The Sandy Spring

Here is a beauty type that exemplifies the most commonly admired aesthetic in the U.S. and particularly in the city where she resides, Los Angeles. Natural blonde hair, blue/green eyes, golden tan skin typifies the “California girl” all the way.   She leads a sporty life, walking her dogs along the beach before work in a doctor’s office. Luckily, some …

The Lush Elegance Of A Tropical Winter

After weeks of Summer and Autumn clients, I was fascinated by this Winter woman’s appearance and presence. As a set designer, and visual person, she knows herself visually already. She has the energy and the visual hallmarks of a true Winter. The feeling I get from her: an air of serenity, sureness, and containment. I use the analogy of the …

The English Summer Gentleman

The English Summer Gentleman Here is the classic Jewel Tone palette for a gentleman. He has Alizarin Crimson based skin tone for which I had to paint custom swatches before understanding his skin tone. Very cool coloring with warm Burnt Umber based hair and eyes. So cool skin, relatively dark, warm eyes and hair. His vibe is true to the …

The Pewter Autumn

One of the great pleasures of my work is getting to meet extraordinarily wonderful people. My client that I’m showcasing here is a Pewter Autumn that holds the intention to empower others. And she does that like all great teachers quite effortlessly. She just shows up and the energy in the room shifts to match her unshakeable groundedness and calm …

The Visual Language Of Color Analysis Part 2: The Exotic Winter

Beauty follows form and in the case of Personal Color Analysis, we work from the premise that everyone is unique and when your outward appearance reflects this “core” essence the more you look like yourself. Here is a young, Exotic Winter type who knows who she is. And yet, some of her palette colors expand her beyond who she is …

The Visual Language Of The Floral Spring

Personal Color Analysis (PCA) was birthed around middle part of the last century, when skill based art training and the visual language we know as fine art was decimated by the modern art movement. PCA came into being and was largely thought of as a magical process by which it’s pioneer, Susanne Caygill, made pronouncements about her impressions of people …

Twilight Summer Male

Here is a wonderful example of the Twilight Summer Seasonal Archetype. This gentleman has many of the tell tale traits of a male Summer: reserved, elegant, intense, slightly formal, and solid. His universal styles are Classic/Romantic/Creative. I’m pondering his classical mythological archetype, probably Prodigal Son from Ulysses. I’ll keep you posted as I develop his seasonal portfolio.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know Until You Know What You Don’t Know

A new design from my private label, Bourbon Couture. I bought the silk chiffon years ago, long before I became a color stylist. Will I wear this print? Yes. But like anything, once you know what you don’t know, it’s impossible to go back. So, I’ve trained myself to analyze everything I wear and here are my thoughts: This design …

The Winter Appearance Design In The The Painted Portrait

Color analysts are familiar with the phenomenological effect our inherent coloration has on our optical lens. This is a fact widely accepted in academic Fine Art painting circles. After years of training, art students become self-correcting and begin to use their own color preferences in the color palettes and subject matter which mark their own “style”. It is at this …

Case Study: Viola Davis

The annual Academy Awards affords color analysts the best and worst eye candy of the year. Often there are beautiful gowns on beautiful women. But sometimes I remember the gown better than the person. This is because either the color and/or style is too far removed from the person’s native coloring and seasonal archetype. One of my favorite actresses is …