Over the last eighteen years I've had a lot of people ask me this question. In answer I usually ask a few questions about when and where the person's colours were analysed and what they were made as a result of that analysis.

Quite often after some discussion an appointment is made and that person comes along to see me and is duly analysed. Colour analysis has been around in Britain for twenty-five years and when it came, as is the case now there were various different systems used, but generally the client was analysed from four different colour types and these were categorized into the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and to an extent these categories worked. Depending on their individual colouring clients were given light bright, vibrant colours, pale soft muted tones, warm rich shades or strong, bold contrasting colours.

Very often people were also told that once they had been analysed that was it for life. This has been found not to be the case as of course people's colouring can change quite drastically in their lifetime. Look at the Queen for instance, who in her younger days had dark hair and a bright blue eye and wore bolder colours better and whose colouring has now lightened and softened to the extent that she looks better in blues, purples and some pastel shades. Gone are the days when she could wear coral effectively. Therefore one of the reasons to be reanalysed may be if your colouring has changed.

Another reason may be that the system for analysis has largely changed, whilst a few die-hards are offering Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter still, the rest of us have moved on. Quite often a person's dominant colouring is looked at initially and used to describe the final analysis. For instance a person correctly assessed with Autumnal colouring twenty years ago may now be described as a Deep, so someone who has worn chrysanthemum colours for years may be delighted to receive some deeper shades like navy, black and olive whilst retaining the rich warm tones they are used to. Conversely that person may also be described as Soft or Warm and receive the appropriate additional shades. This can make oceans of difference to the way one dresses and uses colour effectively. It can be the icing on the cake! In the old days of colour analysis using the four season system was not always easy and people may have been placed in an inappropriate category because there was nowhere else under the system to put them. Using the example above an Autumnal type could vary from a blonde haired green eyed person to a brown eyed brunette.

It stands to reason that they are not both going to look equally fantastic in light moss and cream. Yes the fair haired client may have looked pretty good, but her dark haired sister would need to put some deeper colour like olive with the cream to look her best. Three reasons to have a fresh look at your colours: your colouring's changed; it was done under an old system; you think you no longer suit the colours you were given. In addition an experienced consultant can give invaluable information on make-up to suit one's colouring, what colour to dye their hair and how to wear those colours.

Find out more at ColourMeBeautiful. Book a Colour Analysis or Style Consultation with Colour Me Beautiful. Cindy Rossiter has been a Nottinghamshire award winning consultant with Colour Me Beautiful in the U.K. since 1991.