18. I Went...To Test Your Theory

A CUSTOMER WITH W2 SKIN TONE: "So I went with a friend to test your theory that a mauve colored top could mesh with my W2 skintone [First Edition color]. Since my skin is light, I went with a light to medium mauve. Once on, the shirt put a definite gray cast to my face which in my opinion wasn't flattering. My friend's comment was, "It's alright, you could wear it." I agree. It's just "alright", but who's looking for that when they buy their clothes? To contrast this I tried on a light warm yellow-green top. We both agreed it was a superior choice that left a nice peachy glow to my skin. So here are my thoughts. I am not sold on your system yet. Yes, I do not own it [the mauve top] and I wasn't using an exact match from your palette, but I do understand the concepts of light/dark, cool/warm, and clear/muted so I feel that I couldn't have been too far off...

MBC: Hello Amy. I'm glad to hear from you. Your concerns are not surprising. Let's see if I can help you with them. First of all, it's very interesting to me that you have put a considerable amount of effort into experimenting with your palette of colors. Clearly, color is important to you.


The first thing that comes to mind is the possibility that your skin tone match may not be correct. Frankly, I don't think that is a likely problem. You are an observant, thoughtful person. It's my guess that you made a good choice.


The next consideration is to look at whether or not you were considering at least three of your palette colors together when judging color compatibility/harmony. By this I mean skin color, perhaps your hair color, and the color of the mauve top. The MyBestColors.com color analysis method requires at least three colors working together to establish a harmony. More colors than that will only add to the beauty of the mix.


Third, if your hair, scarf, cosmetics or another item added a third color from your palette to the mix, then the mauve--if it was a very close match--was a good color for you. You may not like the way the color looked on you, or you may not have been looking for the mood that particular color helped to set, but technically, it was a harmonious color on you.


Here's my suggestion: If you basically like the colors the 4 or 12 palette seasonal color analysis method suggests for you, use it to guide you in discovering your very best matches. For example, if a "warm yellow-green" is in the seasonal color palette, look for the closest match to that "warm yellow-green" in your MyBestColors palette.


MyBestColors will give you the precisely correct version for you. If you read the fine print about seasonal analysis, Carol Jackson explains that the suggested colors in her method are approximate, not exact. The MyBestColors.com colors are exactly correct. Be careful about loosely selecting a color that falls somewhere between "light to medium." This will cause you to loose control of color harmony. Your match must be very close.  I hope this helps you, Amy...

17. Color Me Beautiful Discussion

READER, SHANNON: "Hi, my name is Shannon and I am very impressed with the way you have figured out people's best colors by basing the choices solely on our skin tones. I have been trying to figure out my best colors for awhile now by using the old "color season" and 12 season flow approach, and I find that I have only kept continuously changing my mind about what color season I am, and that in almost every category some colors seem to 'fit' but others don't."

"I am a huge fan of Loreal's True Match makeup as well! I have been using it for some time now and I know that I am N2." [This sentence refers to the First Edition selections. The Second Edition skin tone choices will come out in 2012.]

"...I started to become confused about my best colors when I noticed that I suit some warm hair colors and that I receive compliments when I wear some orange or peachy colors, and warm yellow-based greens too (maybe this is normal if you have a neutral skin tone?)"

"I greatly appreciate your help with choosing my best colors. Have a good day. :)"

MBC: Shannon, initially the MyBestColors.com palettes will appear both delightful and confusing. They're confusing because we all became used to the seasonal color palettes presented to us by Color Me Beautiful about 30 years ago. At that time, computer-aided color selection was not a possibility. Carol Jackson was working with the only tool available to her. Called a spectometer, it was used to measure how much blue and/or yellow was in a handful of colors. And nobody was using transparent skin tone test cards to quickly and accurately assess one's skin tone, so holding cloth samples of the precategorized (winter, spring, summer and fall) colors up to a customer's face became the standard method for personal color analysis.

This method resulted in questionable results. The method is fraught with a lot of guess-work, opinions and approximations at best, but probably the most problematic aspect of that color analysis method is the shaky premises the method is based on. Why were the test colors chosen in the first place? Why not other colors with equal amounts of blue and/or yellow? Much of the color selection was predetermined by the fabric industry. Colors had to be selected from fabrics in colors that were already being manufactured. And then, why not assess green, red, orange and purple, etc. too? What about the value (lightness and darkness) of colors? What about intensity or chroma (the clarity or dullness) of colors? Also, no theory is proven correct unless it can be precisely duplicated by other people. The seasonal color method shifts results according to the interpretation and opinions of the person/people doing the testing.

That being said, Color Me Beautiful served to put us on the right track, and it often pushed us toward more pleasing results than most of us were achieving on our own. Color Me Beautiful made color FUN.

Today, we are able to go much, much further toward accurate personal color analysis. In fact, we can achieve precisely correct results for anyone once their skintone (color) is determined. And computer processing looks at ALL colors in the visible color spectrum. Color Me Beautiful looks primarily at hue (the usual way most people look at color i.e. red, yellow, blue...). MyBestColors.com assesses hue, value and chroma of ALL visible colors, and then selects only the colors that fall within a close color contrast (difference) distance from a particular skintone. Next, this select group of colors is further processed through an algorithmic mask to allow through only the colors that fit a proportional doubling pattern. Thus, every single color in the resulting palette is there for good reason, and contributes to the color harmony of the rest of the colors, including your identified skin tone color. Computers quickly performs the work. It's mistake-free and thorough, so you may relax and trust your colors.

Color harmony is objective and precise, while color preference is subjective. This is not generally understood, probably because the ability to achieve perfect color harmony was never before possible, so we did our best to put colors together that seemed pleasing. With MyBestColors.com, subjectivity enters the picture AFTER a harmonic palette of colors is selected. At that point, color choices within the palette can be opinion-based. ALL of the 620 [380, 2012] colors in your personal color palette can be mixed-and-matched. Your whites may be used with any of the other colors in your entire palette. However, you may also use your white, or any other color in your palette, within the parameters of one of the suggested color schemes.

I hope this clarifies things for you. Please feel free to contact me at any time with other questions or comments.

16. Reader's Concerns

READER, AMY: "I have a W2 [First Edition] skin tone (aka warm ivory).  In your illustration the model appears to be wearing a mauve colored top, berry lipstick, and dark burgundy shorts.  In my opinion, while these colors may harmonize with each other, their cool, muted, and/or dark natures seem more suited to a cool or at least more neutral skin tone."                                                                                                                                                    
MBC:  I always enjoy hearing from customers.  I believe you will be delighted with the range of colors you can wear.  Everybody can wear every hue in the rainbow.  It's a matter of selecting the right color note(s) within each hue.  And the selection of those correct colors could never have been accomplished by human judgement alone.  Computer technology searches millions of colors to perform the very intricate job of selecting your precisely correct palette of colors.  Once your colors are identified, you can play to your heart's content.  Mix-and-match all you want.  All 620 [380, 2012] colors, plus your natural eye and hair color(s), are right for you.

15. 10 Ways to Wear a Scarf

MBC: Not sure how to wear a scarf? These quick style tricks will turn those fussy closet staples into something cool. This video demonstrates ten ways to wear a scarf.
http://www.focusonstyle.com/Blog/wear-scarf-video-tips

14. Color Me Confident

Barnes & Noble is one of my favorite places to explore. Yesterday, while sitting with a white mocha frappuccino in hand, I glanced to the book shelf on my right. In the Beauty & Grooming section, a colorful book jumped out called Color Me Confident: Change Your Look - Change Your Life!. This book promotes the seasonal color analysis method, and then flows into a very impressive look at fashion and cosmetics. Leading image consultants, Veronique Henderson and Pat Henshaw, will earn your respect with their highly competent and colorfully interesting presentations on such topics as how to work with various body shapes, features and style; makeup; hair styles for various face shapes; accessories; dressing for pregnancy; dressing up; organizing your closet; how to shop for a wardrobe; and capsule wardrobes.                                                                     


Now, let me be clear, I emphatically know that MyBestColors.com offers a precisely correct palette of colors for each of 24 [33, 2012] different skin tones, whereas the seasonal color analysis process deliveres colors based on judgement calls and approximations, but nonetheless, these image consultants have a lot to teach. Many of their suggested color combinations can simply be replaced with your own precisely correct similar colors, while retaining the lovely effect. Treat yourself! If you love color and style, you will love this book.

13. Use of Neutral Colors

Would you like to know why it's important to wear colors that harmonize with your personal coloring? The answer is so simple that, once it's pointed out to you, you'll immediately respond, "Of course. I knew that." It's important to wear your colors because the colors you wear accentuate the same colors in your skin tone, your hair and your eyes. To illustrate, think of choosing matting for a painting. The color of the mat will emphacize the same color in the painting. On the other hand, if a mat with no color relationship to the painting is selected, the effect will be of disharmony/discord...and it will feel uncomfortable to look at.


Naturally, then, one's own natural hair color(s), eye color(s) and skin tone would make excellent color choices for the basic structure of your wardrobe. Suits, shoes, purses, jewelry, etc. in your neutral colors would serve you well. Other harmonizing colors, such as those found in your MyBestColors.com palette would make excellent accent colors for accessories, a blouse, cosmetics, nail color, etc. Or, you could do it the other way around; use your Primary and/or Secondary Neutral Color(s) to accessorise, while selecting a color from your personal color palette as the main color.

The examples above demonstrate just how flattering neutral color choices can be, whether you draw from skin tone, hair or eye color.

12. What About Hair and Eye Colors?

With 620 [380, 2012] colors offered in every personal color palette, it is highly likely that you will see your eye and hair colors in the lot. In some cases, however, your natural hair and/or eye colors will not be featured in your palette. You needn't be concerned about this. There is an elegant solution to the problem. Your natural hair and eye colors trump your personal color palette. You may wear any of the natural color shades in your hair, and you may wear any of your natural eye colors. In fact, wearing one or more of these colors will enhance your natural coloring by bringing more attention to it.


Wearing one or more of your hair and eye colors will also lend an immediate "pulled together" look to your appearance. Additionally, the combination of your skin tone, hair and eye colors create a natural color harmony. Any additional colors you add from your personal color palette for cosmetics, clothing or accessories will add to the richness of the harmony.


Think of your natural hair color as your Primary Neutral Color. Be aware that when others look at you, they certainly see your hair color along with the other colors in your ensemble. The trick is to build a color bridge from your hair color to the color in something your wear. A shirt, for instance, or a belt or tie...Pick up, and repeat, the color in your hair somewhere else on your body.


Your eye color is your Secondary Neutral Color. It also can be worn at will. It will always look good on you regardless of whether or not it is in your MyBestColors.com personal color palette. Many people have multiple colors in thier hair and eyes. In those cases you may expand your Primary and Secondary Neutral Color Palettes to include those various colors.


Follow a different course if you are selecting hair coloring products, or colored contact lenses. In these cases, it's best to match the end result with colors in your color palette. I say "match the end results" because the color on a hair coloring box will not necessarily look the same once it's applied to your hair. Similarly, colored contact lenses will be influenced by your natural eye color, and may not look like you expect them to. Sometimes a professional opinion can be helpful.