One Client's Experience

I first learnt about House of Colour when one of your consultants came to do a talk at my local WI group in Colchester. I had never heard of House of Colour before the talk, I was half expecting some Psychic or Medium to tell me what colour my aura was. However, after only minutes into the talk I was hooked.

She had my attention, and after hearing her talk for a few minutes more I was sold. I gazed for a long time at the big colour wheel she had bought along, showing the four different seasons and their associated colours, certain I was going to be a 'Winter' but feeling oddly disappointed by that. The next morning I called the consultant up to book my appointment, and three of my friends who had also been at the talk did the same.

Everything the consultant was saying rang true for me:

Client ExperienceA few weeks later we all went to have our colours done. I had an idea of what to expect now, and was so excited the night before I hardly slept. Not long after we arrived we were all sat, in turn, in front of a big mirror that was placed strategically in front of a window so we had the full benefit of the daylight. We had been told not to wear any makeup, and I was surprised at how uncomfortable I felt without it.

I watched as my friends had an amazing array of colours held under their chins and this is when the transformation took place. Some colours made them look distinctly unremarkable and others even made them look ill, but the best colours looked simply amazing, the most notable effect being that their eyes suddenly became a lot brighter and their skin looked clearer.

The most noticeable change I saw was in my pale blonde friend Ally, who had always worn a lot of black. When the bright, vibrant colours of Spring were held under her chin I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing - despite wearing no makeup, having the right colours under her chin made her look as though she was wearing some, even her eyelashes looked as though she was wearing mascara. The effect was so profound all I could do was laugh in disbelief.

We all left House of Colour that day on a high, our swatch wallets in our handbags, eager to go shopping to find our 'wow' colours. I couldn't believe I had gone through life telling myself I couldn't wear pink only to find that one of my 'wow' colours was pink! I just hadn't been trying on the right shade. I had turned out to be a 'Summer' after all, which did come as a very pleasant surprise. In fact, before the day had begun I attempted to guess what season my friends were. I got each and every one of them wrong. I asked my House of Colour consultant, if she knew what season we were as soon as we walked in the door. She laughed - it is a lot more complicated than that; her impressive collection of precision-dyed drapes ensured she could discover whether we had a cool or warm skin tone and which season we sit in.

I was so inspired by my visit to House of Colour that I couldn't help but tell my family and friends about it. I was surprised by the two very distinct responses I got. Some people I told seemed very excited about it and eager to give it a go. Others seemed distinctly put out by the idea of a stranger telling them what colours suited them, and would remark somewhat sharply that they already knew what colours suited them, thank you very much. One such person who had made a remark of this nature later confessed that she was worried she would go and have her colours done only to find she'd been 'doing it wrong' her whole life. I assured her it wasn't like that, House of Colour are not some kind of colour dictators and as our consultant had said to us on the day, of course you can wear what you want to, just so long as you know that is what you are doing, and you are doing it knowingly.

Not long after having my colours done I returned with my friends to House of Colour for my Personal Style day. I thoroughly enjoyed talking about clothes all day and we really did cover all areas including our personalities, budgeting for clothes, clothing quality, and building a capsule wardrobe. At the end of the day my consultant revealed to us our clothing personalities, which explained to us all why, in terms of clothes, we like the things we like, even if we don't necessarily wear them for fear of drawing attention to ourselves.

The make-up day was a very pleasant end to the journey and involved skin prep and pampering as well as make-up techniques. I love that you can try out and buy the precise colours to match your face. What surprised me and still continues to surprise me now is that if I go into the supermarket to purchase alcohol and I'm wearing my House of Colour makeup and the right colours, I get asked for proof of age! There is no more genuine a compliment than that (I'm 28!)

So has House of Colour changed my life? Yes, as dramatic as it sounds, that is how I feel. I no longer have clothing mistakes that confront me every time I open my wardrobe. When I go shopping, I leave the shops empty handed more often, but when I do make a purchase I feel more confident than ever that it looks good on me and I can't wait to wear it. The clothes I wear last much longer, because I'm buying quality not quantity. Since going to House of Colour I haven't wasted money on clothes I've ended up not wearing.

When I go out for the evening I feel comfortable in my makeup, whereas before I would often leave the house not really feeling convinced about what I'd put on my face. When I buy clothes now they flatter my shape. I understand why certain shapes look amazing on some but completely bizarre on me. I understand now that trying to copy how other people look won't always work for me, and that looking amazing is easy if I just follow a few simple rules and am true to my clothing personality.

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