You Know Your Season….Now what?

 If you just had a color draping done and have arrived home with your new fan, you are probably a mixture of excited, overwhelmed, surprised, or possibly disappointed. None of those emotions are right or wrong. Certainly, if you are very pleased with the results-that’s great! The process of beginning your beauty routine and wardrobe switch will be made easier. 

What if your feelings are more negative, even bordering or fully on contempt? 

First step: 

You can wear any color/any palette/anything you want to! This is NOT about taking away. This is about choosing the best of the best. If there is an item you own, or a few things you love that don’t fit the new palette, by all means-keep and enjoy them. 

Think back to your draping session. If your consultant was diligent, you know how you ended up in the seasonal category that suits you. For example, a cinnamon rust from your Dark Autumn palette really matched who you are. That fuchsia pink you always liked left you looking cold and was very aging. Better feelings about your seasonal category may begin to emerge once you take the time to reflect on it.

Choose a section of your palette that you like. Maybe it’s the neutral tones. It could even be the blues or greens. Do the lipstick colors catch your eye? This is a good place to start. Notice how the other colors surrounding them harmonize together. 

Start SMALL. I recommend the following: 

3 t shirts, or blouses. 

3 lipsticks. If you are afraid of the brighter colors (common in Winter based seasons) a sheer balm or gloss might feel more comfortable. 

2 nail polishes.

Don’t expand into anything else. 

Listen for unsolicited feedback when wearing these items. It could be something as simple as, “Did you go on vacation? You seem so well-rested.” It could even be that how people interact with you changes in a positive way. YOU may feel better about YOU!! 

Get on Pinterest and look up your seasonal category. Don’t just look at collages of clothing, but explore interior design, nature and flowers in those colors. It will help you see what’s possible.

Give yourself plenty of time, at least 3-6 months to get used to your palette. 

My take: If, after all of this you STILL do not like anything about your colors, don’t feel obligated to wear them. In this case, stick to what you have an affinity for. I’m of the belief that, if you don’t ever see yourself liking your seasonal category, it might not be the right one to begin with. 

Beauty Trends 2025

 Here is what I think: 

The neutral makeup/nude lips and bronzer trend that has taken up the majority of 2010-2024 is considered classic and I see no signs of it disappearing. If you are a Soft season, my humble opinion is you will always have the advantage of lots of choices. The same goes for all of the Autumn based seasons: particularly Dark Autumn. 

Some exciting changes: 

Shine and bold red lips are back! True Winter and Bright seasons will see more choices in this regard. Like Cate Linden warned me: we live in a muted world. It’s about to change, and I am here for it! 

Shimmer and sparkle. I also love both, but mature skin can’t always handle this without texture being emphasized. If you want to try it, I think Jones Road products are a great way to indulge in this while being flattering at the same time. This product line is beautiful on Soft seasons.

Lollipop lips. I don’t like the application as it’s shown. Neaten it up and it’s a great look for Dark Winter, True Winter and the Bright seasons.

Silver!! True Winters and True Summers take note. 

Blonzer. That beautiful combination of blush and bronzer. I think all of the more muted neutral season categories can give this a whirl. It looks very fresh faced, so Light seasons will win on this one. 

Bold eyes. The smoky eye is back, and it’s something I feel nobody can wear as well as a Dark season. 

Vampy lips. If you are a Dark Autumn, Dark Winter or a True Winter, enjoy this trend! 

Gothic Glam. Anyone with a Winter component to their coloring can balance this, and you can go from mild to wild. 

Pops of color. Bright Winter, Bright Spring and to a softer degree, Light Spring and Light Summer can wear this. 

If you naturally have soft or light lashes, let them be, or lighten your mascara application. This is now a trendy look! 

Blurred or feathered lips are great options for Light and Soft seasons. 

As always: your unique beauty, with all its character and experience, will always be a style no one else can imitate! 

-T

Body Harmony Colors

Colors that mirror your eye, hair and deeper skin tones can be some great ways to build a capsule wardrobe. The first step to this is knowing which color category you belong to. 

Say, for instance, you are a True Spring. You have strawberry blonde hair, green blue eyes and the red in your skin tone is peach (test this by pinching your fingertip to see what shade of red or pink is the result.) 

Take out your True Spring fan, and find the closest matches to your eye, finger-pinch skin tone and hair colors. Will you find absolute exact matches? Likely not. BUT-the colors in your fan will enhance what God has given you. Take a look at the True Spring images from NDU Colors for inspiration. Ask any trained color analyst, and they will tell you-the colors in your palette exist within you, which I find amazing!! 

Some ideas: 

Your hair color will make for foundational garments like skirts, trousers and jackets. 

Denim in the blue of your eye color as found in your palette can look extraordinarily nice. Can you imagine a Light Sunmer wearing her denim blue with a yellow blouse close to the highlights in her hair color? Breathtaking!! 

The “pinch down” red color can be a beautiful color for a blouse or even a party dress. I’m thinking a Dark Autumn wearing a cinnamon coral satin gown would stop traffic!! 

Me, being Bright Winter would choose the following: 

White (eye color pattern)

Navy (eye color)

Blue green (eye color) 

Strawberry red (finger pinch undertone) 

Hot pink (simply because I love it!) 

Bright lemon yellow (Eye color highlights) 

Those colors, especially in solids, build a wardrobe with endless possibilities! Do you have to use solid colors? Certainly not, but solids offer up a world of mix and match options. 

Stay tuned for an in depth review of the NDU Colors tools!! Spoiler alert: LOVE!! 

-T