Understanding how colours impact our appearance is the first step to looking younger and fabulous. Understanding how the line and design of garments and accessories work for or against us is the first step to looking slimmer, taller and fabulous.
Know Your Colours
When we wear colours that share the same qualities as our own colouring our skin glows, lines and blemishes are less noticeable and our eyes shine. The qualities of colour are:
Every one of us has colouring that can be described in these terms. Know your colouring and you will know the colours to wear that make you shine.
Line and Design
When we wear clothes and accessories that use the elongating power of vertical influence to minimise the impact of broadening horizontal lines and enlarging circular influence, we appear taller and slimmer.
Take a Look at Julie.
In one guise she is wearing burnt orange which is medium in depth, has a warm undertone and has soft intensity. This conflicts with Julie’s deep, cool and bright colouring. As a result her skin has taken on an unhealthy sallowness and her beautiful eyes have lost their sparkle. In addition, the orange outfit is making her look heavier than she is.
In the 2nd outfit, the red and black colours are in complete harmony with Julie’s colouring. Look how clear her skin is now and how brightly her eyes shine. In addition, the 2nd outfit employs strong vertical lines and a lower neckline to help Julie appear taller and slimmer.
Looking great is not hard and does not take any more time. All that is required is a little information and we think that’s absolutely fabulous!
Alpha Snaps Photography
If "a picture says a thousand words" then we only need to say a few. Wearing colours that harmonise with our own colouring makes our eyes look brighter and our skin look lovelier; in other words helps us look absolutely fabulous. Two photos of Julie, taken 5 minutes apart, same lighting, same camera, different colour clothes, different colour make-up. Julie has a cool undertone to her skin, hair and eyes, she has natural high contrast between her skin colour and that of her hair, and her dark hair colour gives her overall colouring depth even though her skin is fair. So, when she wears lipstick and clothing that have the same colour qualities i.e coolness, brightness and depth as herself, Julie looks wonderful. However, when she wears a colour like this orange which conflicts rather than harmonises, Julie looks nowhere near as lovely.
Here are just a few reasons why enlisting in the services of professional image consultants can change the way you look, feel and put you on a new path on how to dress and always look absolutely fabulous.
The fundamental aspect of any makeover requires the professional to work with someone’s natural colouring and body characteristics. This leads to creating a visual image that is authentic and fabulously flattering. Makeovers for women usually involve a change of hair style and colour, new and updated make-up techniques, new clothes and new ways to combine and layer garments. Great stuff and so exciting, but the icing on the cake for any makeover is the addition of accessories.
The belts, the caps, the earrings, bracelets, handbags…. are the powerhouses of makeover magic. They create the wow factor; they express the inner style personality of the individual. Their importance should never be overlooked or underestimated. Accessories deserve plenty of attention yet for many of us, they are often an afterthought and this isn’t right.
Consider all the things that accessories can do for an outfit and for us:
If they can do all this for us, then we have no hesitation in suggesting that 30% of our wardrobe budgets should be devoted to them. So that great bag you saw on sale last weekend…go get it girl!
If you are looking to refresh your image, shift out of a lifestyle and visual image rut, the quickest and easy way to transform your visual image is through your accessories. Think outside that proverbial square. Is your handbag genuine leather but boxy and boring? Look for an inexpensive, softly structured, quirky vinyl in this season’s hottest shade of purple or orange. Are your earrings discreet, minimal and genuine? Experiment with a drop, even a small one to start with, in a great colour and shape. Look at magazines, and check out the way the red carpet divas are doing it with bags and bling. Go to an accessory store and experiment with something a little different to what you normally do. Have courage, and remember practice makes perfect. Be prepared to get it a little wrong sometimes to end up looking soooooooooo right.
By Michele Gillett
For many women makeovers are the catalyst that heralds a fresh start. When it comes to reinventing your look we all know we need to start with the fundamental basics of learning our own colour and style. Once this is accomplished it is then worth enlisting the help of an image professional to refine and de-clutter your wardrobe to complete your makeover.
Many women relate to wearing 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time. The evidence is right there. All those poor orphan garments hanging there unworn and unloved.
Why we lose our way:
The benefits of a wardrobe organisation after makeovers:
To Organise and plan your wardrobe means:
To discover which styles, brand names and stores deliver the best value for your dollar
So if you thought makeovers were just about finding a new hair style and lipstick colour, think again. Those that are truly comprehensive and include sifting through your wardrobe will be an enlightening and liberating experience.
BEFORE Photo
There comes a time for many women around the age of forty, when upon glancing in the mirror , they realize the aging process has really kicked in. When did those fine lines around the lips and the slight sagging under the eyes appear? They hadn’t been noticed before, and strangely, though our exterior changes we often feel as young on the inside as we did in our 20’s. So how successful are makeovers to help us look younger?
It is worth noting the ten most common areas for concern for forty plus women (just in case you didn’t know) are:-
Even if we address a few of the above concerns and make some recommendations this will often be enough to make a big difference to how you look.
Hair
Hair can be the first step that makes a major a difference when it comes to makeovers. By the time women are in their forties they have adopted a preferred hairstyle and length. One of the quickest ways to look younger is to cut long hair into a medium or short style. This lifts and rejuvenates the face, elongates the neck and slims the upper body. Combine this with colouring your hair with a shade that harmonises and compliments your natural colouring and you are well on the way to looking younger.
Make-up
One of the most noticeable signs of aging is the brown discolouration of the skin or what we commonly know as “age spots”. The youthful glow of our 20’s and 30’s has long gone and now, more than ever, is the need for a foundation that gives maximum coverage and is perfectly matched to your skin tone to smooth out the complexion. Mascara and subtly applied eyeliner and eyeshadow help define the eyes and draw attention to one of our best features. Lips are well defined and finished with lipstick that enhances skin tone and clothing and finally simply add a gentle flush of colour on the cheeks.
Fashion
It’s easy to become lazy with the way we dress as we age. Life is busy and as we age it becomes harder to find clothes that suit our changing body shape. Be warned as some of your clothes may be making you look older.
The danger list:-
Are some of these things in your wardrobe? What we wear has a dramatic impact on how young or old we appear to be and some styles and colours have the power to make us look instantly older by their association with the elderly. If you are sick and tired of settling for clothes that don’t really do you any justice then it is worth the investment of an Image Consultant.
You’ll be impressed by just how much younger makeovers can make you look when you incorporate the above guidelines.
AFTER Photo
By Michele Gillett
