If you’re familiar with colour analysis and the four seasons, you probably immediately associate certain colours with certain seasons. Emerald green? That’ll be Winter. Rust? Must be Autumn. Lavender? Summer of course. Coral? Ah yes, Spring.

Each season has colours that you immediately think of when you think of that season. Even now when I look at my swatches (regardless of system; I actually have a few different Summer swatches) I see colours I’ve overlooked. As a Summer I have a lot of navy and purple and sea green in my wardrobe. I forget about the reds and the dusky pinks and I especially forget about the soft neutral sandy colour, the light rose brown and the duck egg blue. As a Deep Summer especially, it’s easy to overlook the lighter colours which can be so useful especially in patterns.

Here are (in my opinion) some of the ‘forgotten’ colours for each season, and why I think they’re useful.

Winter

The colour that always surprises me for this season when I stumble upon it in my drapes is the colour that Kettlewell Colours call ‘pebble’.

It’s not a cool Winter silver grey as you might expect, but a pale cool stone colour. It’s actually a very interesting Winter neutral and I saw it used well in a jumper that my last Winter client turned up wearing, combined with purple and black. This obviously works well for blouses and shirts too and would be an interesting and less obvious choice for Winter accessories.

Winter’s icy pastels can get overlooked too, the icy pinks, blues and purples. They are useful for creating contrast when worn with the brighter, darker colours. This is Ice Lavender.

The bolero worn with, say, a camisole in one of the bright cool Winter blues or purples, would look great especially if you were to add black into the mix. I could imagine a black necklace or choker working really well with that.

Summer

Brown is a colour typically associated with Autumn. It’s easy to forget that Summer has a brown too, for which I’m very grateful. I rely on it heavily for boots and handbags because I don’t really want grey or navy which are the other obvious neutrals I could use.

Summer has a very pale, cool yellow. I’ve yet to recommend it to someone as a colour they should buy an investment piece in, but actually it is very interesting and especially brilliant in a pattern.

Autumn

Autumn has a blue, a warm one. Blues aren’t typically associated with Autumn, but they sure are useful particularly for workwear where you want / need to carry a little more authority. This is Rich Navy.

Autumn has a very bright, vibrant orange that you might on first glance assume belongs to Spring but it’s definitely an Autumn colour. It’s like Summer’s primrose yellow in that I’ve never recommended it to someone as a head-to-toe colour but it is useful for accessories and in prints.

Spring

When we think of Spring we usually think of the bright, warm, splashy tropical colours; coral, warm reds, turquoise, warm bright greens such as apple and leaf green. Spring actually has a fair few lighter and more neutral colours such as cream, peach, and warm grey. This is Salmon, a pale peach that isn’t as splashy as Spring’s usual colours.

It’s easy to forget that the bright seasons have colours that aren’t typically ‘bright’ (pastels for Spring, icy pastels for Winter). I like Spring best when neutrals are paired with the bright, splashy colours. Too many brights and it can look a little overdone.

Spring is closely associated with tan but has a very useful chocolate brown too; a very useful neutral for bags, trousers and shoes. This is Chocolate.

Excellent question. I’ll start by answering first who it ISN’T for.

It’s not for you if:

• You are completely invested in the colours and make-up you already wear and you wouldn’t consider changing them. I hasten to add, this isn’t the same as having favourite colours and wanting to wear them regardless of the outcome. Chances are (as I’ve seen again and again), if there is a colour you particularly love it’s almost certainly in your palette (I’ve yet to see this NOT be the case). Even if your favourite colour isn’t in your final palette you can still wear it! Of course you can. These are very much guidelines, not rules. You can do as much or as little with the advice I give as you like. In addition, you don’t have to wear every colour in your palette if you don’t want to. As a Summer I have some beautiful shades of pink in my palette but I feel apprehensive about wearing them because it feels vulnerable to do so. That’s totally okay. You don’t have to love every colour, although chances are you’ll fall in love with them when you see what they do for you.
• You’re going to give yourself a hard time afterwards if 100% of your wardrobe isn’t already compliant. (See previous comment about my advice being guidelines, not rules!) Self-compassion is where it all begins. Be kind to yourself.
• You have plenty of money and enjoy shopping and the thrill of a new buy and don’t mind wearing something once and then getting rid of it. You’d rather buy something (even if it doesn’t particularly suit you) rather than return home empty-handed.
• Keeping up with trends is uber-important and you don’t care whether what’s in suits you or not.
• You don’t think your dyed hair really suits you, but you wouldn’t change it anyway. The problem with this is that even if you’re wearing all the right colours in your clothing, your hair will still throw the whole show off, and in quite a big way given it’s right next to your face all of the time.
• You can’t think of how you could apply the information you’ll be given to your life. If you’re not interested in applying what you’ve learnt to your hair, make-up or clothing then there’s probably little point in you spending money on a colour analysis session.

It’s for you if:

• You’re curious and ready to experiment with what you wear.
• You enjoy shopping but you’d like to refine the process so you can see more quickly what might work for you.
• You don’t enjoy shopping and you’d like to be quicker and more efficient at it.
• You would quite like to dye your hair, but you want to be sure that the shade you choose suits you.
• You’ve long since suspected that some colours suit you whilst others don’t but you don’t know why.
• You feel like you wear 20% of your wardrobe 80% of the time.
• You understand that despite the outcome of the colour analysis session, you are still free to wear your favourite dress / shoes / top even if it isn’t in your palette. I’m not the fashion / colour / style police!

I understand that some are apprehensive about having their colours done. I am very sincere and serious when I say I wouldn’t want to drape anyone who didn’t want it done with one exception – my husband – whom I bribed with beer and he was quite happy with this arrangement (turns out he was an Autumn as I suspected, and had been wearing and buying the right colours all along). If you’re still having trouble deciding, you might find my previous post, ‘The difficulty in explaining colour analysis’, useful.

I discovered Art Finder very recently. As an art lover (albeit with depressingly-limited wall space) this was heaven to my eyes. Inevitably I found art for this post. So here we have ‘Art for every season‘, part 2.

Spring

The bright warm colours feel full of life. The bright blue of the Hyacinths is close to Spring’s warm cornflower blue.

I love not only the colours but how vibrant and splashy the Kingfisher looks. It’s reminiscent of Spring’s energy. If the four seasons mapped to the four elements, Spring would be air.

Summer

I love the wet look of this painting, how the colours blend into each other. If the four seasons mapped to the four elements, Summer would be water.

Perfect Summer colours, and the reflection on the water just blows me away.

Autumn

I love this so very very much for Autumn. The metallic finish, the texture, the redhead, the muted colours. Everything about it is perfect.

Such rich, golden colours. You get a real sense of warmth from this. If the four seasons mapped to the four elements, Autumn would be fire or earth (I can’t decide which!).

Winter

Perhaps a little obvious being black and white, but the sharpness of the lines and shapes is important too.

The electric blue is such a typically-associated Winter colour. You get a real sense of coolness looking at it. The diamonds on the dress lend welcome contrast.

A few weeks ago I ordered some free lipstick samples from Jane Fardon cosmetics. They are a colour analysis company who sell their own brand of cosmetics and I was very keen to give them a go. I’m a Deep Summer so I ordered Mulberry, Burgundy, Sweet Pea and Pink Jasmine to try.

I tried Sweet Pea first and whilst there was no doubt it was perfect colour-wise, something was off. Even my husband commented on it. “It’s very shiny…” he said (he doesn’t usually notice whether I’m wearing lipstick or not). He was right. All the lipsticks had come through frosted (a metallic shine). The lipstick just didn’t sit right on my face. And it made me think about a fantastic article I read a while back on 12 Blueprints about skin finishes for the different seasons. I am convinced that lipstick finish relates to the skin finishes. It certainly explains why the frosted lipstick looked so off on me. It explains why Autumns always look so good in the slightly matte, heavily pigmented House of Colour lipsticks that they try after their analysis session. It explains why my Spring friend doesn’t look quite right in a matte lipstick (gloss is much better) and why the frosted fuschia lipstick looked better on my Winter friend than the very similar colour in a less exciting finish.

So here’s my theory. The lipstick you wear has to correspond to your skin finish, and your skin finish is dependent on your season. Now it is important that I mention here that not everyone suits lipstick (even in the correct colours), or at least not everyone can wear it in the traditional way. It absolutely depends on your clothing personality too. A Natural will likely look better with a lip stain whereas a Romantic will look best in a more polished, made-up look (lipstick and a lip liner). I’m a Natural Ingénue and every time I go to the make-up counter I look like I’ve raided my Mum’s make-up bag (especially if I’ve asked for a smokey eye). A Natural doesn’t suit the made-up look, and an Ingénue benefits from being enhanced but not overdone, which essentially means less is more on me and so it will be for other types too. Everyone benefits from looking believable, but believable means different things on different clothing personalities and seasons.

Firstly, I need to tell you a little about the different lipstick finishes available. Although they are often marketed under a different name, essentially you’ll find lipsticks come in the following finishes: matte, satin (creamy with a slight shine), frosted (metallic), gloss (similar finish to lipgloss but not as shiny) or shimmer (not to be confused with gloss although the two finishes are often combined). Shimmer lipsticks contain very fine particles of glitter. And there is of course lip gloss, which has a high shine and when applied liberally can look very very shiny indeed. Lip stains are useful and tend to look like felt tip pens. Lip stain (as long as it is a stain and not a gloss) can work for everyone because they are a stain so can look like a real lip (although beware of them going patchy). On some style types / seasons it will look very understated and natural, on others it’ll be all they need. Some will need Vaseline or gloss over the top for shine for the best finish (Springs I’m looking at you).

Spring

Spring skin is most beautiful when it’s smooth and shiny, like a jelly bean or a satin ribbon. Think dewy, smooth, shiny, moist. Pressed powder is far too heavy. BB cream or a tinted moisturiser works well for Springs. Foundation is often too heavy and opaque as is any kind of finishing powder. Highlighter works so well on Springs. Bronzer belongs to Autumn. Dewy and shiny is not the same as glittery, metallic or bronze. So when looking for lipsticks, anything smooth and shiny works well, which includes lip gloss. The exact level of gloss you can handle is related to where you sit in the Spring palette. Light Springs tend to be more peaches and cream. Not as glossy. Warm Springs that sit in the middle of their palette can handle more shine, the Bright Springs the most. Vaseline over a lipstick could work too if it was applied liberally enough (useful if you’ve got a lipstick that’s the right colour for you but the finish isn’t quite right).

Summer

For Summer skin, think smooth, silky and dry, like a brushed cotton sheet. Glossy, frosty, slick and metallic don’t work. As Christine so beautifully said, “Summer skin’s way of handling light is the diffusion of moonlight”. Very cool, very soft. Summer looks so good in brushed silver. (Slightly off-topic but John Greed do an excellent range of brushed silver necklaces like this wildflower one which I own, it positively glows against my Summer skin, I highly recommend). Summer’s softness is feathery. Pressed and translucent powder works so well here. Traditional foundation works too, as do mineral foundations. BB cream and tinted moisturiser will likely be too dewy without powder on top. In terms of lipsticks, I think Summers can wear subtle shimmer well (very fine glitter). Reminiscent of moonlight. Matte lipsticks may or may not be too matte (and they can sometimes be drying) but blusher dabbed on the lips with a finger is perfection. Lip stains work too (they look like felt tips), just be careful the colour isn’t too intense. Vaseline as a lip balm works but keep it to a bare minimum. I do wear Vaseline all the time but I have to be careful not to go overboard. Gloss turns to gloop in a hearbeat on Summer skin so avoid that at all costs. I find my creamy lipsticks look best with some blusher dabbed on top. Frosted, needless to say, does not work. It’s too cold even in the correct colour.

Autumn

Autumn skin has an overall matte look. Think velvet, suede, even leather. Texture. Matte. Not dewy or sparkly. Autumns look so good in velvet, you couldn’t go wrong with a moss green velvet scarf. Autumns benefit most from contouring (lowlights in the form of a blusher, or bronzer), as opposed to highlighting. Texture in metallics sit so well with Autumn (think hammered bronze). Freckles are divine (texture). The texture of the skin when combined with warm colours makes sense in bronzer. Creamy works here, as does a matte finish in a lipstick. Shimmer, in small quantities, can work. Unsurprisingly frosted lipsticks and lip gloss are just too much. Traditional foundation can work but you really don’t want to cover up the texture of the skin too much. Keep it real, not artificial.

Winter

For Winter’s skin finish, think red shiny apple, think black vinyl. A frosted lipstick on a Winter will look entirely normal in the same way the bright, very cool colours of Winter don’t look bright and very cool, they just look normal because they balance the wearer. Winter needs contrast and this should be reflected in make-up. Black eye liner or a bright blush on pale skin. Just be careful with colour, you don’t need or want too much. I suspect foiling (adding a little water to an eye shadow to intensify it) would work very well indeed on a Winter but I’ve yet to see that in real life. In terms of lipstick finish, frosted would work as well as a gloss. Ultra matte too. A frosted fuchsia lipstick on a Winter looks normal (even if the wearer can’t see it at first because they’re not used to wearing lipstick). I find it is the Winters that struggle most with their make-up recommendations. They often ask for something more muted but the Summer lipsticks turn their faces ashen. Starting with sheer cosmetics helps to ease the transition, but don’t compromise on colour.

I’ve yet to see a nude lip work on a Winter. Rita Ora is a great example of a Winter who is rarely seen without her red lipstick.

What works here? The red lipstick. The black falsies. The platinum-blonde hair. What doesn’t? The yellow blonde hairline. The highlights and the bronzer. A flatter skin finish would work so much better.

Extremes work with Winter. Very matte or high shine lip finishes. They are the most versatile in terms of lip finish, I think.