Deep, Soft, Cool/Neutral
At the end of 2021 I was feeling really disconnected from myself, and to say the least, physically and emotionally spent. I’d had some complications with the COVID-19 vaccine in August that had disrupted my health and had put me into a perpetual state of brain fog, fatigue, and some minor heart and lung issues. My daughter’s unborn child was diagnosed with anencephaly, a rare and terminal birth defect of the skull around the same time. It broke our hearts and has made the last several months very emotionally challenging for our daughter, and Erik and I. There were a number of university related disappointments that made attending locally impossible, and like many have experienced the last two years, other difficulties that felt overwhelming to tackle.
What does all of that have to do with Deep, Soft, Cool/Neutral?
For Christmas, I asked for a custom color analysis. I just felt like I needed a little pick me up and some time to focus on something not stress related. I love all things color. Yet, my past experience with color analysis hadn’t been ideal. However, after following Heather @heathern.co on Instagram for a couple of years and seeing the results she was having with her custom color analysis’ clients, I felt like she could help me work out the bugs in my color journey.
In 2012, I had invested quite a bit of time and money in a Sci/Art color analysis. I had been draped a Light Summer in that system. Even during the analysis I was skeptical, especially when the analyst applied the makeup. It looked really off. There were a few things that worked, so I chalked up my concerns to preconceived notions and biases I must have. Unfortunately, being Light Summer just confused me more than helped. I’ll share more on my first analysis and Light Summer journey in another post. Perhaps, it can help others as well. For now, though, I’ll stick with my Deep, Soft, Cool/Neutral part of the story.
The Light Summer palette is made up of beautiful colors, but not on me. I tried to make it work for years, going back to it over and over after swearing it off over and over. During my lapses in and out of Light Summer, I would go back to wearing black, which looks fine, perhaps not my best, but certainly not my worst. I also dove into True Summer, which worked better than Light, especially the darker colors found in the 12 Tones corporate palette fan. I also found that Dark Winter worked remarkably well if I stayed away from the bolder, more saturated lighter colors, but white was always a bit of an enigma for me.
Needless to say, by the time Erik gifted me a custom analysis, I had a few drawers full of makeup that didn’t work and a closet full of boxed up clothing I would occasionally pull out and try to wear again. But, still, I trusted the Sci/Art system. I had researched it for years and I wanted to believe it worked. I needed something to work because I had struggled so much, especially as I’ve aged, to find colors that looked well on me. Now, after my custom analysis, it makes perfect sense why the systems I had tried previously didn’t work for me.
My husband, Erik, has always been extremely supportive of my life pursuits, even my color journey. He’s my best friend, and despite his not always understanding my obsession with beauty, he loves me and is always there with a listening ear and support in whatever form I need. After showing him Heather and her custom palettes, I waited until Christmas in hopes he might “surprise” me. He did, and he even went a little overboard. Bless him.
Honestly, I was nervous to get the analysis done. What if the results were the same? What if I was still a Light Summer who just couldn’t accept it? I didn’t mention my past analysis to Heather in our emails to one another. I wanted to let the process be what it was and not put any of my biases out there. I sent my pictures as described in Heather’s steps and waited with great anticipation for the results.
We set an online appointment to meet so she could reveal my new palette and answer any questions I had. The days, and even the morning, leading up to our visit were really emotional ones with my daughter, and I was a bit of an emotional wreck, but still super excited, and a little nervous, to find out what colors made up me.
Heather is super down to earth and a very conscientious person. I had observed her for years on Instagram and knew that going in, but her energy and kindness during our visit was very refreshing. After sharing our color journeys, hers was similar to mine, she showed me the palette.
I was floored! Could I really be so lucky?
That was my first impression as she went through each color in the palette and shared why she chose them and what my coloring really was. Deep, Soft, Cool/Neutral, but more on the cool side; a Twilight Summer, or in other words, a Soft Summer that leans into Soft Winter. It made so much sense! The colors were so beautiful, but more than their beauty, they were like seeing myself in a color palette mirror. It was a bit emotional.
From the surprisingly deep purples to the various cool blue-greens of my eyes, I could immediately see and feel the harmony with my coloring. It was like coming home after years abroad and plunking down on your favorite cushy sofa in your robe and slippers. As soon as I saw them, I knew Heather was spot on. All of the colors I already loved, and some I didn’t know I loved but did instantly, were all there.
We chatted over the palette and Heather showed me a few options she had considered as additions. I loved them all and we added them to the palette! She has a real eye for color, especially seeing the unusual amidst the ordinary. I can hardly wait to try them all!
After our visit, Heather took a high res photo and emailed it to me while I wait for the palette to arrive in the mail. I’m so excited to fill my closet and my life with these wildly beautiful, customized colors.
So, what’s the take away?
I think we know ourselves, despite years of outside opinion that contradicts and makes us question that knowing. However, it often takes relying on someone else’s judgement and training to take what we love and put it into a cohesive whole. Custom is 100% more accurate than generic systems, for obvious reasons, but it’s also important to find those with whom you connect both emotionally and energetically when calling upon their outside interpretations of you to enhance your perspective.
Since I saw my custom palette for the first time, I’ve become a little obsessed with it. It’s difficult to explain the attraction to these colors and the new understanding of self this analysis has offered me. Why is something as common place as a color palette for clothing such an identity breakthrough?
Over the years I’ve really struggled to know and love myself, even though I’ve spent the last ten years helping others to do just that. I carried many negative and critical outside opinions about who I am and why I wasn’t good enough around in my heart, and in the last couple of years I’ve really worked to dismantle and replace them with the truth. Part of my color journey has been an exploration in identity. Color says a lot in the way of identity, just as a myriad of symbolic things do. We buy cars and houses, develop skills and pursue careers, and live specific values because they say something about who we are.
The colors I am, the colors you are, speak to others about who we are. They are ambassadors of our nature. To see the colors you are is, in a way, a mirror to peer in; one that is neutral and unassuming.
What I see when I look at my colors is a combination of things. I see quiet strength, subtle passion, my protective and loyal nature, the calm and the storm, elegance entwined with a casual sort of girl next door energy, but one who, with a bit of French chicness, is on top of her life and aloof and independent from group thought. I see a place of refuge for those who, like me, love beauty and find shelter in truth. Mostly, I see myself, and that feels really good.
I highly recommend a custom color analysis, for both style and identity. I’ll leave Heather’s info below, because she is really gifted. But, ultimately, find the person who you feel has the ability to get you and who has the training to cohesively bring it all together.
(I purchased the Custom Color Analysis, Premium Edit and I’m in process of the body analysis called, The Transformation)
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