softer black hair (compared to what it used to be) and a mauvish pink undertone create a need for Summer-like softness and medium contrast, with stark white and jet black best avoided. Strange, perhaps, for a Clear Winter.
- For me: the darkest hues of Winter, charcoal and soft black, plus Clear Winter brights (best as accents) and balanced medium/clear colors, plus Soft Summer’s more “saturated” colors (which includes some wonderful dark neutrals)–this seems to be what works. Also, in addition to hot pink blush, a slightly deeper and more saturated version of Soft Summer’s lipstick and blush colors (e.g. a deep rosewood, a soft wine, a soft/neutral red) will be better suited to my coloring.
- The TAIC (from Lora Alexander) Soft Summer palette is sophisticated and beautiful, not bland or overly muted. Soft quality can be seen by comparing to Clear Winter palette, otherwise the colors seem nicely saturated in a special Soft Summer way.
- The TAIC system seems to make a distinction between “Soft” and “Muted”. In my personal experience, these are also somewhat different concepts. Some Soft Summers will suit the more muted colors in their palette, but others won’t (this can be readily appreciated in the many sub-types in Angela Wright’s book).
- For example, I find that Light Spring can have both a Clear and Bright, and a Soft and Creamy (like fruit sorbet or ice cream) quality, but not at all muted.
- In the end, I had to create my own palette, based on Winter being my homebase, balanced (i.e., neutral/cool) colors being better than cool colors, and the particulars of my personal characteristics that call for some softness and Mauvish tones in make-up and also clothing (even my best medium/dark gray eye shadow has a slight mauvish tinge).
- There are personal color analysis systems that do just that, and create a truly personal palette. You may even use software that is available on the Internet to do this yourself.
Apologies for the bullet points, it helped me recall what I had said in the comment that was lost. I had also said your sweet daughters may be right, but I have difficulty seeing you as a Warm (and truly Clear) season. The TAIC Soft Summer palette is screaming KRISTINA at me. You would be surprised at how the colors are not faded or muted or bland, just softer than Clear Winter.
LOL, it is all over the place now! Kristina, the other day I tried on MAC lipstick in Touch and it made me think of you (it is a lustre, part gloss, part lipstick, very practical for every day, dashing out kind of thing).
Interesting take on Clinique Black Honey. It looks brownish in the tube, but not on my lips. It must be a chemistry thing. Whatever it is, once applied, Black Honey blends perfectly with my natural lip color for that “my lips but better” look.
Hello everyone,
I bought the Clinique Pink Toffee based on the recommendations here for Soft Summer, but I’m finding it’s a bit too brown on me. How can it work differently on different people if they are all Soft Summer – I’m confused? Thanks!
There are a lot of possibilities here, Helen.
Did you arrive at Soft Summer from a Sci\ART draping? Those are the swatches I use to suggest makeup.
If you are a Sci\ART Soft Summer, because it’s a Neutral Season, it will have warmer and cooler options. If you veer to the cooler side of the Season, you may prefer plum lip products. Your analysis will have told you this.
I do find that most lip products for a Season work on every member of the Season. But always, always, try before you buy.
Any color advice posted on AGT before May 1/09 comes from a time before I became a Sci\ART analyst. The real color site is at 12blueprints.com
Hi Helen and Christine,
I tried the Pink Toffee on my hand in the store the other day. On my skin it looks very orange-pink, something a Spring would wear. Compared to the Violet Berry (also a Soft Summer suggestion) it’s a very bright and cheerful warm pink, the Violet Berry in comparison being a subdued but nevertheless blue-based pink with some brown to tone it down.
Dear Christine and Kristina,
I had a Color Me Beautiful analysis done about 7 years ago, but I find their soft summer colors (now renamed soft and cool) don’t always look spot on – natural beige, for example, or their grey-green. The best colours from the swatches are blush pink, blue red, charcoal blue and cocoa, so I’m definitely cool. Perhaps I’m not a clear-cut soft summer….
Hi Fil,
I found this great site, thanks to 12 Blueprints on Facebook:
http://www.cssdrive.com/imagepalette/index.php
You can upload your photo and get a color breakdown from it, really a lot of fun!
I’ve done a few photos of myself and I’m pretty astounded by the results I get – there are lots of dark but soft colors (really dark brown, dark rose browns, charcoal, taupes etc) and lots of soft pinks that are not as peach as I’ve perceived them IRL, although not bright or “clean pinks” in any way. There was one photo in particular that I’ve always liked, and when I saw the color breakdown I started to realize why: I’m wearing a denim blue sweater, my hair is its natural color, it’s summer and I’m surrounded by lots of lovely shades of green and blue-green. You might very well be right about TAIC’s Soft Summer. Does it have those dark colors in it, as well as the roses and the pinks, blues, etc? Because I feel that I probably need those really dark colors also, to balance my own.
Helen,
You sound like you might veer towards Cool Summer. I haven’t seen the Soft Summer palette in person (only in my Color Me Confident book) but Fil says TAIC’s palette is a lot sharper and less muddied than that. The colors you mentioned look good on me also, although I’m not 100% sure of Soft Summer for myself yet. I do better in the darker, clearer Summer colors of Carole Jackson’s Color Me Beautiful Summer than I do in the paler ones that are “powdered”. I do have some warmth in my colors though. Do you?
Dear Kristina,
Yes – I look better in the deeper summer colours (charcoal blue, teal, spruce) and, like you, less good in the powdered colours (such as mint, ice grey and powder pink). That’s not to say the colours don’t suit me, as they do look fine, but just not quite as flattering.
Some of the warmer colours look nice, such as cocoa, rose brown, stone and taupe. However, charcoal is a bit too deep on me and makes me look a bit pale.
Can I get TAIC’s colour swatches in the UK?
Thanks,
Helen
Sorry – I meant CHOCOLATE is a bit too deep on me – charcoal looks fine!
I was draped years ago and told I was a Summer who could wear dark colors as long as they are toned down. However, the swatch book they gave me contained the typical Summer pastels, which washed me out. People actually asked me if I was feeling well! Still, I looked better in those colors than I did in obviously warm colors or in bright colors. Years later, my mother-in-law advised me to start wearing darker colors. I did, but again discovered that anything too bright (Winter) was too harsh and needed to be softened. I then read about the 12-season system and narrowed it down to either Cool Summer or Soft Summer. It took some time to figure out which of these 2 seasons was best for me, but after much experimentation and purchasing of swatch books from Lora Alexander, I determined that I am indeed a Soft Summer. The problem I have is that I’m the Angelina Jolie type, and do not have the typical Soft Summer “look.” What tipped the scales for me was my eye color: a grayed blue that is most enhanced by muted colors. Anything too strong (bright) overpowers my eyes and makes them look dull by comparison. The Soft Summer colors enhance and flatter my eyes.
I also want to mention that when you look at the actual color swatches, the difference between Cool Summer and Soft Summer becomes quite clear and obvious. Also, Lora sends an e-book with each palette you order. Cool Summer is known as “Cool and Muted,” while Soft Summer is referred to as “Cool, Muted and Soft.” I found that the recommendations for each palette verified what I already knew and gave clear-cut guidance about how to combine my wardrobe colors, select makeup colors, etc. There is even guidance about which season you would flow to if you alter your look by changing your hair color or wearing colored contact lenses.
Hi Diversity,
Thank you for posting! It’s always helpful to read about other peoples’ experiences.
I’m beginning to feel that this whole process is doing my head in. Seriously. I read in another post about Christine’s analysis: it took the analyst hours the first day, and still they were both undecided. That tells me something about how very subtle the differences are and how very difficult this really is.
I guess the biggest problem for me is that I don’t fit in with the descriptions for the seasons. I mean, I sound like the typical Autumn, but I can’t do the rusts and the pumpkin. I could also sound like the typical Winter, at least the Deep Winter, but deep fuschia, deep forest green, dark royal blue… Oh dear. Great if I want to convince someone I’m ill, otherwise not.
So I’ve been looking at Soft Summer, but there is no description available anywhere that would put me in Soft Summer. Cool Summer? No, I have warm brown eyes and Cools are supposed to be “all cool” to qualify. I’ve been trying on Bright Spring for a while, but most of those colors just sit on top of me. They feel “too light, too crisp”. And so on and so on…
I look good in warm pink and corals.I also like what raspberry and deep roses do to my complexion. I can do really dark brown, black and reds as long as they are neutral, meaning not too blue and not too orange. Off-white is great, stark white not so much, ivory makes me look dirty. See what I mean? I don’t exist in the world of color analysis. They just haven’t invented a season for me.
Sorry if my posts are beginning to sound like one long saga of me, me, me and then some more me.
Just wanted to add:
I’ve had some REALLY great assistance from Fil, Trish and of course Christine and some other lovely ladies here on this site. Without them I would have given up ages ago. I just wish they were a bit closer (I’m in Sweden), as no matter how good one is with color descriptions, nothing compares to the real life experience and I think a solution is impossible without seeing things in person.
Also, Diversity, you are very very lucky to know your season! Enjoy it, I’m convinced that with the right colors you become practically invincible. Hoping to get there one day myself.
It takes a lot of experimentation, both with makeup colors and with clothing colors. You also need to be completely honest with yourself about how certain colors affect your complexion and eyes. Certain colors make my skin look sallow, other colors gray my skin tone, while still others make me look pale. A color only works for me if it makes my skin look healthy, does not overpower my overall appearance, and enhances my eye color.
My hair is medium neutral brown, but looks darker in artificial lighting.. I found that out only after trying to color it myself and discovering that ash brown is too ashy and golden brown is too warm and brassy. My eyes are a grayed blue-green that change depending on what I wear. They don’t look muddy, but they are not clear like Clear Winter or Clear Spring. Grayed, toned down (muted) colors look best. My skin is light, but not obviously cool or warm; I wear a neutral foundation makeup shade. I do not tan easily, but can gradually tan to a dark brown (not pinkish) color. So, overall, I’d describe my coloring as neutral. I can wear black as long as it’s not too close to my face, as it blends with my hair color. Dark espresso or chocolate brown also look good. I can’t wear any warm browns, though, and I know that any obviously warm color doesn’t suit me.
Hope this helps!
Hi Helen,
Thank you for clarifying. I see what you mean about the deeper color looking better and the lighter ones slightly less flattering but not bad. I think, at least for me, expanding the Carole Jackson system of 4 seasons into these new systems of 12 or 16 seasons has simplified it for many, but complicated things for others (such as myself). The variations are so subtle that it can throw one off in the wrong direction, as I feel it does for me.
I lived in Clear Spring colors for a few days and I just don’t feel at home in them. It’s like they are too light, light as in “not heavy enough”.
I did a lipstick test the other day. I have plenty of different shades, as you can imagine! Christine said something about the right colors clearing the whites of the eyes and the whitening the teeth, besides clearing the skin. What I noticed this time was that cool and dark or medium-dark colors made my teeth very white, while warm colors made them look yellow. That’s a start.
I’m just wondering is Soft Summer has enough dark colors to match my own darkness. Like I said to Fil, the Soft palette in Color Me Confident is really pale and much too light for me, but I feel that the Cool palette is too cool, too “lifeless”, as I, like you, have some warmth.
Hi Diversity,
Thank you for your description of your own colors! I think it helps a lot to hear variations of the stereotypical seasons one finds in the books etc, because I tend to get hung up on details. I realize it would be impossible to write a book and list all the possible traits for each season – still, I think that Carole Jackson somehow did it better, as she managed to pinpoint the overall traits rather than dive into specifics, which in the end tend to limit the possibilities.
Carole Jackson’s original 4-season system was good in the sense that it put me in the correct general category: Summer. This kept me from using the obviously warm colors and obviously clear colors that are not flattering on me. However, since my personal coloring is not the typical Summer look, I was left confused as to which Summer colors look best on me. Also, because I’m a seasonal blend, there are some neutral (not too cool or too warm) muted colors that look great on me. The 12-season system has allowed me to expand my color palette, so I’m not stuck with just the dark colors of the original CMB Summer color palette.
That said, if the 4-season system were the only system available to me, I know for sure that I would be a Summer. The draping process revealed that to me loud and clear. My recommendation is that if you’re not sure of your season, get a color analysis done. It’s amazing what draping reveals.
Hope this helps!
I forgot to mention that IMO the colors in Lora Alexander’s Soft Summer palette are darker and richer than those in the CMB Soft category. You’d have to see the actual color swatches to understand, but trust me on this one. I don’t think the new CMB books are all that useful. Why they abandoned the 12- season system, I’ll never know. CMB’s “Looking Your Best” book and Lora Alexander’s “Pretty Your World” book are tops.
What colors are in the Sci-Art Soft Summer palette?
Thank you, Diversity!
Fil has said the same thing, that TAIC’s Soft Summer colors are much more saturated than the colors of Soft Summer in Color Me Confident. Maybe I should just get it and see for myself.
I see what you mean about finding your basic season in the 4 season concept. If I look at it now (as opposed to 25 years ago, when I first read the book and concluded I was an Autumn) I tend to lean towards Summer as well. Phrases like “many brown-eyed Summers mistakenly think they are Autumns” would possibly explain why I never even considered Summer back then. And when I look at the four palettes it’s quite clear that Winter is too crisp and cool, whereas Autumn makes me feel a little sick to my stomach and Spring feels too lightweight. So maybe Soft Summer isn’t so bad after all.
I did have a color analysis. In fact, I had three. One analyst placed me as a Warm Autumn, one as a Deep Winter, the other as a Deep Autumn. Neither ever felt right. But I think you do have a very good point in that one needs to look at oneself objectively in this process and figure out what does look good, no matter what one feels about a particular color, and what isn’t flattering. I guess comparison is key.
Makeup colors are also key (at least for me). I can’t wear any dark makeup colors, either warm or cool. Spring and Winter colors look downright clownish on me. Autumn colors make me look ill. Light colors (no matter what undertone they are) disappear on my face. The Soft Summer colors are just right. Interestingly, the very makeup colors I’ve been wearing are in the Soft Summer pallette I ordered from Lora Alexander. I pretty much wear medium everything, LOL! Anything too light, too dark, or clear (either warm or cool) is wrong on me. Also, I can’t wear foundation makeup that is either too warm or too cool. I have to have a neutral shade.
Also, I had a hard time deciding if I was a Deep Winter or a Soft Summer. Lora Alexander is spot-on correct that “the eyes have it.” Her website, Pretty Your World, is full of good advice. Check it out!
HI Diversity,
Oh, I think I know Lora’s site by heart now, LOL!
Like you I had an aha moment when I tried on the Soft Summer colors – in the sense that the “mediumness” felt like such a relief. I’ve always had a hard time with lipstick in particular, since many are, just like you wrote, too dark or too light or too clear. When I tried Violet Berry it was just the right intensity of color. Unfortunately, it’s a bit too blue on me. Maybe that’s because my lips are light mauve in themselves, I don’t know. On my Deep Winter daughter, the Violet Berry is too warm. However, just like you I can’t wear anything remotely pale peach or even pale pink, it washes me out completely.
Interesting to read that you chose between Deep Winter and Soft Summer, as they don’t sound at all close in most color analysis descriptions. Still, on Lora’s site she pins down “Michael” from The Office as a Soft Summer. (I’m about as dark and contrasting as he is, but I have brown eyes. Wonder if that qualifies…) I’d definitely put him down as a Winter, seeing how dark he is, so I can see how the Winter-Summer doubts could happen. Lora seems very knowledgeable, I’m sure she knows what she talks about. “Michael” doesn’t fit the description of Soft Summer in any of my books!
Lora points out the similarities and differences between Deep Winters and Soft Summers in her book. I don’t think she’s said anything about this on her website. In her book, she states that Soft Summers are often mistaken for Winters, but that the softness (particularly in the eye color) rules out Winter and puts them in the Soft Summer category. I’m paraphrasing, of course, but this is what she means. This totally makes sense to me, as I have 3 daughters–one of which is most definitely a Cool Winter and one of which is most definitely a Deep Winter. (The other daughter is also a Deep Winter, I think, but I’m not sure.) Anyhoo, when I compare how they look in their respective perfect colors compared to what I look like when I wear those colors, I can readily see why their colors don’t work for me. When you look at our personal coloring, the differences are also readily apparent, though subtle. Our dark hair color is so similar it’s spooky, but that’s where the similarity ends. My Cool Winter daughter has light skin that’s absolutely cool (no warmth whatsoever) and dark brown eyes. My Deep Winter daughter has medium skin that’s olive (like my Hispanic husband) and dark brown eyes. My eyes, on the other hand, are softer and my skintone is noticeably warmer (but not obviously warm like Autumn or Spring) than that of my Cool Winter daughter and noticeably lighter than that of my Deep Winter daughter. My overall look is softer than their look, and yet I can understand how someone could mistake me for a Winter, as I do not have the typical Summer look. Now back to my 3rd daughter. She has my hair color, but her eyes are a lighter brown. She has a strong preference for bright colors (Spring and Winter), but she looks really good in muted Summer colors as long as they’re not light pastels. I suspect that she is also a Soft Summer.
At any rate, I’ve visually compared myself to various people… probably to the point of being unhealthy, LOL… and Soft Summer is the only season I think I neatly fit into.
Hope this helps.
One more thing: When I put either one of my Winter daughters (Cool Winter and Deep Winter) into any color that is not fully saturated, their skintone looks drab and dull. My Deep Winter daughter can handle some warmish dark Autumn colors, while my Cool Winter daughter absolutely cannot. Cools cannot handle any warmth whatsoever, while Softs can handle a little warmth. Softs are “neutral,” meaning that their coloring is somewhere in the middle of the cool-warm spectrum. Hope this helps.
Hi Diversity,
Thank you so much for this! It’s really interesting to read about what you find when you compare yourself to your daughters. I’m starting to think comparison is what might become most helpful.
I have two daughters myself. One is (I’m pretty sure) a Deep Winter. She has pale olive skin, dark green eyes with a rust-colored sunburst around the pupil, rich chestnut hair. She looks great in typical Winter colors but does excellently in some warmer reds etc.
My other daughter is tricky. Anyone looking at her would probably say “warm”, but which warm? She has very, very pale skin with rosy cheeks, golden freckles, she tans into a light golden color – but she has almost black eyebrows and lashes. Her eyes were light, clear green when she was about 6, now they’re amber. She doesn’t look good in peach or orange, but she’s really pretty in rose pink.
Comparing myself to the two, I’m “less colorful” than my Deep Winter daughter, but my eyes, lashes and eyebrows are darker than hers. When I compare myself to my youngest daughter, I look a lot “cooler” with more contrast, but also “less colorful”. My eyes are a lot darker though. The skin is the big thing though: compared to either of theirs, the skin on my body is WHITEISH green. In fact, I’m whiter than anybody I know (on my body, that is. My face is ruddy for various reasons.).
All of this would lead me to think that I’m all about “cool”. But the Cool Winter and Cool Summer palettes just seem to lack something, which leads me to think in the direction of Soft Summer. I’m thinking of ordering Lora’s book online, as I’m particularly interested in her take on Soft Summers, since it’s so different from everybody else’s in that she finds them easy to confuse with Winters.
Oops, the sentence about my youngest daughter’s haircolor must have disappeared. She has ginger hair, but she used to be really blonde when she was younger. With her very dark lashes and brows it makes for quite a striking effect.
I think what puts me in the Soft Summer category is that I can’t wear anything too bright, too light, or too warm. Dark colors work as long as they’re muted, and I can handle some neutral colors (colors that are not obviously warm). If it weren’t for Lora Alexander’s Soft Summer palette, however, I’m not sure that Soft Summer would be for me. It was only after looking at the color swatches themselves, and comparing them to the actual Cool Summer swatches (which I also ordered), that I found my best palette. There are too many colors in the Cool Summer palette that I know don’t work for me, and I’ve already ruled out all the other seasons (Winter, Autumn and Spring). I think the term “soft” throws people off. The colors in Lora Alexander’s Soft Summer palette are strong and rich, just softened compared to Winter colors and cooler than the typical Autumn colors. The best I can describe it is a “Dark Summer” palette that flows slightly into Autumn. Hope this makes sense!
Soft Summer = appearance of depth; neither strongly warm or cool; low to medium color contrast
Cool Summer = cool and delicate appearance; medium color contrast
Wow, this sounds great! “Dark Summer”, that sounds like it could work for me. And yes, I think you’re right about the “Soft” throwing people off. I find myself (and Steve Carrell, LOL) much too contrasting to be considered Soft. I got stuck on Color Me Confident’s description of the Softs as having little contrast and sort of bland coloring. Thank you for clarifying this for me!
I can’t do too warm either, nor too bright (which I learned the painful way during my trial days as Bright Spring just recently). I can do light, but I need a darker color together with light or I get washed out. When I did the photo breakdown (at the site I mentioned above) I realized that my own colors are dark, saturated and soft, not clear. Dark Summer… Sounds so right!
Thank you so much, Diversity, you have been a great help!
Oh, one more thing, just out of curiosity: what type of fragrances do you wear? We discussed fragrances and seasons in another post some months ago (can’t remember which one) at it was quite interesting. I do think there’s a connection. I’ve always been happy in the fragrances that Carole Jackson lists for the Summer woman in her makeup book, such as Rive Gauche, Chanel no. 5, Private Collection. Interestingly enough though, some of Autumn’s fragrances smell great on me too, Cabochard, Gucci no.3, Coco. I can’t do any of Winter’s fragrances, nor Spring’s. Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe a clue. Who knows?
If it makes you feel any better, I experimented with Cool Winter, Clear Winter, and Clear Spring before revisiting the Summer seasons. A hair dresser once told me I was a Spring, while an online color consultant looked at a photo I sent and dubbed me a Clear Winter. How wrong they were! The Winter colors were too strong, while the Spring colors were too light and warm, and made my skin look jaundiced. I knew that Light Summer and any type of Autumn were definitely out, and came to the conclusion that my original color draping was accurate but that the consultant misguided me with the swatch book (full of Easter pastels) and light makeup that washed me out. That’s probably all she had to work with, as this was done years ago when we only had the 4-season system, so I can’t fault her too much. Still, I was a poor lost soul for many years.
As for fragrance, my DH has allergies so I don’t wear any; everything I use, including laundry detergent, is fragrance free. I used to wear Anais Anais by Cacharel, if this helps. I tend to gravitate towards floral scents, though I also like musk. Is that supposed to be a Summer preference? I’m curious to know!
I forgot to mention that when I had that color draping done years ago, I had noticeably lighter hair from an overprocessed perm. While my hair was completely covered for the draping, I think it threw the consultant off regarding the makeup and swatch book .
Hi again,
Well, it is a bit of a comfort to know that I’m not the only one who feels lost… And seeing that you’ve been experimenting with both Cool and Bright Winter as well as Bright Spring tells me that if Soft Summer works for you, it should be able to work for me, too.
I’m sorry to hear about your husband’s allergies. Fragrances are so lovely. I just looked through Carole Jackson’s fragrance list again, and what do you know: Anais Anais belongs to Summer! (along with no.5, no.19, Cristalle, Joy, Ombre Rose, Rive Gauche and a few others, which I think are discontinued) She doesn’t mention musks for Summer but rather for Winter, but IMO there are so many soft musks available now that would definitely fit a Summer.
About the hair color thing: my drapings were done with and without my hair showing. One analyst said to me: “With the hair, you’re an Autumn. Without the hair, you’re a Winter.” That helps a lot, right? It should be said though that I did henna back then and my hair was a lot redder than it actually is naturally. I don’t think any analyst would put me as an Autumn these days.
I think the fact that 2 people guessed a Clear season for me is because (1) my overall appearance does not project obvious coolness or warmth, and (2) my eyes are rather clear… though not clear enough to be a Clear Winter or Clear Spring. I’ve always felt either underpowered or overpowered with clothing and makeup colors, and always wondered why. I think the way colors are combined makes a difference, too. For example, my winter daughters can wear red and black together, while I can’t. I look must better combining red with brown or grey. I have a red dress that I wear with an ivory pearl necklace and dark brown croc shoes (blends with my hair color). If either one of my Winter daughters were to wear that dress, they would look best with white pearls and black shoes.
Remember that soft has nothing to do with intensity (light/dark) or temperature (cool/warm). It has to do with clarity (clear/muted).
There are a lot of beautiful, rich colors in Lora Alexander’s Soft Summer swatch book. I’m not sure if they’re the same colors that are in the Sci-Art Soft Summer pallette or not. They ARE different than the ones in CMB’s “Color Me Confident” book. Good books to read about the 12-season color system are CMB’s “Looking Your Best” and “Color Revival” by Lora Alexander. After I save some money, I want to purchase the Sci-Art book as well.
Hope this helps.
Kristina, you asked if TAIC’s Soft Summer has dark colors in it, as well as the roses and the pinks, blues, etc? Yes, it does. I had the same issue going on. Because of my dark hair, I feel the need to balance my look with dark neutrals like charcoal or dark brown or navy. Those colors are in TAIC’s Soft Summer swatch book, and I was overjoyed to see them! I have another Soft Summer swatch book (from a different company) that does not have those dark colors in it, and so was reluctant to adopt Soft Summer as my season. I love the colors in TAIC’s Soft Summer palette and I think you will, too. If nothing else, you will be surprised. Black is not in there, but the dark colors that are there are much darker than you’d expect. Wine is even in there, as well as red and purple. They are not wimpy colors!
Hi Diversity,
“Remember that soft has nothing to do with intensity (light/dark) or temperature (cool/warm). It has to do with clarity (clear/muted).” FINALLY, I think I get it. This is what I’ve been after all along! I am cool and dark and therefore I ought to be a Winter – but I’m not clear. I’m muted! Yay, I exist after all!
I have worn black a lot. But recently I have realized that I don’t look as good in black as I used to. Maybe it’s my changing hair color, or maybe I could just pull it off before because I was younger. I don’t know. My husband is most certainly some kind of Winter and black really brings out his silver hair in a flattering way, while black seems to make me turn ashy these days. So maybe black really was a bit harsh all along, I don’t know. Charcoal is great, as is navy and dark brown. I’m so glad to hear that those colors are included in Lora’s Soft Summer, as I couldn’t piece the puzzle of “me” together before, liking those colors.
I can wear red and black together, but I look better in red and off-white (like you with your red dress and ivory pearls). I’m not sure how I look in two medium colors together, but I do know that I’ve felt overpowered many times lately by the heaviness of many of my usual colors. Going from them to Bright Spring almost made me feel light-headed, and not in a good way. This makes me think that medium could probably bring a sense of relief.
Wow, it’s amazing… The mystery of “Soft” finally solved. Thank you!!!
You;re quite welcome. It took me a long time to understand the meaning of soft, too, so don’t feel bad.
Think of “soft” as taking the edge off, or toning down, colors so they don’t look harsh. This is the way I think of it, anyway. Hope this makes sense.
Yes Diversity, it makes sense! That’s what I was hoping “Soft” would mean, because that’s how I interpret the word. Some analysis systems mean “diluted” or “faded” or even “grayed” when they talk about Soft colors. That’s why Carole Jackson’s Summer palette looks so beautiful to my eye, because the colors are still saturated but not sharp. Somehow I feel that particular trait got lost in the Color Me Confident book, because there really was no equivalent in the Light, Cool or Soft Summer palettes there. It’s like the essence of the original Summer somehow got lost, as both the Light and the Soft Summer palettes were too faded, whereas the Cool Summer palette just seemed too “icy”, Winterish.
Thank you so much for all of this, you’ve truly been a great help!
I think you’re right about the Color Me Confident book, Kristina, and the Color Me Younger book is every bit as bad.
I know how frustrating it is to search for your best colors, but it sounds like you’re getting there. I’m glad I could help.
Diversity,
You HAVE helped, more than you could ever imagine. Thank you so much!
Christine,
In an earlier comment someone requested red lipstick for a Soft Summer. I’ve found a semi-sheer soft red with a little brown called Elixir #11 by Flirt cosmetics (I believe a sub of MAC). Sold in Kohl’s and I found it in “The Cosmetics Store” in my outlet mall. The website shows it sort of mauve looking, but it’s soft red and rather neutral. I get lots of complements. This is a red lippie an 80 year old could wear.
BTW I’m getting a PCA and we’re stuck between Light Summer and Soft Summer. Going to take two people and two days. Thought for soooo long I was a Soft Autumn and now I know why it wasn’t working.
Shirley (with the blue eyes, autumn formation around the pupil and autumn flecks, and summer ‘ghost’ around the pupil).
Thanks for the red lipstick rec, Shirley! I have such a hard time finding red lipstick that doesn’t turn pinkish on my lips.
Oops! Looks like my initial excitement about the red lipstick is a bit premature. I just looked at it online, and it looks too dark. If it goes on sheer like Clinique Black Honey, then I’m sure it will be fine. Otherwise, I think I’ll stick with Black Honey, as it’s a MLBB shade that doesn’t turn pinkish.
Diversity,
I totally understand your concern about red lipstick. Elixir is semi-sheer, subtle red with a bit of brown, and not too shiny, and it is not dark–I’d say medium.
Will try to post a sample/swatch tomorrow.
I’d like to see the swatch. Thanks!
Here’s a makeup rec for anyone who is a Soft Summer and is looking for a rose blush and lippie. I ordered samples of “Pink Jazz” blush and “Meg” lip butter (made with the same pigment that’s in the “Pink Jazz” blush) from Signature Minerals @ http://www.signatureminerals.com/ When I got them, my initial reaction was that the color was too strong. Once applied, however, they look fabulous. I used a fiber optic brush to obtain a sheer application of the blush, and a lip brush to apply the lip butter. The blush blends nicely and is the same color that I naturally blush after a workout at the gym, while the lip butter is the exact same color as my natural lips. (Note: It was because of my rosy lips that I ordered these makeup colors.)
By the way, I wear Monave “Claire” or Jane Iredale “Warm Silk” mineral foundation makeup. My skin has pinkish undertones but yellowish overtones, and I look jaundiced whenever I wear warm colors.
i’d also love to see a swatch of Flirt no11 lipstick – it looks lovely!
I’m having trouble posting the Elixir 11 swatch.
I’m afraid it can turn a bit pink after a while, but I just reapply and it’s back to soft red.
This is my first post. I was recently analyzed as a Soft Summer, but it was done online with questionnaires and photos, and I still have doubts. Back when CMB came out I was thrilled. I felt Summer was the closest fit, but it was never truly me. I didn’t even learn about the concept of neutral until this year, and even though I have a propensity for cool colors, I can wear both silver and gold jewelry, as well as some colors from the Autumn palette (olive and bittersweet, for instance). I can also wear black, but only if it is a deeply saturated black and not faded with grey or navy. I look TERRIBLE in the requisite summer navy, but I look (perhaps) unexpectedly great in some clear, bright colors, like turquoise, apple green, Kelly green, poppy/tomato red, and so on. Most shades of purple and grey are probably the most flattering, as are most blues that are not too deep or vibrant or jewel toned. Cobalt = yes. Royal or = not so much.
I know I’ll figure out the wardrobe aspect eventually, as I know what looks good on me, and when my swatches arrive, I’ll instinctively know what to keep and what to toss. However, I’d really love to go for a true, professional color analysis where I get draped and have my palette custom made for me, without any additional ‘noise’ in the palette. I just need to find something near Boston.
I thought I’d share some of the makeup colors that work really well on me. For reference, my skin is very fair an pink with a very small amount of freckles. I wear Jane Iredale Ivory and sometimes Bisque or Warm Silk. Technically, I should wear the cool colors (Light Beige, for example, or Natural), but I don’t like the way pink-tinged foundations look on my skin. My eyes are blue with grey rims and amber flecks around the pupil, so they often appear green. And my lips are medium-rose pigment and turn most blue-based lipsticks fuchsia, so I need a bit of brown or beige in my lippies. Lord only knows what color my hair is. I was dark blonde as a child but it was light brown by the time I turned 3. When I look at old photos I see mixtures of gold, sometimes red in my hair. Sometimes my hair even looked medium brown, but my stylist tells me it is dark blonde, though it is not ash. My eyebrows are ashy, however.
Anyway, here’s my holy-grail makeup list. I tend to favor taupe eyeshadows, neutral-cool browns, greys that are not too blue based (e.g., need some brown in them), and either very pale pink highlight colors or pink-tinged ivory. For lipsticks, I lean toward rosy browns and browned plums and clear (preferably sheer) reds.
EYESHADOWS:
Bobbi Brown Cement, Grey (also use on brows), Birch, Hot Stone, Navajo (highlight), Mahogany (liner)
Becca Cosmetics: Doeskin
Edward Bess: Dusk, Intimate
Chantecaille: Basalt, Zinc, Granite, Sel, Coriander
Ellis Faas: E107
Jane Iredale: Taupe
M.A.C.: Omega, Coquette, Concrete, Copperplate, Blanc Type (highlight), Yogurt (highlight), Charcoal Brown, Mystery, Quarry, Shale, Typographic (liner)
Laura Mercier: Morning Dew, Sable, Topaz
Prescriptives (out of business, but there’s always 3CC when my leftover product gets low): Clove, Mushroom, Pewter, Rose Powder, Venus
shu uemura: Beige 800, Beige 804, Beige 835, Grey 943, Grey 960, Pink M 100
Stila: Ecru (discontinued but still available at a few places)
LIPSTICK:
Edward Bess: Tender Love, Forever Yours, Eternal Passion (popsicle red)
Besame Cosmetics: Red Hot Red (true red, leaning warm)
Chantecaille: Tea Rose, Damask
Chanel: Rouge Noir (Vamp), blotted down to a stain
Clinique: Guava Stain, Plum Brandy, Sweet Honey, Toasted Rose,
Twilight Nude
Ellis Faas: L201 (blood red) and L203 (browned rose)
Jane Iredale: Brett
Julie Hewett: Oona Noir (sheer cherry red)
Laura Mercier: Audrey, Pink Champagne (renamed Sparkling Pink)
M.A.C. Brick-O-La, Soar (pencil), Viva Glam I (blue red warmed by a touch of brown), Viva Glam VI, Twig, Whirl (pencil)
Prescriptives: Mystery, Spice, Aubergine, Navy Rose, Cherub
BLUSH:
Bobbi Brown Slopes and Desert Pink
Besame Cosmetics: Sweet Pink
M.A.C.: Tenderling, Prism
Laura Mercier: Rose Petal
shu uemura: Pink M 30
I hope someone finds this helpful! Believe it or not, I’d like to whittle down my stash to only 3-4 eyeshadows, 3 lipsticks, and 2 blushes. I have amassed this huge makeup stash trying to find my best look. All of the above colors look good, but a few really stand out. I just don’t have the heart to toss out the rest.
Meanwhile, I must go back and re-read this thread, as it looks like many new posts were made, and I still have so much to learn about myself.
I wonder how you can keep red lipstick from turning pink. It always happens, but maybe that’s because there’s so much pink in my natural lip color???
Diversity, true and blue reds turn fuchsia on me, as well. I need a tiny bit of brown in it. MAC Viva Glam I is a good red for that. It’s blue red with a hint of brown. A very vampish color, though.
Another good one is a sheer cherry red called Oona Noir by Julie Hewett. For some reason, that blends nicely on my pigmented lips, Maybe because it’s sheer.
I heard a rumor that someone here was draped in Sci|Art in the Boston area (or at least in MA). If yes, could you please let me know where? I would really love to go for the full 3-hour draping session, but I cannot travel to Canada or NYC.
Hi Kristina, hope all is well. I tried posting this comment last Friday, will try again but it appears I am not able to post (again…).
Hi Kristina and everyone!
I’m just back from a few weeks vacation back home. I love it there in the Summer, such wonderful light and luminosity, it is something special. That lead me to revise my colors again, and I am now fully embracing my Clear Winter bright colors. I have sort of devised three layers or colors that work for me: the brights as accents (scarves, beaded necklaces, and the like), medium/clear /neutral-cool colors for some basic pieces (a top, a cardie, or even full-dress perhaps for a special occasion–think ruby, emerald green, emerald turquoise, a medium blue, a dark blue-violet), and my best neutrals, which tend to be dark colors because of my dark hair, which is really what my wardrobe is based on-soft black, charcoal, blue charcoal, dark grays, black-brown, dark navy, dark taupe, black forest (a dark charcoal olive), etc.
I think you are also on your way
. Have you been able to see the TAIC Soft Summer palette yet? Like Diversity said, you will find darker colors in it that you probably need to wear with your medium colors, to replicate the contrast level in your own coloring. I think even the CMB-US Summer palette could work, in that it is very close to the original CJ palette, and to me it has a different feel from the CMC Soft Summer palette. I had mentioned before I was eyeing some TAIC Soft Summer colors for myself (there is also a small overlap between TAIC’s Clear Winter and Soft Summer palettes). CMB-US has Winter versions of the colors I wanted to borrow from Soft Summer (eg. raspberry), and I’m now using that palette for adding a few colors that are not in the TAIC Clear Winter palette. I find the TAIC palettes really helpful in the way they explore, for example, how far a Cool person can go in the Warm direction without it being too warm, and, in particular, in the many options they offer for one’s core wardrobe, i.e., lighter, medium and darker neutrals.
Some of TAIC’s Soft Summer colors like Wine are still good lipstick choices for me. It is a funny dance when it comes to makeup. Eyeshadow–definitely Clear Winter: EL Slate and Granite (Granite is not too apealing in the pan but it works wonders somehow–looks like a medium/dark, grayed-down mauve), and Lancome’s Maquiriche in Honeymoon (a perfect shimmery champagne that is similar to my skin color, but lighter). When it comes to blush and lipstick, that’s where the dance comes in, sometimes it works, sometimes I have to soften it a bit, and make sure there is a touch of mauve in it).
Something you may find interesting: I noticed my two favorite EL eyeshadows kind of look very close to the color of my dark under-eye circles when applied. I noticed it first with Slate and even more so with Granite. On the other hand, my best highlighter/shimmery eyeshadow is the same hue as my skin color but lighter. So my suggestion is, try looking at your skin color and your dark circles (!!) the next time you go shopping for eyeshadow
.
All the best–Fil.
Zuzu,
She was draped by Sci\ART analyst Maytee Garza in Morristown, NJ. See the woman, the article, and Maytee’s contact info at 12blueprints.com article Valeria Is A Dark Autumn.
Or too much pink in the lipstick, or too blue of a pink. Did you see the article at 12blueprints.com called Why Makeup Changes Color On Your Face? It may help.
Zuzu,
Thank you for this list. Women appreciate it. Many of these colors I know and agree are Soft Summer’s. I have not seen BrickOLa, but many Dark Autumns like that lipcolor. I’ll have to look at it.
Yes, Zuzu, thanks for the list!
Since you can wear Jane Iredale Warm Silk, which is the same shade I presently wear, then maybe your list will work for me. It’s certainly a great place to start, and quite helpful. We Soft Summers need to compare notes.
Christine, your comments are always helpful. Thanks so much for offering your perspective on color. I trust your knowledge and experience.
Chistine, BrickOLa js one of those strangely-named lipstick colors, as I see no hints of brick in it (and I can wear some brick reds, as long as they are cool, such as NARS Amazon lip pencil). Even the reviews on Make Up Alley are somewhat confused.
I find lipsticks hard to do. The lights in stores are terrible, and I don’t really like to use testers. I used to test colors on the back of my hand, but I realized how useless that was, since my skin does not have the same color pigment as my lips, and the lipsticks always look different when I got them home. I learned a neat trick to try the color on a fingertip, which on me are pretty rosy.
Diversity, there’s a web site that currently has Jane Iredale for sale at 20% off, which is rare, and you can buy sample-sized pots of her foundation for $8.50. It is a very good deal and an easy way to try out a few colors, since usually her products are quite expensive. You can also buy samples even more cheaply at Alima. I am guessing that posting links is disallowed. The sample-sized JI is at dermcaredirect.com, and they have free shipping. I recently tried the Light Beige (cool based), but it was too dark and too beige for me.
I really do need to find someone who drapes. There are some around me, but I will not waste my time on the 4-season-only original CMB methodology. I already know that doesn’t work for me, as I am not a True (Cool) Summer or any of the other pure seasons. Alas, it looks like I am either going to have to drive half a day or fly to get the draping done. And I was so disappointed that the ONE person listed on Sci/Art’s web site within reasonable driving distance looks like a mistake. I called the number listed and it was not a color analysis business.
Alima, as in the mineral makeup company? They have some nice neutral eyeshadows. ^_^
I agree about ditching the 4-season system if you’re sure you’re not a pure season.
Jane Iredale (JI) has changed its foundation formula. It used to contain bismuth oxychloride, which severely irritated my skin and landed me in the dermatologist’s office. Now that they’ve eliminated this controversial ingredient, I’m giving JI another try. They told me that there are stores on the web that are selling the old formula (old stock), so I’m leary of purchasing from anyone who is not listed on the JI website as being an authorized seller. Do you happen to know much about the discount stores you mentioned, and if the JI makeup they sell is the new stuff?
Diversity, I don’t know but when I contacted them to ask how long their sale was on, they said there were no future plans to increase prices. They are selling the pressed powder in the new, refillable compact, so I’d think they’re selling the newer formulation, but I have no idea how old the sample pots are.
Sorry if I was unclear about Alima. Alima sells Alima products.
It’s the dermstoredirect place that is currently selling JI products at 20% off.
Bismuth oxychloride, but what I found fascinating was that natural animal hair bristles irritate my skin, make it itch and prickle and turn red. When I switched to a synthetic brush, the difference was amazing.
I use synthetic bristle brushes, too. Further, I can’t tolerate any percentage of wool in my clothing. It makes me itch something awful. I have very sensitive skin, I guess!
Although I’ve never had professional confirmation of my Soft Summer-ness, I’ve arrived at it via a process of trial and error that has taught me the importance of trusting my instincts when it comes to colour. These shades are ones that I somehow identify with on a visceral level. What’s interesting to me is that Soft Summer has been described as a marriage of summer and autumn and (to my eye, at least) I’m the product of a True/Cool Summer (my father) and a True Autumn (my mother). My natural colouring and the shades that work well for me seems to be the neutral ground between the two.
On the subject of clarity, I think of clear shades as sharp and crisp – at their extreme, in the wrong context or combination, or on the wrong people, approaching harshness. Soft Summer shades can be saturated, even quite strong, but stop short of the sharp intensity that overwhelms me.
I’d also like to share some of my makeup favourites. My fail-safe lipstick is Saint Rose by Lipstick Queen (swatched here by Karla http://karlasugar.net/2009/03/lipstick-queen-saint-lipstick/ – you can tell there are Makeup Alley members contributing here!), a medium neutral pink with a slight warmth that fits the “Cool Pink With A Tan” bill perfectly. I had high hopes for Saint Pink for similar reasons but it’s too pale and bland on me, although…pleasant. Saint Rose really does something amazing to my face whilst managing to be fairly unnoticeable. I’m sure a lot of the seasons would find appropriate shades from among the LQ range.
I’m sensitive to NARS blushes but Clinique Blushing Blush Powder in Precious Posy is a very similar shade to Deep Throat. It looks gorgeous, healthy and uplifting, but again the observer can’t detect any obvious makeup, which to me suggests it’s in harmony with my colouring. My favourite cream blush was discontinued a few years ago when Pout folded (Flush Stick in Rampant Rose) and I have yet to find a suitable medium, slightly warm pink replacement.
I have yet to alight on the perfect eyeshadows. I already own several of the suggestions in this thread (eg MAC Copperplate, Shale) but on me the grey/blue undertones seem to jar slightly. I think I’d be better served by the right browns. I’ve been looking into MAC Malt (already own Quarry), Kid, and various Bobbi Brown shadows. My eyes are a muted green (think sage but not as grey as that may conjure) with an amber “sun” radiating briefly out from the pupil and a dark forest-green border around the outside of the iris. They’re quite warm overall and shadows with a preponderence of grey/blue/mauve just sit there, muddying the complexity of my eye colour.
A liner I love is Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Sepia Ink. It’s a rich brown but not too dark and doesn’t veer either warm or cool. Neutral, medium, but not boring. I intend to experiment with some liners that duplicate the dark green around the outside of my eye – I’ll be interested to see if it makes a detectable difference.
I’d just like to add that any Soft Summers looking for a red lipstick, or their equivalent of red lipstick, might like to try Saint Natural, again by Lipstick Queen. It has a good balance of red, brown, and pink – on me the red tones are the most visible – but doesn’t stray from the medium, muted, etc theme so wouldn’t look overpowering for Soft Summer colouring if worn when you might want to wear a more dramatic red lip colour. Medieval by Lipstick Queen is a sheer blue-red stain that’s lovely and has the Soft Summer subtlety thing going on but may be too cool for some of you. Sorry for the excessive Lipstick Queen love, but I like this brand and thought fewer people would be familiar with it than MAC, Clinique etc.
Thanks for the Lipstick Queen recommendations. I am very interested in trying Saint Rose, especially after seeing KS’s swatches. Natural looks very nice, too. I like the lesser-known boutique brands, like LQ, Julie Hewett, Besame, Edward Bess, etc. Alas, LQ Medieval will probably turn fuchsia on me.
Clare, you might find MAC Kid a bit warm. It turned really orange on me (as did Soba). Have you tried Omega? It’s a soft neutral taupe, similar to Wedge but perhaps a whisper cooler. I am not sure if it is a recommended SS color, but it looks quite nice on me. Nice but not my best.
If you’re looking for a cool brown, have you tried Jane Iredale Taupe? You can get it (with free shipping and 100% color guarantee) at dermstore.com. I also have muted eyes (blue with grey rims and amber starburst), and the color is stunning on me.
Chantecaille Coriander is also a medium-toned matte brown with a hint of mauve in it.
Another good one is Cool Pebble from Three Custom Colors. A light-to-mid cool taupe with a sateen finish.
One more nice brown is Dior Flirty Brown. It’s d/c, but I got mine on eBay, and if I find I can’t live without it, I can get it duped by 3CC.
So far, though, Px Clove is the prettiest brown shadow I have ever worn. I am glad I discovered it (and bought a backup) before it sold out. I’m sure something else will come along, though.
Meanwhile, I am intrigued by the NARS Deep Throat recommendation for Soft Summers. I’ve seen it in the pan and written it off as too bright and coral, but I never tried it on. Maybe I should, though I hate the rubber packaging and would be more inclined to try that Clinique Posy. Clinique was my first department store makeup, and I feel a bit nostalgic over it. Especially as I am still wearing some of the same lipstick colors nearly 20 years later!
Zuzu and Diversity -
Have you tried the Ecotools bamboo brushes? They’re not as pricey as some, and they can be found in drugstores and the like; and they feel amazing.
I use fiber optic blush brushes and synthetic kabuki brushes from companies that sell mineral makeup. The brushes aren’t all that expensive, and they work really well.
I’ve been feeling dissatisfied with living in Soft Summer colours. Although I find the shades visually attractive, I’m listless and uninspired when I wear them. I miss richness and energy and browns. Cool taupe and mauve makeup just sits on me obstinately rather than meshing with my existing colouring and, in photographs, looks as though I have no aptitude for application.
So true to form, I’ve been running some experiments. A professional draping is not on the cards, at least not in the near future.
The first involved a trip to B&Q to collect an array of paint sample cards and catalogues. I sat with various mirrors in the best natural daylight I could find and really scrutinised the colours in my skin, hair, eyes and lips. Then I compared the different tones to the cards I’d picked up.
Eyes: The charcoal ring around the outside of my iris is defined, but in some areas seems to be bordered itself by a deep navy (Dulux Azure Fusion 1) The sunburst around my pupil is actually a rusty orange (Dulux Ginger Glow 2). My iris is light yellow-green (Tarragon Glory 6) with some pale khaki (Forest Lake 2/3) flecks and from the outer ring inwards, the charcoal ring becomes a dark rich green (Tarragon Glory 1) that’s repeated in random flecks throughout.
Hair: I colour my hair, but from my eyebrows, which have always been the same colour as my natural hair, and root re-growth, a medium-deep rich brown (Roast Pumpkin 1).
Lips: not a very active day, so not as pigmented as when I’m running around – a warm medium pink (Burnt Autumn 3).
Skin: Pale cream, with a very slight beiged pink undertone, for which the lightest two shades in the Bongo Jazz and Eastern Spice palettes seemed the best matches. This isn’t news – I have very fair, neutral skin, my best foundation matches to date being Shu Uemura Nobara stick in #584 and Makeup Forever Face & Body Foundation in #38 – both neutral with beige/pink undertone, very unlike MAC’s salmon-centric idea of a pink undertone.
Interestingly, all of the colours I matched were from colour schemes categorised by Dulux as Rich or Warm, except one of the skintone palettes, which is Fresh. You won’t be surprised to learn that arranged together, they look very autumnal. I was surprised by the depth and warmth of the colours that appear naturally in me. People tell me that I have sparkling or intense eyes, or that my skin glows; my hair, left to its own devices colour-wise, quickly turns copper in the sun. I’ve always thought that my eyes were murky, my hair mousy and my pale skin soft and quiet. I’ve been studying photos, trying to cast aside my preconceptions and see myself as objectively as I can. My colouring is quite vibrant and my skin translucent. My eyes jump out at you and my skin looks like I have my own personal moon following me around to light it.
I tried MAC Kid the other day. No orangeness; on me it’s a tan colour that seems to harmonise with my skin and eyes and, yes, give that ever-elusive pop. Taupes and ash tones, on the other hand, tend to look like dirt, including lots of the favourites that have been mentioned here. I also tried Woodwinked, which I’d never dared do before, and it looked beautiful, like a soft-focus haze that drew attention to me rather than itself. I wore it for an evening out as an all-over wash blended up into the crease, which I realise might make Christine apoplectic, but in my defence I’m only 26. I felt the confidence that I’d misplaced along the way start to return.
Tinkering with colours myself is so substitue for an analysis, but I’m narrowing my attentions to Deep Autumn and Clear Spring, which I considered at one point but discarded as possibilities. It’s interesting that having well-honed tastes, design sensibilities and interests that involve using colour, as I do, has no bearing on being able to identify your own season accurately. But the process of trial and error is instructive in its own way.
Fil,
I’ve been trying to email you for several days, but I keep getting error messages! Is it your email acting up again? Hope everything is OK!
Hi Kristina,
Just saw your message and resent some emails I had sent you while I was away over the weekend. I had sent them from my cell phone, may need to get some cell phone training with my teenaged nieces
. Let me know if you get the resends.