I have a hard time finding lipsticks that work with my Soft Summer coloring. Most tend to have too much of a brown or peachy undertone, but I look best in true, cool rose or berry colors.
Lipstick is dependent on so many factors besides actual Seasons, although Season certainly narrows the range. Even within the same Season, it's good to try a few and you may be nearer to the True Summer side in your colouring. I do agree though that too many of the softer lip colours are over-warmed, same situation with Dark Winter where too many colours are two degrees too warm and better for Dark Autumn.
I just got my kitchener color consult results and I'm watching EVERYTHING about soft summer now. I saved up forever for my consult and I'm soo happy to finally know for sure. :)
Very educational video! I can see why people perceive Soft Summer colours as darker than they are (some stylists even distinguish Dark/Soft Summer). My explanation would be they lack luminosity - always feel like are influenced by sunset light which additionally warms and mutes they at the same time.
Yes, or why people gravitate to darker overall looks. Summer is essentially a light group of colours and how I think of them is hazy afternoon colours in the shade. Later day light is replacing morning light, as you say. Also here in Canada, August colours.
Love if you'd do a makeup series for all the seasons. I'm a winter and it's hard to make that color palette work when you don't like dark or bright lipstick (I can't wear those colors to work, makeup needs to be light). Winter is a tough palette just for that.
This is a great topic. I'm not sure how to do it in a video but it does need talking about, a question so many Winters encounter. So many of the colours are dark or bright, as you say, and with the high pigment intensity of many formulations, the effect is more impacting than most people want. Plus, so many colours on the market have to fit into Winter based on brightness alone, but the actual pigments are unbalanced in some way for human faces; too much black, too yellow for the amount of red, they look artificial in some way or other. At some point, I gave up on the idea that with the millions of colours and tubes, the perfect colour was out there if I just bought enough products. I'd watch clients bring out tube after tube that weren't quite right, but we could see that we could make them right. I'm not sure if cosmetic companies try their colours on people but I'm pretty sure they serve different masters, trend being a big one, which their clients also serve, along with not knowing yet how to work to best effect with their own colouring. Now and then, I find an amazing and perfect colour for a Season, both in the line on my website and elsewhere. The manufacturers may not sell enough to their overall markets to keep the colour in stock, but those recipes exist. My dream in life is to be approached by a cosmetic company that wants to recreate those colours. Imagine that world! Sheerness can help but as a person who prefers some lasting power, my solutions have been #1, mix two colours or products to make the colour I want, one matte and one sheer, or #2, use a long wear colour, let it stain, and then cover with balm, and #3, accept that I need a certain darkness to balance the rest of the features and it doesn't look as dark as in the tube. As a DW, I've found Burts Bees shimmers in Rhubarb and Plum to be pretty good for adjusting colours and sheering them out.
@@ChristineScaman oh my gosh I was not expecting such a prompt and thoughtful response! 😭 definitely saving this and I will be sure to try out those Burt’s Bees balms too. For the most part what I do currently is sheer out brighter colors as you mention in your comment. It’s more pigmented colors that are tricky.
@@ChristineScaman adding on your comment is so interesting because I remember loving the lip shimmers, I used to own it in Raisin (which is similar to Rhubarb) and it was one of the only lip products I ever repurchased. I also remember reading comments on Reddit about this very topic and again the Burt’s Bees lip shimmers were mentioned by two women recommending them for Winters. Maybe we are all to something here with the Lip Shimmers.
Always good to share information, I love hearing how others have solved the same problems I have :) Those shimmers can be pretty good, and mixing with a matte or creme lipstick tones down the shimmer and sheers the lipstick, which I like. Honestly, I reach for the Shimmers more out of convenience than preference, they happen to be within reach and do the job. Lip balm is good too, the trick for me being to find one that is sticky enough not to slip around and take the colour with it (I like Organika but it does have slip potential). Another good option is a clear gloss that has a sticky or tacky quality, not always comfortable but at least it's not oily. My least favourite thing about lipgloss is if it's too shiny. Glossy lips is too shiny for me, moist is plenty. Burts Bees once again, their lip balms are medium shine, stay put, not sparkly, meaning the clear balms (the Tinted balms like Red Dahlia are getting on to the slippy side.)
Happens often and I'm not sure what that's all about. Between acquaintances, it's often our ability to reflect what we see onto ourselves first and foremost, but with mothers, I'm not sure. Maybe as simple as overprotecting our children.
My mom is probably a winter with dark brown hair and a fair/pink skin tone. SHE thinks I look good in HIGH INTENSITY cool colors, as SHE does. Trouble is, I think SHE WANTS to look good in COBALT or ROYAL. This color suits NEITHER of us. She MAY be a winter but I’m guessing is NOT BRIGHT winter. It’s too BRIGHT for ME, but too COOL for HER. For MOST colors, I have to DIAL DOWN the INTENSITY. That’s fine with me, since I’m a bit introverted and prefer SOFTER COLORS on both CLOTHING and HOME decor. She favors DARKER colors, although NOT always as INTENSE as cobalt.
Being a parent is a funny thing, isn't it? For so many years, our children are like extensions of our body. We care about them as much or more as we do about ourselves. One day, they learn to see themselves as unique individuals, unique from parents, family, and their own tribes, and we have to see them that way too. Even colour analysts have to learn to see others without seeing themselves, as though the world is always reflecting us back to us. My favourite clients are mothers and daughters together, their relationship grow in mutual respect as their colour differences unfold before their eyes, and I imagine things are never the same after that. Seeing our children as they are, not as we are, is a practice and a gift but sometimes, we need a path for it to happen :)
@@ChristineScaman I love this! I am a soft summer and I have three sons (young men) who have similar coloring to me. I suspect they are summers but I have had to separate them from me in my mind as I analyze them in purchasing clothes for them. I, too, have found it an enlightening step for viewing them as separate individuals from me.
Yay! I love that you are putting out so many videos lately. All I know is I’m cool, but I’m probably a winter. I can’t decide which one though. I love any advise when it comes to makeup. Thanks for the post.
Being in Nature is where I first understood colour relationships and the meaning of colour harmony. Landscapes give colours context and makes them easier to describe and share, though I'm never sure if people in the opposite hemisphere picture them the same way :)
Very interesting and educational video! I have a question for Soft Summer and glow. It's very modern this glowy and dewy clean girl aesthetic make-up lately and a lot of the colors are from the Soft Summer palette but this shine worries me. Does it suit well with that dustiness of the Soft Summers? What is the level of shine that a Soft Summer can berry before it comes unnatural? Could some shine replace the pop-up color in an outfit without disturbing the balance and the softness of the color type? Thank you!
Brilliant questions. I agree that soft colour and dewy glow seem incompatible and in some combinations, they make no sense, like glowing rice or dusty mango. The two together are not how we know colour and light work from how we experience the world. But you asked the right question with 'What level of shine...' . It may be similar to the shine in fabric or jewelry (although we expect more shine from jewelry), meaning soft coloured reflection from soft colours or pastels (not icy or bright colours that reflect sharp white light) and diffused shimmer rather than coming to a sharp point, worn in combinations with matte or more powdery clothes and makeup, applied in areas in keeping with the shape and scale of the face. I think of slightly tarnished silver teapots, brushed silver bracelets, a duller shine than starlight. I enjoy metallic shine on SSu more than wet, slick, or vinyl effects, which I find oily or iridescent. In fabric, a pebbled surface helps break up the shine, like low-shine satin in earth brown with a pinkish tone since moderate shine is lower key in the neutral colours or areas that have a natural highlight (brow bone in a pastel pink). Depending on the person's preferences, a small area of shine in soft blue-green (easy colour for SSu) or a larger area in Atlantic blue for an evening outfit can be beautiful. Regarding pops colour, within your palette, there are no pops of colour that exceed the other colours. Some may feel that light turquoise, any pink, or soft berry are quite bright, but it's mostly what you're used to seeing, what others are used to seeing you wearing, what you wear it with. A stranger seeing you sitting on a bus might not see the colour as especially bright. If a colour from your palette feels vibrant and you prefer to keep the rest of the clothes or makeup quiet, it's fine, but I could see lovely continuity between soft vibrancy in clothing and low level shine in cosmetics, same as some might avoid jewelry with brighter colours while others wouldn't. With colours from the same palette, the answer may come down to personal preference. Thank you for asking :)
@@ChristineScaman Thank you very much for your answer! I'm in the middle of some style transformation and your videos are very useful to me! I've intuitively started to chose some colors of my SSu color palette but your videos gave me a focus. Thank you for your work that you share with us! The first reason to ask was my lipstick dilemma - matt or satin/purl finish. I like them both on me but the shine gives me that pleasant sense of glammer that I want to keep in my wardrobe. If I understood you correctly a little pinch of gentle glow on matt skin won't destroy the overall balance of SSu look? I really like your comparison with the natural landscapes. Last summer days on the beach have some pale shine of the water and the bird feathers, so gentle and calm... I was wondering how I can integrate it my wardrobe and you gave me the answer! The second reason to ask was a pare of shoes with soft metallic gray shine. I was very surprised when my purchase arrived (somehow I missed to read the word "metallic" in the description box...) but I liked them very much. I worried they will be a little bit off my overall dusty look so may be I can combine them with some accentuated jewels or watch with soft shine, or scarf with some shiny fiber in it?
I'm glad I can be of help :) For lipstick, I prefer a bit of shine as a moist finish, not super-shiny. Lips have moisture and the effect looks pretty and healthy. A bit of shine gives them a fuller shape, and glamour, as you say. Moderately matte is fine as well, but once lips look dry or the lipstick looks opaque or thick, the look is not my favourite because healthy lips don't look that way. Some Seasons and individuals wear these looks, like they balance hair dye or vinyl lips, but they're not Summer. I prefer translucency, like a veil, and light weight, like paper and cotton sensations. I find a strong water sensibility with Summer, which I see expressed in mist, like coloured clouds or vapour, and diluted intensity or swirls, like syrup in water. Chalky, porous, paper can work and be good versions of matte, depends on the cosmetic. Frosted drink glasses can be good, maybe easier to do in clothes or jewelry than makeup. Transparent, like jelly shine, may be for Spring and mirror shine for Winter. SSu is softer and a trace more earthy in texture, drier and thicker, but it's a trace. They are more Summer than anything else and the differences can be expressed in the apparell, with the colours taking care of the rest, meaning makeup textures are much the same. For shine in general, think of it on a slider, as you do the other colour dimensions. SSu's slider position on the scale of all possible shine levels is set lower and softer, but not at Off. Metallics can be fantastic on Autumns and all people can wear jewelry, so shine in clothing can be great. For makeup, same concept, a low key continuation of how the skin reflects light in one or two areas is enhancing, with placement depending on the individual bone structure and preferences. Your taste is important. For how to wear your shoes, imagine that you see a SSu woman in a restaurant wearing her colours and these shoes. She asks you how she could improve the look. Would you add bits of shine in other items, would she seem complete without, or would it matter? To my eyes, either way would be fine as long as she felt comfortable :)
Hi Christine, I'm a pale slavic girl with cool DARK brown hair and cool DARK brown eyes. I thought I was a winter, but, my skin tone is VERY muted(fair olive). I find that bringing some lightness into my hair suits me very well (light brown, NOT blonde, believe me, i've tried LOL!.), but this starts to looks artificial if I bring it too far up.. meaning, I like a gradient in the hair. Is this typical for summers? Have you seen this before?
A great question about gradients in hair colour. I expect all natural hair colour has gradients composed of many colours, compared with the artificial look of hair dye where every strand is exactly the same. With regards to your own hair, the colours you mention are particular to you and are difficult to answer without seeing you in person. For example, both Duchess Kate and I have cool dark brown hair but we probably belong to different Seasons. Also is the question of interpretation for 'suits me quite well' , where we each would have our own ideas about what looks good. In general, I prefer hair that looks real and adding colour that's too far from our own usually doesn't, possibly what you mean by 'starts to look artificial', but that could apply to any colour in any Season. I'm sorry for being vague, but a single answer for Summer or Winter isn't coming to me :)
Is it normal that I feel I can wear certain colors (WITHIN my season) better depending on if I have a tan or not. I’m a SSu, and I find my coral-y pinks look better on my summer tanned skin, while my dusty rose looks great year around.
I can see how that might happen. The colour of the skin itself would have an influence on any colour we add to the face, for example, why a lipstick might look different on women wearing different foundations or with variations in natural skin colour, or why there might be variations in the blush colour within a Season that looks better, or why some women in a Season look better with contour, some without. Personal preference and eye colour would have an effect as well, but it may be that the added melanin with a suntan, although still our own melanin, shifts the overtone to a deeper level.
I think I'm a version of Summer but I absolutely hate the softness and colors. Tbh the med to darker summer colors do look nice but the softness is not me at all. I have always preferred bolder colors. Personality wise I'm a Winter. At least I'm staying in the cool pallette. Now I'm gray I can get away w Winter.
Sure, makes perfect sense. Ultimately, our appearance should communicate well on our behalf. It can happen that SSu colours are thought to be softer than they are, but it sounds as though your instincts have led you to colours you enjoy wearing.
Thank you :) This video is from a year ago but I'm pretty sure the lipstick is Lancome Perfect Fig, the same one I wear in every video. Lipstick looks darker than it is in video, at least for me, so I blot it and wear a layer of clear balm over top. I think I heard recently that it's been d/c and if it helps, the closest colour in the shop on my website is Vogue. It's a little softer but I'm determined to use up the Lancome to the end.
What is your season? I feel like I have very similar colouring and skin tone. My eyes are confusing though. They have a dark ring around the iris and then a ring of very blue and then a warmer green ring and then the pupil. They can look greener or bluer depending on what I'm wearing but they're always quite bright.
Having watched this video I have a theoretical question for you. Can a soft season have jet black hair naturally as opposed to say.. a true winter? If all the colors belong together in a season and soft seasons have their mutedness as their defining min\max scale (as opposed to for example dark autumn which has value set to dark as their maxed parameter) then they wouldnt be able to contain that black hair as their natural palette right? After all, you wont be able to find black in the sand or the other landscapes we use to depict the soft seasons. Would be very glad if you can write down your thoughs Christine. Thanks!
That's generally true, although there are levels of black. If the hair truly is highly-pigmented (saturated) ink black, I'd agree that the Soft palettes won't meet that. What suit would a man wear, what eyeliner would a woman wear, that could repeat their natural colours using those palettes? Hair colour is misleading though, because of the possibility of confusing darkness with saturation, and because of how variable it can be in any Season. I'd definitely cover the hair for the colour analysis to avoid being distracted by the darkness. If the person really is a Soft Season with very dark hair, they'll drape exactly like a Soft Season and the natural hair colour will be perfectly in harmony. Please ask if I can explain better :)
@@ChristineScaman yes it makes perfect sense because not all dark colors are automatically required to be intense. I was confused because Im trying to definitively decide between SA and DA for myself and I pretty much have jet black hair but I dont want to count on that fact alone. I tested myself with black eyeliner going all the way in my eyes (both waterlinr and lashline with a small wing) and it looks like I put nothing there, so very natural as if born that way. It also gave my eyes an amber glow previously not there. Is it safe to say now that (combined with my hair) I cant be soft? p.s Im the guy who commented on ur previous video and u told me about the egyptian DA man you typed :) Im turkish by the way!
@@egeerdem410 I'd say it's less likely you would be Soft Autumn. Usually, when skin colour is deeper, people outside the Winter groups have lighter colour elsewhere, perhaps eyes or hair (perhaps Rihanna or Beyonce). There's a lot of 'perhaps' here :) Definitive is known with drapes, as I know you know. I thought you might be Turkish, I read an amazing detective series based in Istanbul. Your country sounds rich and amazing.
@@ChristineScaman Thanks for replying Christine. Turkey indeed is nothing if not intriguing and complex its sort of a chaotic mess having a country be enriched and torn apart at the same time as both the eastern and western influences reach a sort of exaltation and fight each other in this place. Definitely visit when you get a chance!!
I wonder why the overall balance is so important . I like when lips or a purse attracts attention . I found it more interesting - especially for muted / boring soft summer colors.
You make a very good point. We each decide what we think looks good, depending on our taste, age, location, and so on. I could see Soft Summer colours as muted but boring wouldn't come to mind, for sure not when a Soft Summer is wearing them. Sometimes folks haven't seen what the Season can do, or they themselves might not be a SSu, or they compare themselves to what fashion is showing, which is so often exaggerated. But about balance...I think about this a lot. I guess it's like, why does it matter what we wear in the lower half? Because I see people head to toe unless they're sitting behind a desk, and it makes a diff in the impression they make. Or, like those gym bodies that work out the upper body, or the biceps and quads, and forget about the rest because they don't see them in the mirror. Yeah, OK, but that's not what everyone else is seeing. To me, they look out of balance, not nearly as good as a body where the parts go together easily. I agree with you that an attention-getting accessory can be awesome. Lips, it depends on the person and the situation. Thanks for commenting, it's great that we all have and share our opinions :)
This lipstick photo must be very, very distorted. Those warm browns don’t look anything like a good Summer palette to me. It looks like palette that would only work on a darker Autumn. I’m a Soft Summer and those would look terrible on me.
True enough, photos, several steps of software, every step distorts colours. That said, many women try a few lipsticks from their Season and comment, 'The ones I thought would look great didn't and the ones I didn't expect were gorgeous." Also a reason why guessing our Season from lipstick isn't something I suggest, whereas blush might actually work or be more accurate.
To learn more about colour analysis and find makeup colours for your Season, check out my website at 12blueprints.com
I have a hard time finding lipsticks that work with my Soft Summer coloring. Most tend to have too much of a brown or peachy undertone, but I look best in true, cool rose or berry colors.
Lipstick is dependent on so many factors besides actual Seasons, although Season certainly narrows the range. Even within the same Season, it's good to try a few and you may be nearer to the True Summer side in your colouring. I do agree though that too many of the softer lip colours are over-warmed, same situation with Dark Winter where too many colours are two degrees too warm and better for Dark Autumn.
Try color the world
I just got my kitchener color consult results and I'm watching EVERYTHING about soft summer now.
I saved up forever for my consult and I'm soo happy to finally know for sure. :)
Wonderful! It so liberating to know who you are in the fashion maze. I'm happy for you :)
@@ChristineScaman thank you so much! It really is
Very educational video!
I can see why people perceive Soft Summer colours as darker than they are (some stylists even distinguish Dark/Soft Summer). My explanation would be they lack luminosity - always feel like are influenced by sunset light which additionally warms and mutes they at the same time.
Yes, or why people gravitate to darker overall looks. Summer is essentially a light group of colours and how I think of them is hazy afternoon colours in the shade. Later day light is replacing morning light, as you say. Also here in Canada, August colours.
Loved the part at the end about being in tune with ourselves ❤
And sharing that with the world, or how can the world be expected to be in tune with us? :)
Love if you'd do a makeup series for all the seasons. I'm a winter and it's hard to make that color palette work when you don't like dark or bright lipstick (I can't wear those colors to work, makeup needs to be light). Winter is a tough palette just for that.
This is a great topic. I'm not sure how to do it in a video but it does need talking about, a question so many Winters encounter. So many of the colours are dark or bright, as you say, and with the high pigment intensity of many formulations, the effect is more impacting than most people want. Plus, so many colours on the market have to fit into Winter based on brightness alone, but the actual pigments are unbalanced in some way for human faces; too much black, too yellow for the amount of red, they look artificial in some way or other.
At some point, I gave up on the idea that with the millions of colours and tubes, the perfect colour was out there if I just bought enough products. I'd watch clients bring out tube after tube that weren't quite right, but we could see that we could make them right. I'm not sure if cosmetic companies try their colours on people but I'm pretty sure they serve different masters, trend being a big one, which their clients also serve, along with not knowing yet how to work to best effect with their own colouring.
Now and then, I find an amazing and perfect colour for a Season, both in the line on my website and elsewhere. The manufacturers may not sell enough to their overall markets to keep the colour in stock, but those recipes exist. My dream in life is to be approached by a cosmetic company that wants to recreate those colours. Imagine that world!
Sheerness can help but as a person who prefers some lasting power, my solutions have been #1, mix two colours or products to make the colour I want, one matte and one sheer, or #2, use a long wear colour, let it stain, and then cover with balm, and #3, accept that I need a certain darkness to balance the rest of the features and it doesn't look as dark as in the tube. As a DW, I've found Burts Bees shimmers in Rhubarb and Plum to be pretty good for adjusting colours and sheering them out.
@@ChristineScaman oh my gosh I was not expecting such a prompt and thoughtful response! 😭 definitely saving this and I will be sure to try out those Burt’s Bees balms too. For the most part what I do currently is sheer out brighter colors as you mention in your comment. It’s more pigmented colors that are tricky.
@@ChristineScaman adding on your comment is so interesting because I remember loving the lip shimmers, I used to own it in Raisin (which is similar to Rhubarb) and it was one of the only lip products I ever repurchased. I also remember reading comments on Reddit about this very topic and again the Burt’s Bees lip shimmers were mentioned by two women recommending them for Winters. Maybe we are all to something here with the Lip Shimmers.
Always good to share information, I love hearing how others have solved the same problems I have :) Those shimmers can be pretty good, and mixing with a matte or creme lipstick tones down the shimmer and sheers the lipstick, which I like. Honestly, I reach for the Shimmers more out of convenience than preference, they happen to be within reach and do the job. Lip balm is good too, the trick for me being to find one that is sticky enough not to slip around and take the colour with it (I like Organika but it does have slip potential). Another good option is a clear gloss that has a sticky or tacky quality, not always comfortable but at least it's not oily. My least favourite thing about lipgloss is if it's too shiny. Glossy lips is too shiny for me, moist is plenty. Burts Bees once again, their lip balms are medium shine, stay put, not sparkly, meaning the clear balms (the Tinted balms like Red Dahlia are getting on to the slippy side.)
my blonde (probably spring colored) mother, just cannot understand why i don't enjoy corals, or reds 😂. i tell her that works on YOU, not me
Happens often and I'm not sure what that's all about. Between acquaintances, it's often our ability to reflect what we see onto ourselves first and foremost, but with mothers, I'm not sure. Maybe as simple as overprotecting our children.
My mom is probably a winter with dark brown hair and a fair/pink skin tone. SHE thinks I look good in HIGH INTENSITY cool colors, as SHE does. Trouble is, I think SHE WANTS to look good in COBALT or ROYAL. This color suits NEITHER of us. She MAY be a winter but I’m guessing is NOT BRIGHT winter. It’s too BRIGHT for ME, but too COOL for HER. For MOST colors, I have to DIAL DOWN the INTENSITY. That’s fine with me, since I’m a bit introverted and prefer SOFTER COLORS on both CLOTHING and HOME decor. She favors DARKER colors, although NOT always as INTENSE as cobalt.
Being a parent is a funny thing, isn't it? For so many years, our children are like extensions of our body. We care about them as much or more as we do about ourselves. One day, they learn to see themselves as unique individuals, unique from parents, family, and their own tribes, and we have to see them that way too. Even colour analysts have to learn to see others without seeing themselves, as though the world is always reflecting us back to us. My favourite clients are mothers and daughters together, their relationship grow in mutual respect as their colour differences unfold before their eyes, and I imagine things are never the same after that. Seeing our children as they are, not as we are, is a practice and a gift but sometimes, we need a path for it to happen :)
@@ChristineScaman I love this! I am a soft summer and I have three sons (young men) who have similar coloring to me. I suspect they are summers but I have had to separate them from me in my mind as I analyze them in purchasing clothes for them. I, too, have found it an enlightening step for viewing them as separate individuals from me.
Yay! I love that you are putting out so many videos lately. All I know is I’m cool, but I’m probably a winter. I can’t decide which one though.
I love any advise when it comes to makeup. Thanks for the post.
Thank you :) I love doing videos and it's getting easier all the time to demonstrate using this format.
I would love to see a “soft autumn cosmetics” video :)
That's a great idea, thank you! It could partner with this one.
@@ChristineScaman Awesome! As a soft autumn, I find it challenging to know when I’ve gone too warm or too cool
Beautiful! Thank you!
Thank you too :) I'm glad these videos are helpful.
I like the landscape concept.
Being in Nature is where I first understood colour relationships and the meaning of colour harmony. Landscapes give colours context and makes them easier to describe and share, though I'm never sure if people in the opposite hemisphere picture them the same way :)
You very much look like an Autumn. I wear coral pink lipsticks and that works well for my soft Summer color.
I agree with you, I have a lot of Autumn characteristics, although I don't wear the colours so well. Glad you've found a lipstick that works!
Very interesting and educational video! I have a question for Soft Summer and glow. It's very modern this glowy and dewy clean girl aesthetic make-up lately and a lot of the colors are from the Soft Summer palette but this shine worries me. Does it suit well with that dustiness of the Soft Summers? What is the level of shine that a Soft Summer can berry before it comes unnatural? Could some shine replace the pop-up color in an outfit without disturbing the balance and the softness of the color type? Thank you!
Brilliant questions. I agree that soft colour and dewy glow seem incompatible and in some combinations, they make no sense, like glowing rice or dusty mango. The two together are not how we know colour and light work from how we experience the world. But you asked the right question with 'What level of shine...' . It may be similar to the shine in fabric or jewelry (although we expect more shine from jewelry), meaning soft coloured reflection from soft colours or pastels (not icy or bright colours that reflect sharp white light) and diffused shimmer rather than coming to a sharp point, worn in combinations with matte or more powdery clothes and makeup, applied in areas in keeping with the shape and scale of the face.
I think of slightly tarnished silver teapots, brushed silver bracelets, a duller shine than starlight. I enjoy metallic shine on SSu more than wet, slick, or vinyl effects, which I find oily or iridescent. In fabric, a pebbled surface helps break up the shine, like low-shine satin in earth brown with a pinkish tone since moderate shine is lower key in the neutral colours or areas that have a natural highlight (brow bone in a pastel pink). Depending on the person's preferences, a small area of shine in soft blue-green (easy colour for SSu) or a larger area in Atlantic blue for an evening outfit can be beautiful.
Regarding pops colour, within your palette, there are no pops of colour that exceed the other colours. Some may feel that light turquoise, any pink, or soft berry are quite bright, but it's mostly what you're used to seeing, what others are used to seeing you wearing, what you wear it with. A stranger seeing you sitting on a bus might not see the colour as especially bright.
If a colour from your palette feels vibrant and you prefer to keep the rest of the clothes or makeup quiet, it's fine, but I could see lovely continuity between soft vibrancy in clothing and low level shine in cosmetics, same as some might avoid jewelry with brighter colours while others wouldn't. With colours from the same palette, the answer may come down to personal preference. Thank you for asking :)
@@ChristineScaman Thank you very much for your answer! I'm in the middle of some style transformation and your videos are very useful to me! I've intuitively started to chose some colors of my SSu color palette but your videos gave me a focus. Thank you for your work that you share with us! The first reason to ask was my lipstick dilemma - matt or satin/purl finish. I like them both on me but the shine gives me that pleasant sense of glammer that I want to keep in my wardrobe. If I understood you correctly a little pinch of gentle glow on matt skin won't destroy the overall balance of SSu look? I really like your comparison with the natural landscapes. Last summer days on the beach have some pale shine of the water and the bird feathers, so gentle and calm... I was wondering how I can integrate it my wardrobe and you gave me the answer! The second reason to ask was a pare of shoes with soft metallic gray shine. I was very surprised when my purchase arrived (somehow I missed to read the word "metallic" in the description box...) but I liked them very much. I worried they will be a little bit off my overall dusty look so may be I can combine them with some accentuated jewels or watch with soft shine, or scarf with some shiny fiber in it?
I'm glad I can be of help :) For lipstick, I prefer a bit of shine as a moist finish, not super-shiny. Lips have moisture and the effect looks pretty and healthy. A bit of shine gives them a fuller shape, and glamour, as you say. Moderately matte is fine as well, but once lips look dry or the lipstick looks opaque or thick, the look is not my favourite because healthy lips don't look that way. Some Seasons and individuals wear these looks, like they balance hair dye or vinyl lips, but they're not Summer.
I prefer translucency, like a veil, and light weight, like paper and cotton sensations. I find a strong water sensibility with Summer, which I see expressed in mist, like coloured clouds or vapour, and diluted intensity or swirls, like syrup in water. Chalky, porous, paper can work and be good versions of matte, depends on the cosmetic. Frosted drink glasses can be good, maybe easier to do in clothes or jewelry than makeup. Transparent, like jelly shine, may be for Spring and mirror shine for Winter. SSu is softer and a trace more earthy in texture, drier and thicker, but it's a trace. They are more Summer than anything else and the differences can be expressed in the apparell, with the colours taking care of the rest, meaning makeup textures are much the same.
For shine in general, think of it on a slider, as you do the other colour dimensions. SSu's slider position on the scale of all possible shine levels is set lower and softer, but not at Off. Metallics can be fantastic on Autumns and all people can wear jewelry, so shine in clothing can be great. For makeup, same concept, a low key continuation of how the skin reflects light in one or two areas is enhancing, with placement depending on the individual bone structure and preferences.
Your taste is important. For how to wear your shoes, imagine that you see a SSu woman in a restaurant wearing her colours and these shoes. She asks you how she could improve the look. Would you add bits of shine in other items, would she seem complete without, or would it matter? To my eyes, either way would be fine as long as she felt comfortable :)
Hi Christine, I'm a pale slavic girl with cool DARK brown hair and cool DARK brown eyes. I thought I was a winter, but, my skin tone is VERY muted(fair olive). I find that bringing some lightness into my hair suits me very well (light brown, NOT blonde, believe me, i've tried LOL!.), but this starts to looks artificial if I bring it too far up.. meaning, I like a gradient in the hair. Is this typical for summers? Have you seen this before?
A great question about gradients in hair colour. I expect all natural hair colour has gradients composed of many colours, compared with the artificial look of hair dye where every strand is exactly the same. With regards to your own hair, the colours you mention are particular to you and are difficult to answer without seeing you in person. For example, both Duchess Kate and I have cool dark brown hair but we probably belong to different Seasons. Also is the question of interpretation for 'suits me quite well' , where we each would have our own ideas about what looks good. In general, I prefer hair that looks real and adding colour that's too far from our own usually doesn't, possibly what you mean by 'starts to look artificial', but that could apply to any colour in any Season. I'm sorry for being vague, but a single answer for Summer or Winter isn't coming to me :)
Is it normal that I feel I can wear certain colors (WITHIN my season) better depending on if I have a tan or not. I’m a SSu, and I find my coral-y pinks look better on my summer tanned skin, while my dusty rose looks great year around.
I can see how that might happen. The colour of the skin itself would have an influence on any colour we add to the face, for example, why a lipstick might look different on women wearing different foundations or with variations in natural skin colour, or why there might be variations in the blush colour within a Season that looks better, or why some women in a Season look better with contour, some without. Personal preference and eye colour would have an effect as well, but it may be that the added melanin with a suntan, although still our own melanin, shifts the overtone to a deeper level.
Exactly the same for me, I also gravitate more towards light gold jewellery over silver when i'm tanned.
I think I'm a version of Summer but I absolutely hate the softness and colors. Tbh the med to darker summer colors do look nice but the softness is not me at all. I have always preferred bolder colors. Personality wise I'm a Winter. At least I'm staying in the cool pallette. Now I'm gray I can get away w Winter.
Sure, makes perfect sense. Ultimately, our appearance should communicate well on our behalf. It can happen that SSu colours are thought to be softer than they are, but it sounds as though your instincts have led you to colours you enjoy wearing.
You have great vibes
I appreciate that :)
what lipstick are you wearing in this video? It's beautiful
Thank you :) This video is from a year ago but I'm pretty sure the lipstick is Lancome Perfect Fig, the same one I wear in every video. Lipstick looks darker than it is in video, at least for me, so I blot it and wear a layer of clear balm over top. I think I heard recently that it's been d/c and if it helps, the closest colour in the shop on my website is Vogue. It's a little softer but I'm determined to use up the Lancome to the end.
What is your season? I feel like I have very similar colouring and skin tone. My eyes are confusing though. They have a dark ring around the iris and then a ring of very blue and then a warmer green ring and then the pupil. They can look greener or bluer depending on what I'm wearing but they're always quite bright.
I'm a Dark Winter, or Winter mixed with a smaller proportion of Autumn. Your eyes sound amazing!
those eyes sound autumny leaning towards winter. Dark autumn would be my first guess for sure!
unless you have clear cool undertones. then you’d likely be a winter
Having watched this video I have a theoretical question for you. Can a soft season have jet black hair naturally as opposed to say.. a true winter? If all the colors belong together in a season and soft seasons have their mutedness as their defining min\max scale (as opposed to for example dark autumn which has value set to dark as their maxed parameter) then they wouldnt be able to contain that black hair as their natural palette right? After all, you wont be able to find black in the sand or the other landscapes we use to depict the soft seasons. Would be very glad if you can write down your thoughs Christine. Thanks!
That's generally true, although there are levels of black. If the hair truly is highly-pigmented (saturated) ink black, I'd agree that the Soft palettes won't meet that. What suit would a man wear, what eyeliner would a woman wear, that could repeat their natural colours using those palettes? Hair colour is misleading though, because of the possibility of confusing darkness with saturation, and because of how variable it can be in any Season. I'd definitely cover the hair for the colour analysis to avoid being distracted by the darkness. If the person really is a Soft Season with very dark hair, they'll drape exactly like a Soft Season and the natural hair colour will be perfectly in harmony. Please ask if I can explain better :)
@@ChristineScaman yes it makes perfect sense because not all dark colors are automatically required to be intense. I was confused because Im trying to definitively decide between SA and DA for myself and I pretty much have jet black hair but I dont want to count on that fact alone. I tested myself with black eyeliner going all the way in my eyes (both waterlinr and lashline with a small wing) and it looks like I put nothing there, so very natural as if born that way. It also gave my eyes an amber glow previously not there. Is it safe to say now that (combined with my hair) I cant be soft? p.s Im the guy who commented on ur previous video and u told me about the egyptian DA man you typed :) Im turkish by the way!
@@egeerdem410 I'd say it's less likely you would be Soft Autumn. Usually, when skin colour is deeper, people outside the Winter groups have lighter colour elsewhere, perhaps eyes or hair (perhaps Rihanna or Beyonce). There's a lot of 'perhaps' here :) Definitive is known with drapes, as I know you know. I thought you might be Turkish, I read an amazing detective series based in Istanbul. Your country sounds rich and amazing.
@@ChristineScaman Thanks for replying Christine. Turkey indeed is nothing if not intriguing and complex its sort of a chaotic mess having a country be enriched and torn apart at the same time as both the eastern and western influences reach a sort of exaltation and fight each other in this place. Definitely visit when you get a chance!!
I wonder why the overall balance is so important . I like when lips or a purse attracts attention . I found it more interesting - especially for muted / boring soft summer colors.
You make a very good point. We each decide what we think looks good, depending on our taste, age, location, and so on. I could see Soft Summer colours as muted but boring wouldn't come to mind, for sure not when a Soft Summer is wearing them. Sometimes folks haven't seen what the Season can do, or they themselves might not be a SSu, or they compare themselves to what fashion is showing, which is so often exaggerated. But about balance...I think about this a lot. I guess it's like, why does it matter what we wear in the lower half? Because I see people head to toe unless they're sitting behind a desk, and it makes a diff in the impression they make. Or, like those gym bodies that work out the upper body, or the biceps and quads, and forget about the rest because they don't see them in the mirror. Yeah, OK, but that's not what everyone else is seeing. To me, they look out of balance, not nearly as good as a body where the parts go together easily. I agree with you that an attention-getting accessory can be awesome. Lips, it depends on the person and the situation. Thanks for commenting, it's great that we all have and share our opinions :)
This lipstick photo must be very, very distorted. Those warm browns don’t look anything like a good Summer palette to me. It looks like palette that would only work on a darker Autumn. I’m a Soft Summer and those would look terrible on me.
True enough, photos, several steps of software, every step distorts colours. That said, many women try a few lipsticks from their Season and comment, 'The ones I thought would look great didn't and the ones I didn't expect were gorgeous." Also a reason why guessing our Season from lipstick isn't something I suggest, whereas blush might actually work or be more accurate.