I’m cheap. CHA-EEP. I’m also busy. REALLY Busy. And that, my friends, is not a good shopping combination. I’ll be honest, unless it’s something I can grab at Target or on the sale rack at Gap, it ain’t comin’ home with me. This unorganized shopping method was ok- I had some good finds but I also had a lot of duds. My closet was full, but I felt as though I had NOTHING to wear.
After a few weeks of sitting down in my closet and not making any progress, my phone beeped and I received a message from a friend inviting me to a “color party”. No offense to my friend but a “color party” sounded pretty cheesy. I’m not one for organized girl activities, especially not on a weeknight when I could sit at home and drink wine with my husband. But I love this friend, so I said “sure” even though I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.
After a long day of work, I threw on my white jeans and signature grey t-shirt and found my place on the couch to hear about the importance of color in one’s wardrobe. Yep, I was wearing grey, white, tan, and a hint of undereye concealer. I was already failing.
As I sat and listened to Karen Blanc from Know Your Wow Colors I was hooked. It wasn’t some silly mom chatter, this stuff was legit, filled with historical and scientific references. Remember learning about the color wheel, invented by Johannes Itten in the 1920s? It’s divided into autumn, spring, winter, and summer with each color having a blue or yellow base. Each of us fits into one of these seasons based on our coloring. These colors look best on us and can make our skin look more clear, smooth, and bright. Our coloring also plays on the color of the fabric, causing the fabric to either look cheaper or more expensive.
Karen also explained that this concept is used in Hollywood. Want to depict a tired, overworked mom? Put her in her WRONG colors! Trying to show a successful, strong woman? Put her in her wow colors.
After hearing her speak, I knew I wanted a color consult. While the consultation cost money, I knew that in the end it would save me so much time and money by not shopping for non-wow items. So, the next day, I showed up make-up free and sat down to unlock my shopping key!
After a series of many color tests against my naked face, I found out I was a “Sprinter Winter” which is the lightest and brightest parts of the Winter palette. My coloring has the bright look of Spring but in a blue-based package.
Karen handed me a wallet of 36 colors that looked best on me. She then brought out those colors to narrow it down to my top WOW colors. Many of them made sense- no wonder I always lean toward navy- it’s my very best color! Some of them were total shockers- like purple. I don’t even like purple but man, it does some good things to my skin!
After the color consultation, there was more! It was lipstick time. My usual choice was a nude gloss and half the time I forgot to apply it. Karen wasn’t having that. She pulled out lipsticks that were in my Winter color palette and let me tell you what, they were COLORFUL. Karen told me that this was the icing on the cake and that I needed to wear the lipstick for 2 weeks straight to get used to the pop of color. She was the boss, I was in.
The best part of this process was not having to change my routine too much. I still only have time to pop into places like Target, but now I only try things on if they are part of MY color palette. This cuts down on time spent in the dressing room and saves me so much money from buying the wrong things. Check out some of my Target finds- nothing more than $14 but all look more expensive when mixed with my coloring!
It’s been funny. I wore a $13 Target dress, a colorful necklace, and my bright lipstick to work. I got 4 compliments. FOUR. Um. I’ve been wearing that dress once a week for the last year. I guess Karen was right when she said to wear 3 WOW colors to really pop.
I’m slowly rebuilding my wardrobe to reflect my colors. I’m hoping to tackle my “workout” clothes and pajamas next. Heck, maybe my sock and underwear drawers will get a makeover too. I hold the key now and I am loving it.
While I am sure there are others out there, I loved my experience with Karen Blanc. Visit her website or on Facebook for helpful tips on how to find your WOW colors.
