One main difference between my approach and other systems is my interpretation of the concept of value (how light or deep a color is), as it applies to humans and skin tones.

I never categorically rule out any color season (or sub-season) simply because of the individual color or value of your eyes, skin, and/or hair — I always let the drapes decide.

While the vast majority of color analysis systems consider temperature (warm vs. cool) and intensity (bright/saturated vs. muted) to be very nuanced and require draping to figure out, they often take a much more cut-and-dry approach to value — saying that individuals with deeper skin tones, hair colors, and eye colors will always be part of the deeper seasons and sub-seasons (like Winter and Autumn), and individuals with lighter skin tones, hair colors, and eye colors will always be part of the lighter seasons and sub-seasons (like Spring and Summer). I don't agree, and I find this approach to be oversimplified, unnecessarily limiting, and white-centric.

While I, of course, take into account the value of your individual features, I believe a more comprehensive approach to value also includes figuring out how the light around us interacts with our skin and features -- which isn't correlated with the value of one's skin (in terms of being deep vs. fair), but is extremely important to figuring out if lighter or deeper colors tend to be more harmonious. We want to make sure that the colors you’re wearing react to light the same way that your skin does, and that’s what we will do!

No two people within the same color season (or sub-season) are the exact same! That’s why I provide my clients with a personalized interpretation of where exactly they sit within their season, sub-season, and runner-up sub-season as part of their session - which is all sent directly to you as digital session notes.

For those who generally fit within one of the 22 sub-seasons, this includes:

1) A breakdown of their individual temperature, intensity, value, and contrast;

2) An assessment of what are the clearest changes that we see in your face in colors of different temperatures, intensities, and values, and;

3) An assessment of which other sub-season you sit closest to and why (whether that be your classic “sister” sub-season, or another sub-season).

For others, the personalization process is a bit more complex. Sometimes, someone’s best colors span across several sub-seasons. So, rather than just sticking to a strictly delineated seasonal system, I will use my self-training in the Munsell Color system to pinpoint and describe exactly where on the temperature, intensity, and value scales their best colors are so that I can additionally create a customized PDF for them after their session.

While this isn't necessarily a "typical" experience, I am committed to making sure that each client actually leaves with their very best colors - whether they perfectly fit within the exact confines of an established sub-season or not.

Everyone is unique, which is why I feel it is important to keep the draping process personalizable and catered to you!

I do use the structure of a combination 22-season flow system as a "home base" during your session, as I have found it is the best balance of being comprehensive, yet accessible. However, I also keep the structure of your color analysis session very flexible, following different protocols depending on what comes up as we drape you.

This allows us to take our time and make sure that we are 100% sure of your unique temperature, level of intensity, and value before moving onto the next phase.

Gatekeeping is not the vibe folks 🙅‍♀️ and, unlike other color analysis styles, I believe that you should be an active participant in your own color session.

During the draping process, I’ll always give you space to see the changes in your own features first, BEFORE jumping in with what I may be noticing. This is because, if I start immediately sharing what I’m seeing within the first drape or two, you may become biased towards what I see, rather than trusting your own eye to notice the changes that are happening in your skin! My goal is to help my clients to build their confidence with color and to start trusting their own intuition, especially while assessing colors on themselves. (But don’t worry, I’ll be your safety net for those moments that you need a bit more support!).

This is also why I start your session with a mini “Intro to Color Analysis/Color Theory” training - guiding you through what to look out for, both during the appointment and moving forward, is crucial to being able to actually apply your color season to your life moving forward! This session also helps you to train your color eye as we go through drapes of different temperature, intensity, and value. When we talk about which colors we prefer on you we also, more importantly, figure out what about those colors makes them harmonious on you. This is what will allow you to identify similar colors in the wild, when shopping and browsing online!

By the end of our time together, I want you to feel like you are the expert in your own color journey — that you can confidently identify your best colors without me.

Color analysis is supposed to positively add to our lives, not put limitations on us. You will NEVER catch me telling my clients absolutes like “you should never wear ____ color” or “you can only wear gold/silver” or “only Winters look good in black”. 🙄 While there are reasons why certain colors lie where they do within the seasons, guidelines are rarely one-size-fits-all* and color analysis isn’t law — it’s a single approach in a world full of many different, valid approaches and goals. So ditch the strict rules - we’re all rebels here 😉

*see the “Personalized Interpretation of your Color Season” section (above) for more on this!