Have you noticed that sometimes you get compliments and you’re not sure why? It can often be when you are wearing something you have had in the wardrobe for years. I hear myself saying ‘what this old thing’.
Self-care was never high on my agenda
I had been feeling down in the dumps and pretty fed up when I received an opportunity to have some self-care. Having ‘me’ time is really important for our well-being and feeling like we have our ‘new normal’. Sometimes you might worry that you are being selfish, but I don’t see it that way. I heard a term recently ‘self-full’ I liked it. It really resonated with my thoughts about self-care being essential to feeling good. I recently found out how colour can make a huge difference in how I feel and look as well as how others see me. Wearing the right colours can make you look happier, healthier, younger and more vibrant.
Too much choice
Even before my heart attack and cancer diagnosis shopping for clothes was always a bit of a hit and miss event. So much choice, so much style, so much colour I just felt baffled. Often finding what looks great on a hanger when on my body, hmmm not so much. I would feel tired, deflated and come home with nothing. I was never sure what colour would suit me and more often than not when I would buy something, I would then only wear it once.
What was even more annoying was that some of my friends love shopping and seem to have no problem at all with their choices. They even looked super in their yoga pants and a scruffy t-shirt with their hair scraped back! How do they do it?
Hiding myself and my clothes
Since my health issues, my confidence and self-esteem had taken a hit. My journey has been exhausting and with my scars and weight gain, I found clothes and makeup even harder to deal with. Not to mention being in my 50’s too, mutton and lamb springs to mind. My preference was that the bigger and baggier, the better.
I realised that I wore 20% of my wardrobe 80% of the time and I had masses of clothes that I couldn’t bear to part with but knew I would never wear again. I wanted to know how I could build more self-esteem, gain body confidence and have more cost and time effective shopping trips.
Annie comes to the rescue
Then I heard about the HCCN Colour Therapy Workshop, it has been a game-changer for me. I was invited along with three other lovely ladies to spend the morning with Annie and her team of volunteers; Chris, Rosemarie, Joyce and Jane. I was nervous at first but Amanda gave me such a warm welcome.
Annie assessed my skin, hair and eye colour, each of us is a different combination and some of us are easier than others. Apparently, I was one of the tricky ones (story of my life).
We all then took it in turns in the hot seat. Annie used multicoloured collars to identify our colour season and the directional system that complimented our hair, skin and eyes. It’s not often that someone is focused on you and only you. Definitely what I would call me time, being self-full and experiencing self-care.
It was fascinating to watch as it was so easy to see the differences that particular colours made to my fellow students look.
I am a cool, bright and deep winter. No wonder I looked washed out and insignificant in pastels and muted shades!!!
Making the best of myself
Now make-up; this may be no problem for my teenage daughter. But for me, it was always just a couple of brushes of mascara and a swipe of lipstick. I paired up with my personal tutor who helped me. She showed me how to apply makeup in the right colours to accentuate my colouring. I could hardly believe it was me staring back from the mirror. Annie also shared with us which make up brands were good to use as they didn’t contain harmful chemicals.
Once we were all made up and ready for the ball, we had a coffee, cake and a relaxing chat. Time was flying by, it was such a fabulous experience to be pampered.
My tutor then took me back to the mirror and through my colour range with individual drapes. This was so I could see the difference and be more specific about what really suited me. This included the metals for jewellery and the ideal base colours for coats, shoes and handbags, etc.
Take it away
The colours were laid out on the table along with some sample scarfs with a combination of my colours. I then took photographs on my camera so I would have something to refer back to. We were all provided with workbooks with completed notes with thanks to our volunteers. Annie also a colour swatch book that was marked with my colours that I could cut out and stick on a card to take shopping with me.
I left the Colour Therapy session feeling on top of the world. Just 4 hours with Annie and her amazing team of volunteers has had a huge impact on how I see my wardrobe, makeup and jewellery. Better still my shopping trips are not so much of an onerous event.
My mission is a wardrobe cleanse – they say less is more and Annie has proved this to me. I want to know that everything I have works perfectly for me and I never have to worry if this goes with that or if something suits me or not when I go shopping.
