Why what you’re aesthetically drawn to isn’t always FOR YOU

I’m writing this after falling down a hole researching color season analysis and finally wrapping my head around it. I always thought it was kind of bullshit, but there have been updates that sold me (and were especially needed to include BIPOC).

In short, the original 4 seasons were based on two spectrums: cool/warm and light/dark. The missing key, more recently added, is the chroma spectrum: saturated/muted. And this clicked the whole system into place for me. 

It turns out that I’m a bright/clear spring, because my features are high-contrast and saturated above all else. Trying to place myself as cool/warm or light/dark is futile. What’s important is that I use bright, saturated colors to complement my intensely contrasting red hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. 

Hilariously, I am always drawn to muted tones when I shop. Grays, dusty neutrals. They seem elegant, sophisticated, relaxed. Quietly confident. But I always look like SHIT in them. My skin turns pink and mottled, my hair looks garish. 

I’ll flirt with deep jewel tones… then second-guess my way back to my default black. Or more recently, white or light blue denim/chambray - they just feel fresh and easy to me. Now I know why.

I don’t consider myself a “bright color” person. I’d rather slide by, blend in, project ease and get my read on the room from the sidelines… and announce myself exactly when I’m ready to. Not be singled out as soon as I step in. 

(Ironically, more than one friend has told me I am the easiest person to look for when they need to find someone they know in a dark bar or party, so the joke is on me.)

The point is, I have always tried to be a “neutrals” person. 

And now, it turns out that bright IS my neutral. Whaaat?

It makes sense when I look at the makeup that works for me - I always end up in saturated, bold and shiny colors, no matter how hard I’ve looked for a “nude” lip color, or “everyday” nail polish. 

They do not exist. The bright reds and corals and flashy brassy golds and neon lilac highlighter ARE my home, my neutral, my everyday. It’s weird as hell, but also a relief. 

It’s not that I have been wrong to look for neutrals - there is nothing wrong with wanting to present as “neutral,” to not show all of your cards, to not want to be the center of attention. 

But it turns out that presenting as “neutral” doesn’t actually flatter me. 

I am saturated, opaque, intense. I am not sheer. I am not soft. I am clear, bright, obvious. I am high-contrast. There’s no point in toning it down - it is my natural state. It is so much easier for me to embody “bright, crisp, and clear” than “muted.” No matter how much I was told or shown otherwise. 

IN THE SAME WAY that there is often a difference between colors that you are drawn to ~for whatever reason~ vs. the colors that objectively look like they BELONG on you… 

Are you trying to create a brand that doesn’t flatter you?

Caveat: your choices obviously do not need to be dictated by the technicalities of a color wheel. But if you’re fighting it, have you considered why?

(Insert all the layers of societal conditioning, what your mom wanted you to wear, what you were forced to wear.)

Are you fighting what truly looks and works best for your business, because you’ve assumed it “should” look some other way?

Are you trying to be a neon pink brand? A sage green brand? Warm neutrals? Pastels? Sparkles? And do you know, deep down, that it isn’t REALLY you?

Even though it might be what you’ve been told a successful/trustworthy/professional/magnetic/sexy/viral spiritual business in 2023 is supposed to look like?

Here is your permission to LET THAT SHIT GO. 

Stop dimming your natural brightness. Stop trying to lighten up your natural darkness. Maybe you’re freezing out your natural warmth. Or filing down your hard edges. 

You’re just going to end up with the wrong people in the door. 

None of these qualities are better than others. Just be sure that the ones you are projecting are YOURS - and that you’re not trying to mask your true self to appeal to enough people, or the “right” people. 

Don’t shore up your weaknesses at the expense of your strengths.

Go forth and be your fucking self. It’s easier that way. 

If you're realizing you have some preconceptions and assumptions to unwind around this, let's unpack it and reconnect you to the brand look, feel, and presence that truly suits you. Get your Intuitive Brand Kit Here to get started.