Finding My Best Colors to Wear
Ranked #5,262 in Fashion & Beauty, #79,345 overall
My Best Autumn Color Palette
Do you know your best colors?
As a certified color analyst who specializes in seasonal color analysis for women of color, I am usually the one looking at someone's skin and hair and eyes to identify the color palette that will work best for them. Generally, I work within a 12-season model, but often find that women don't quite fit squarely into just one season.
Best Colors to Wear
So I have considered expanding my system to include 20 seasons, and at first, thought that that would work MUCH better. But the more seasons you create, the smaller the palettes for those seasons.
However, there is another, more individualized way to go about discovering your best colors, and that is to find the colors in your own body and put together a personalized color palette. I have done this, myself, with my own colors because I wanted to compare them to the autumn color palettes I was using already.
My Best Autumn Color Palette
I am definitely an autumn, and not a soft one, either. But I have, at times, considered both warm autumn and deep autumn, not sure which fit best. My approach is to identify the dominant characteristic, so it became a question of whether I was more warm than deep or more deep than warm.
I believe I have settled on warm autumn leaning deep in the 12-season model. But within my new expanded system, I had been thinking that clear autumn would work best. As a person who is both warm and deep but needs to make sure that their deep colors are also clear, I thought I might fit the clear category better than the deep one.
So I decided to find my colors and see how they compared to the traditional warm autumn color palette, the deep autumn color palette and my clear autumn concept. Though I have settled on warm autumn bridging deep and have decided that 12 season color analysis is really enough, it was FASCINATING to identify those colors and create a personalized palette!
As a certified color analyst who specializes in seasonal color analysis for women of color, I am usually the one looking at someone's skin and hair and eyes to identify the color palette that will work best for them. Generally, I work within a 12-season model, but often find that women don't quite fit squarely into just one season.
Best Colors to Wear
So I have considered expanding my system to include 20 seasons, and at first, thought that that would work MUCH better. But the more seasons you create, the smaller the palettes for those seasons.
However, there is another, more individualized way to go about discovering your best colors, and that is to find the colors in your own body and put together a personalized color palette. I have done this, myself, with my own colors because I wanted to compare them to the autumn color palettes I was using already.
My Best Autumn Color Palette
I am definitely an autumn, and not a soft one, either. But I have, at times, considered both warm autumn and deep autumn, not sure which fit best. My approach is to identify the dominant characteristic, so it became a question of whether I was more warm than deep or more deep than warm.
I believe I have settled on warm autumn leaning deep in the 12-season model. But within my new expanded system, I had been thinking that clear autumn would work best. As a person who is both warm and deep but needs to make sure that their deep colors are also clear, I thought I might fit the clear category better than the deep one.
So I decided to find my colors and see how they compared to the traditional warm autumn color palette, the deep autumn color palette and my clear autumn concept. Though I have settled on warm autumn bridging deep and have decided that 12 season color analysis is really enough, it was FASCINATING to identify those colors and create a personalized palette!
What's Your Most Dominant Color?
When I examined my hair, skin and eyes, I found colors that surprised me. Some I liked, some not so much (mauve, anyone?). What are the colors you might find?
Loading poll. Please Wait...
How to Find Your Best Colors to Wear
Got a Camera?
The first thing I did was to take lots of pictures!! ...
(1) Use the macro setting on your camera.
(2) Take the pictures in natural daylight.
(3) Hold the camera steady until after you hear the click.
(4) Take pictures of your eyes, your hair, the inside of your wrist and your face without makeup.
(1) Use the macro setting on your camera.
(2) Take the pictures in natural daylight.
(3) Hold the camera steady until after you hear the click.
(4) Take pictures of your eyes, your hair, the inside of your wrist and your face without makeup.
Identify the Colors in Your Eyes, Hair and Skin
These Are Your Best Colors to Wear
The next thing I did was ask myself the following questions...
(1) What are the colors I see most quickly and easily? Do I know their color names?
(2) What is the lightest color I see in my eyes?
(3) What is the darkest color I see in my eyes?
(4) What color is the ring around my eye?
(5) What is the lightest color I see in my hair?
(6) What is the darkest color I see in my hair?
(7) What color are my veins?
(8) What color is my skin? How many different colors can I identify in my skin?
(9) Are these colors light, dark, bright, soft, warm or cool?
(10) Which color palette fits most of the colors I have found?
Note: I answered some of these questions with resources I found online, some with books, etc.
Color Your Style by David Zyla
Color Your Style: How to Wear Your True Colors
Amazon Price: $4.66 (as of 05/30/2012)
This book provides a great way to begin to identify your own coloring. Using the book, which targets eight essence colors, I was able to identify over 30 colors, which made it easy to confirm my season as an autumn.
What's helpful is that he suggests colors for each of the 8 essence colors he wants you to find, and they include warm colors and cool ones. After you have identified several colors, he helps you figure out which of the four is your primary season.
Other Resources for Identifying Your Best Colors to Wear
My Best Autumn Color Palette
Putting It All Together
Fancy names for the (mostly) autumn colors in my coloring...
The browns: brown, reddish brown, dark grayish reddish brown, grayish brown, light grayish brown, dark grayish amber
The olives: dark olive, very deep olive, dark grayish olive, grayish olive
The yellows: very dark gamboge, dark grayish gamboge
The vermilions (red-orange): dark gray vermilion, grayish vermilion, moderate vermilion, dark vermilion, very dark vermilion
The grays: yellowish gray, dark gray, dark apple greenish gray, very dark gray, reddish gray, dark crimsonish gray, dark ceriseish gray, dark vermilionish gray, light brownish gray
The reds: moderate rose, moderate red, moderate amaranth, dark scarlet
The tangelos (orange): moderate tangelo, dark tangelo, very dark tangelo, grayish tangelo, dark grayish tangelo, tangeloish black
Other (less fancy) color names in my coloring...
Purples: soft violet, purple, eggplant
Reds: brick red, burgundy
Warm pinks: apricots
Neutrals: ivory, pewter, oatmeal, medium grey, charcoal
Greens: very dark olive green, bright dark teal
Browns: apple cider, dark chocolate, espresso
Recommended colors to add to my autumn color palette...
Blues: sky blue, bluebell, cornflower blue
Reds: true red, orange red
Warm pinks: light apricot, apricot, clear salmon
Yellows: primrose, light gold
Oranges: amber, tangerine, terracotta
Greens: light moss, apple green, verbena
Whites: cream, ivory
Clear Autumn Color Palette...
When I look at the traditional color palettes to see where all these colors have landed, they're in light spring, warm spring, warm autumn and deep autumn for the most part. But all of them (except for true and clear red) can be found in this palette for clear autumn found in the book, Uniquely You...
I created my own clear autumn color palette using Polyvore...
The browns: brown, reddish brown, dark grayish reddish brown, grayish brown, light grayish brown, dark grayish amber
The olives: dark olive, very deep olive, dark grayish olive, grayish olive
The yellows: very dark gamboge, dark grayish gamboge
The vermilions (red-orange): dark gray vermilion, grayish vermilion, moderate vermilion, dark vermilion, very dark vermilion
The grays: yellowish gray, dark gray, dark apple greenish gray, very dark gray, reddish gray, dark crimsonish gray, dark ceriseish gray, dark vermilionish gray, light brownish gray
The reds: moderate rose, moderate red, moderate amaranth, dark scarlet
The tangelos (orange): moderate tangelo, dark tangelo, very dark tangelo, grayish tangelo, dark grayish tangelo, tangeloish black
Other (less fancy) color names in my coloring...
Purples: soft violet, purple, eggplant
Reds: brick red, burgundy
Warm pinks: apricots
Neutrals: ivory, pewter, oatmeal, medium grey, charcoal
Greens: very dark olive green, bright dark teal
Browns: apple cider, dark chocolate, espresso
Recommended colors to add to my autumn color palette...
Blues: sky blue, bluebell, cornflower blue
Reds: true red, orange red
Warm pinks: light apricot, apricot, clear salmon
Yellows: primrose, light gold
Oranges: amber, tangerine, terracotta
Greens: light moss, apple green, verbena
Whites: cream, ivory
Clear Autumn Color Palette...
When I look at the traditional color palettes to see where all these colors have landed, they're in light spring, warm spring, warm autumn and deep autumn for the most part. But all of them (except for true and clear red) can be found in this palette for clear autumn found in the book, Uniquely You...
I created my own clear autumn color palette using Polyvore...
Wearing Myself
(these are the colors I found)
About Me
Seasonal Color Analysis for Women
Say hello!
Thanks so much for coming by to visit!
If you try this experiment, yourself, let me know how it goes. And once you've identified some of the colors in your hair, skin and eyes, my free seasonal color analysis quiz might help you find your season.
Have a fun color journey!
Jeanine
by IntuitiveHealer
Personal style blogger at Seasonal Color Analysis for Women of Color, certified color analyst, author of The Capsule Wardrobe Book, healing practitioner,... more »
- 82 featured lenses
- Winner of 12 trophies!
- Top lens » Best Vacations for Single Women
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
- American Federal Period Interior Design and Home Decor American Federal Period Interior Design and Home Decor
- Color Analysis Color Analysis
- Transform Your Art with Color Transform Your Art with Color
- Exterior Paint Colors Exterior Paint Colors
- Colour - Resources for Artists Colour - Resources for Artists
- Six Items or Less Six Items or Less
