The Healing Power of Colour

Having been heavily involved in the world of colour for many years, I’m used to meeting people who suddenly become conscious of the colours they are, or more probably are not, wearing. 

A couple of weeks ago, I met a friend who’s going through some challenging times.  She noticed she’d been wearing black recently during a period that felt like bad news on bad news.  We’ve all recovered from something in our lives, from a lost toy as a child through to lost friends, relatives and health.  Our reaction to each event and our recovery time, is relative to many other factors in our lives.   However, I’ve noticed colour frequently plays a part; whether it’s wearing colour as a confidence boost or removing colour due to a knock in confidence, the colours we surround ourselves in can give a clear indication to our emotional state.

I recall a situation when I had an important deadline to meet at work.  I woke up on the day of the deadline feeling awful but decided that the inconvenience to myself and others of missing the dealine through taking time off was not worth it.  I put on my red top, brightly patterned skirt and headed off to work with the intention of keeping my head down, getting the job done and not attracting attention – I didn’t feel like interacting with anyone.

Well blow me!  Nearly everyone who walked past my desk (remember, I’m feeling awful!) commented on how well I looked.  The effect was fascinating; as the day went on, I started to feel much better – the psychological impact of people saying I looked well rather than a sympathetic ‘Are you OK? You look a bit tired!’ was profound.

Feng Shui, Chakras and other energy disciplines understand that colours carry energy and represent elements of our life.  Why else would we decide that today is the day for the red (green/blue/yellow/brown) item of clothing?  Therefore, it stands to reason that our mood can dictate the colour choice or the colour choice can influence the mood.  Chromatherapy uses colours to actively promote healing and there are lots of references to the energy of colours and what they mean.

Two years ago my winter wardrobe was almost exclusively in the Burgundy/Purple/Smoked Grape/Pink range – incoroporating the need for love, grounding, creativity and homeliness… I was ‘recovering’ from the birth of my second child.

The following summer, I wore almost exclusively blues and pinks – incorporating comunication, peace, relaxation, safety, security and love.

So, how interesting to come across this really candid article  written by Jenni Murray relating to her experience of wearing black almost from the day she was diagnosed with cancer.  I can relate to everything she says about herself but also about her friends who’ve done the opposite and used colour to give themselves a boost through their recovery.   It’s easy to give advice from the outside about what we can do to improve our outlook, not so easy from the inside.

The power of image is subtle and yet immense.  If the image and perception is healthy, we feel uplifted, if the image and perception is less favourable we can feel downhearted; sometimes we’re just not ready to feel better.  

So what small steps can you take to enhance your reflection while keeping a low profile?

Have a colour consultation to find out what colours suit you and put these colours around your face so your reflection is lifted.

• Make-up: knowing your colours enables you to achieve the subtle, natural glow
• Hair colour: match warm tone skin with warm tone hair, and cool tone skin with cool tone hair.  Anything else competes and drains you.
• Jewellery: Use the right metal colour for you (silver or gold), choosing beads, pearls and stones in your colours can bring real joy.
• Tops and scarves: Choose the colours which reflect your healthy, positive, confident side to feel happier and more at ease in your skin (i.e. with your reflection).

Have a style consultation to identify flattering styles for your body … the one that you have now.  Learn to choose the right:

• Shapes
• Proportions
• Neck lines
• Patterns

 …to start feeling comfortable and gradually build your confidence.  You don’t want to be swamped or looking like you’re trying to squeeze a ‘quart into a pint pot’.

Jenni closes her article by saying:

‘I see a different woman from the one before.  I’d like to see her in the pink, but am not sure I ever will’

When the desire to achieve that goal becomes strong enough or the pain of sitting in the dark becomes intolerable, or we wake up one morning and decide to do something different, it’s amazing what can happen. With all these tools at hand, a dash of courage, a little action every day and a lot of friendship, love and support, you’ll be amazed at what is possible when you embrace The Healing Power of Colour.  

Knowing Your Colours – Empowering YOU

Knowing your colour season versus understanding WHY you’re a certain season are not necessarily related. 

Knowing -v- understanding

My niece has known from the age of 4 that she’s a Winter.  Last year, she had her colours analysed for her 15^th birthday.  At this point she SAW it for herself and it’s had a profound effect on her understanding of (her) colours, what it MEANS to be a Winter and why certain colours don’t belong in her palette. 

My colouring has changed!

With the House of Colour system we analyse and identify people according to the season their colours fall in (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter).  By using a thorough, systematic process of analysis, based on your natural (genetic) colouring it’s our experience that people, when analysed correctly, stay with the same basic colour range (season); it’s your best/top/2-star colours within your range that may change over time or with tanning.  I find that some of my pastels look good on me in the summer but I need stronger colours in the winter (still from my season) to balance and complement my natural colouring.  Some people think you need to have your colours re-analysed I think you may just need a refresh – a fresh perspective. 

I used to be able to wear anything but now I can’t.

This is related to the fact that a younger or tanned skin tone can be more forgiving – there is more colour and definition in your skin tone to be drained away before you start to look tired.  As we get older, our skin and hair colour move closer together, making them less forgiving when we venture away from our core seasonal palette.  You’ve also got several more years’ experience of seeing images and reflections of yourself to recognise that some work better on you than others.


Thank you for giving me permission to wear something I love, but thought I couldn’t anymore!

Having the confidence to know something suits you and to wear it proudly is one of the biggest gifts we share as Colour Analysts.

Part of the human condition is concern about what people think of us, whether something suits us, makes us look stupid or is in fashion.  My teenage years were spent trying to find what suited me by asking my friends.  The opinions I received were rarely objective, more based on their own preference rather than an objective view of what flattered me.

The challenge of emotional interference. 

Bad experiences

Colours may evoke an emotional (positive or negative) response in us, (school uniform, fashion trends, parental imposition, favourite experience) disabling our ability to see whether they look good on us or not.

One overriding memory is of a client who, on realising she was an Autumn, immediately retorted  ‘I don’t like these colours….. and I  know why I don’t…. the woman who went off with my ex-husband wore these colours’.  By identifying this emotional repellent she was able to separate her colour selection from the emotional trauma of that marriage breakdown and give herself permission to look good.

Objectivity/Subjectivity 

As a consultant, analysing my elder son as a 6 week old baby, having only known him 6 weeks it was easier compared to his younger brother who was over a year old by the time I sat him down with the drapes.  As his mother, analysing a 12 month old was influenced by our year together and what I WANTED him to be rather than what he was!  But what a joy to be able to buy them clothes in colours that suit them and really see them shine as individuals.  More importantly, a sense of who they are through what suits them; enabling them to have freedom to choose and like their own colour choices rather than being influenced by each others’ subjective preferences.   

Practicality

Knowing what colours suit someone I’m choosing for means swapping and exchanging clothes is less hampered by the emotional baggage and possibility of offending someone.  Second hand clothing,  keeping the ‘hand-me-downs’ which work and dyeing, or freely releasing those which don’t, to someone else is a liberating and empowering place to be. 

I know someone who regularly buys presents for people in her own colours (and often styles) thinking, in the absence of knowing their colours, that this is a ‘safe’ colour.  Safe for her as the giver, not necessarily for the receiver if they are a different season/style!

A world without colour is unimaginable - the joy of colour is in surrounding yourself with those which empower you as an individual.  The challenge is in finding a compromise that works for everyone in the home when you are all different seasons!

How Many Hats Do You Wear?

There are periods in life when balls get dropped, some are more visible than others, and the regular readers among you have commented when it gets a bit quiet on the blog front – feel free to feedback any time - your views are always welcome!

 

My excuse is much the same as many - ‘too busy’, although given that some people manage to organise multi-million pound businesses and their families, it must be that my support structures are not sufficient or my organisational habits not up to scratch, as every now and then I drop a ball or two!

When your life is full to the brim, how many hats can you wear at once and who can you bring in to help you with a ‘hat’ which is maybe not your area of expertise?  

 

I’ve been heard to say that I can be 3 things, wife, mother and career woman.  But is that true?  Is it possible to do more than one thing at a time? 

 

The world of technology is clear that there is no such thing as multi-tasking – the concept of multi-tasking is merely an illusion created by the processors working so fast or in parallel that they appear to be able to do more than one thing at a time – a bit like an effective parent! 

But, when the systems get overloaded, the computer crashes!  When I try to take on more than my own capacity, something drops and nothing seems to get done effectively.   Bring in the cavalry – back up required!  This Blog gives some good ideas for reducing the number of hats you may be trying to juggle! Whether this is asking for help from a friend, hiring a PA, a team of staff or even outsourcing to a company, it’s possible, BUT a certain amount of organisation is required to get to that point!

Just as order and structure supports me in work, so it does in my home - everything in its place and a place for everything’ - thus, frustrations mount as the clutter increases with expanding work, school activities, birthday parties and the Christmas influx!  All the ‘places’ are full and ‘things’ start to pile up in the corners. 

Working mostly from home means my space needs to be organised and (subject to the limitations of having young children) relatively tidy; I walk around the ‘clutter’ and TRY to ignore it but notice how distracting it is.  I say ‘try’ because in reality mess has an adverse effect on me; tidiness leaves me feeling relaxed and able to breathe. 

But it’s more than tidiness - at a basic level, the areas of my home need to support ME, i.e. do the right job in the right way.

At House of Colour, we work to identify that your clothes do the right job in the right way, supporting you in your lifestyle.   Enter Rannveig (pronounced Ranvay), of Anna Stone Design, an interior designer who works with ‘space’.  Rannveig listened to what I was trying to achieve and my frustrations with it not seeming to come together.  Trained, professional and objective, her fresh eye, made my space work better for me just as I’ve helped people’s wardrobes work better for them.

My problem was reduced to about a quarter of its original size by reorganising 3 out of 4 of my downstairs rooms - space and energy is apparent!

After an exhausting but enjoyable day spent rearranging sofas, chairs, tables, toy storage and pictures, my home felt completely different.  With only Rannveig’s time as my cost, I was well on the way to solving a problem that had seemed insurmountable because it drained me of energy and I always had too many things to do.   I’m used to being brought in as the ‘cavalry’ but today I’d been the recipient!  

And the best bit?  Nobody noticed!  I’d say that’s because it’s right, it works - just as when someone is wearing the colours and styles which suit and flatter them, people notice the person not the clothes.

Life Changes

House of Colour clients come from all walks of life and choose HOC for all kinds of reasons - the intangible (emotional, look good/feel good connection) to the tangible (practical, measurable, saving time/money/effort, to help secure jobs, promotions, relationships and sales). 
 

Whether people are successful, visible and happy with their life or feel completely disempowered or invisible, the overriding reason to decide to invest in themselves can frequently be defined as a desire to become more visible (noticed for the right reasons),  often triggered by a life event which focuses attention:

• Employment changes: finding that first job, making the transition from education, wanting more success as you climb the career ladder, moving to a position of self-employment and needing to secure sales, returning to work after a maternity break or moving into retirement.  People want to be distinguishable as an individual, looking professional, friendly and approachable, as though they can do the job in question – they want to look the part.
• Starting or ending a relationship often leads to a change in hairstyle and clothing.  The retail therapy element cannot be ignored but when making changes it’s far better to invest in things that will suit you to ensure you get full cost per wear and a return on your investment.  A major milestone is a frequent trigger - 18 and 21 may be welcomed with as much gusto as double digits or the teen milestone, but those blessed with youthful looks sometimes wish to look more mature to help career progression.  40 and 50 tend to be more resistant milestones, our pictures and reflections seem to defy how we feel, we know there must be a way to stay looking younger and slimmer for a bit longer without the need for surgical or chemical intervention as we prepare ourselves to embrace the ageing process; fear not, with HOC help is at hand!
• Recovery from any period of change can be a big deal - the varying levels of recovery from traumas or a period of illness (as patient or carer) also bring a need for a personal morale boost.
• Also included in this group are mothers - the impact of having children cannot be underestimated.  Every mother I would dare to say, without exception, will have experienced at some point a loss of power, self-esteem or self-confidence, which has a direct impact on our confidence when selecting clothes which suit us.  With time and space to think about ourselves for the first time in a long time, a change in lifestyle, body shape and budget, leaves us a little disorientated as we learn to find a new balance.   When life changes result in disempowered people and they want to pick themselves up, it’s something visual that needs changing – new hairstyle, outfit and/or accessories.  The power of the image is grossly underestimated but we need the image we see in the mirror to be a true reflection of who we are - we owe it to ourselves to be empowered, visible and authentic.
• From a business perspective a review of your personal appearance may be triggered by the company revisiting their corporate business strategy and recognising the value of bringing congruence to the staff, representatives and corporate brand.

All over the world, businessmen and women work hard to get themselves and their businesses ‘noticed’ (visible), seen for what and who they are (authentic) to customers.  One visit to a local business networking group will show you that, unfortunately, too often the focus is around getting the business card, brohure or product right, with little attention paid to the appearance and presentation of the person.

From a personal perspective we want to be seen for who we are, from a business perspective we also need to be seen to represent our company, product or service with authority and make sure that our personal appearance (brand) supports and reinforces the corporate brand while empowering us to be ourselves. 

The paradox of life is our conflicting need for both continuity and change.   Empowering people to embrace these changes by taking themselves on first is a real gift -  ‘chin up’, ‘best foot forward’, ‘tomorrow’s another day’ - it’s not what happens but our approach and reaction to it which will determine how we handle it – knowing you look your best is akin to knowing you’re as well prepared as you can be.

 

Essential holiday make-up

As the holiday season approaches, so too comes the ‘holiday shopping’ and all too often unnecessary purchases, excess baggage allowance and frustration of ‘no liquids over 100ml’ through security for your hand luggage.

All is not lost!

Firstly, your make-up bag doesn’t have to be as large as you might think.  Unless you particularly think you need to carry your full selection to the other side of the world, a minimal kit will suffice and still have you enhancing every outfit you take with you, or indeed purchase while you’re away.

The 5 essentials:

1. Foundation -  on holiday, I find it helps me look more awake than I might feel after a night out, always a good step towards feeling better!  A heavily tanned person may require a stronger shade than normal, although in my experience, this is rare.  Finding the right colour foundation to match your skin tone is better when done in natural light.  The colour needs to sit on your face (not your neck) and the colour needs to blend naturally with your neck colour, if you see a line and feel the need to blend it, your foundation is probably not the right colour.   Foundatoin provides an element of protection to your skin and there are different types to suit all lifestyles:  

Liquid foundation – provides a full and professional looking finish, a great look when you are going out for an evening. 

Dual-Foundation – wet and dry mineral foundation also comes in a handy compact; easily applied with a Kabuki brush it can be used to touch up after a long day (on holiday, at a wedding, on business) and used in combination with a liquid foundation or BB cream depending on your requirement.

BB-creams – a versatile product combining serum, moisturiser, primer and foundation in one.  Perfect for a natural look, providing skin protection and can be combined with translucent powder or dual-foundation for additional coverage.  Take advantage of our special offer on BB creams (June 2014) and get yourself set up for the summer.

 

2. Blusher – pick up and enhance the natural pink tones in your skin draws the attention out to your cheek bones and makes your face appear more defined and less pinched.  You’ll probably find you only need one colour to take you through the whole year because it’s your underlying natural pinks which are enhanced.

3. Lipstick – THE handbag essential!  Lipstick provides definition to the mouth and face and works it’s magic by making your eyes shine when you're wearing the right colour.  At HOC, we recommend 3 as a minimum, enabling you to have something to suit every possible outfit from your colour spectrum.  Of course, you are not limited to only three, but choosing 1 red, 1 pink, 1 plum, rust or coral, depending on your season, will provide maximum flexibility.

4. Eyeliner – using eyeliner (liquid or pencil) on the outside edge of your eyes makes them appear more defined and larger.  For holiday, you may choose a neutral eyeliner (black, grey, navy) or you may wish to include a bit more choice (green, plum, blue) – after all, eyeliners aren’t bulky!

5. Mascara – Mascara appears to lengthen the eyelashes, providing further definition for the eyes, a girl’s best friend!   While I have two colours (navy and brown) in my make-up kit, I find that most days I migrate to one colour – navy, as a summer, for my travel kit! 

And one for luck:

6. Eye-shadow - while not essential, limiting yourself to 1 or 2 highlighting shades for the eyelid and 2-3 accent colours (navy/grey/purple for cool or olive/brown for warm) can provide more elegance to your look when you go out to dinner in the evening and for the space of about 5 small eye shadows, you may prefer to invest in an eye shadow palette to provide everything you need for an easy time away.



For the activity holidaymakers, or the really light traveller, where there is less time or space for make-up, these 5(6) things can be limited to 3; Foundation, Blusher and Lipstick.  

....after all, you may well be wearing sunglasses most of the time!

Cool

Warm



Death and Public Speaking

 

 

It is often acknowledged that the two things people are most afraid of are death and public speaking. 

Most people can acknowledge that these are variations on Fear – of the unknown and being vulnerable.  Preston Ni has an interesting perspective, suggesting that these two fears are related by the fact that the fear of public speaking is the fear of emotional death!

 

 

Although it might not be so extreme, at House of Colour we’ve experienced people feeling intimidated by the thought of meeting an Image Consultant; they suddenly become self-conscious about their appearance, invest additional energy (compared to their normal levels) in thinking about what they’re wearing and apologise for various elements of their attire which they don’t have complete confidence in.  Otherwise confident people are reduced to varying degrees of nervousness. 

At the very least, this is something that needs to be acknowledged at the meeting introductions, and then put to one side, so that we can get on with the business of the meeting.  But what would it be like if you could remove most of the fear, releasing the energy for more productive use?

At our annual conference last year, we heard Mo Harford speaking about how our brains and thinking get in the way of our performance and producing great results.  In effect it is often only our beliefs which support (positive) or hinder (negative) us in our performance.

 

 

By focusing on getting your look ‘right’, i.e. one that you are comfortable in, comfortable with and that makes you look your best, you’re able to confidently step out and take care of the primary business at hand.  In the case of a ‘business’ person, this is getting on with their ‘business’!  

 

Special events can typically take a lot of our energy and attention when looking for the right outfit - often costing a lot of money - but it doesn’t have to.  For women, the problem often stems from a lack of confidence in coordinating items, so the safe option is to invest in a complete outfit which is clearly designed to coordinate and look good.  The problem with this approach is that you may have invested over £500 (clothing, accessories, shoes and in some cases underwear) and ended up with 1 outfit, rather than spending £500 on several items that can be used and adapted to create many more outfits in combination with clothing in your existing wardrobe.   Return on investment is about your cost-per-wear, shifting the focus to cost-per-outfit, an item of clothing or an accessory reveals itself as a good investment or not.

We need to know we look right, we have phrases such as ‘I need to put my face on’, ‘I’m having a bad hair day’, ‘I can’t go out without my lipstick/perfume/necklace (delete as appropriate)’.  All these statements point towards our need to ensure we ‘look the part’.  I particularly enjoyed reading this article on clothing related expressions!

 

Why are they fears? Because we all have a fundamental concern about what people think of us. This blog by Michael Hyatt gets succinctly to the point – take the focus off yourself!  Ironically, by focusing on yourself and your image, this is exactly what we are aiming for - get your physical presentation to such a level that you are able to take the attention off yourself and focus on the job in hand.

Maybe a business friend of mine who is considering a career transition from Business Consultant and Professional Speaker to Undertaker has the ideal solution to help you through your fears!

Beautiful Colouring!

It was almost sad to read that a Yorkshire village used for filming recently could only employ a handful of locals as extras because the tattoos and body piercings weren’t appropriate to the era of the film. 

Last week, while I was in another room, my children were both enjoying a bit of colouring time.  Things apparently aren’t always what they appear; my 4 year old came and stood proudly in front of me with what can only be described as fantasy stage make-up, comprising  polka dots on his eyelids and around his brows, through the centre of his face and covering his tummy, ‘Look Mummy’ it’s beautiful!’  I had to agree - a truly magical moment!  

 

The potential significance of his internal conversation didn’t hit me until a few days later however, when he started colouring his legs in the car on the way home from school.   When we arrived home, he had to stop.  He was so upset because he had only completed one leg, it took a little bit of persuading to find out why, then I heard the words I shall always remember, ‘but Mummy I’m not beautiful if it’s not finished’. 

I gently explained to him that he was gorgeous and a beautiful person, the colouring was pretty but it didn’t make him beautiful – he already was. 

 

I often wonder at the proliferation of tattoos in our society – is it because our self esteem has become so low that we think we need to ‘make ourselves beautiful’ I wonder?

‘Mummy, I don’t want your skin to go wrinkly – I like it the way it is!’  Oh boy, now that did test my response!   ‘They’re smile lines’ I replied and proceeded to show him how, when smiling, they show up more! Like most people in their 40s I’m seeing the early effects of ageing  and while I’m not at the point of surgery or Botox myself, I have an understanding of why some people choose that route -  but it doesn’t solve the problem. 

 

Dismantling these disempowering conversations is akin to dismantling what it is to be human, however they don’t need to be as loud as they are.  When the reflections looking back at us from the mirror or photos of ourselves reflect and honour us as accurately as possible we are able to hear the more empowering conversations about ourselves that have previously been pushed to the background.   This article recently shared on our Face book page highlights a perfect example. 

It is however, all in the perspective and it reminded me of a friend commenting on my ‘crow’s feet’ – up until that point I’d only known them as ‘laughter lines’!