Today I’m talking to my lovely friend Jemma aka @theshoelovingstylist about an area of her expertise which is Colour Analysis now I’ve never had my colours done but I can definitely tell some colours really seem to work for me and others don’t. can you tell us a bit more about the process /how it works?

So we are trying to find your temperature, your value and your chroma, so that is whether you are warm skin tone or a cool skin tone, you are of light or dark value or whether your features are soft or very clear. I start by the silver and gold rate, then move on to the white and cream and then the colours. So these are the basic drapes and then I move onto the 12 part seasonal colour analysis. So for example if you are summer, are you light summer, cool summer or soft summer. All the tones are very different. So what we are really looking for is for the colour to really light up your face, to reduce dark circles, to reduce wrinkles and to make you look more radiant.

I send you a digital colour card of your colours so that you can take it with you when you shop, which is a great way of shopping more sustainably and really buying things that will light up your face and make you look younger.

I can advise on ways to wear colour that you are not most suited to. For example wearing lower necklines, adding brightly coloured scarves or hairbands in your colour. For example if you are muted features and there's not much contrast between your hair, skin and eyes then you would also be suited to a more muted pattern rather than very bold stand out patterns.

How did you get into styling? What’s your background?

I have worked in fashion all my life. I started off at Patrick Cox then I became Head of Brand for Lulu Guinness and was in charge of the shoes there, then also for Nicole Farhi and then See by Chloe and then I opened a boutique selling designer shoes and accessories in Amersham. I then had three children so I retrained as a Personal Stylist and Fashion Stylist at London Collge of Style but prefered the Personal Stylist part of it as it fits in better around my children and I love dealing with people one to one.

Which season are you?
I am a warm Spring which means I suit more saturated colours. 

Do you religiously stick to that? Having said that I do not stick to this. I only believe it’s a guideline and there really aren’t any rules on what you can and can’t wear but i definitely try to wear a little French style scarf or something like that close to my face if I’m wearing a colour I’m not very suited to. If not I just add more make up or colourful earrings.

Are people ever a mix of two seasons?
if you’re a warm skin tone, you’d either be the spring season or the autumn season but because for example light spring and light summer are very finally similar hit one just has a little more warmth in then you could probably wear both of those shades if you’ve got quite a neutral skin tone. 

What happens if you were to dye your hair a completely different shade? Or get a suntan? Would that make a difference?
Having a suntan doesn’t make a difference because it’s all about your undertone. What’s making you vibrant underneath your skin? So if you’ve got a tan and you’re still wearing the wrong colour you’ll still look a little bit sallow. I do have some clients who have gone white or grey and have completely changed Hair Colour if they used to be dark brown for example, so they would probably move one notch up or down on the colour wheel.  For example moving to a soft Autumn from a warm Autumn. It’s to do with the contrast of your hair skin and eyes. 

If people are interested in having their colours done, how can they book in with you?
if you’d like to book a colour analysis, body shape analysis or Wardrobe shop you can find me at 

www.shoelovingstylist.com or on insta @theshoelovingstylist and I cover London and Berkhamsted. A colour session takes 40 minutes she you get a colour card for your phone and a report. 

Thanks a mill Jemma. xx