Colour Analysis and People of Colour

[@ChristineScaman]

Hi and welcome 🙂 I chose today’s people because I find them very beautiful and suspect they may belong to different Seasons so we could see similarities and differences in how people react to colour, regardless of surface pigmentation. There was a time when I thought, “It’s just a colour, how much difference can it possibly make?” I've learned it has huge influence, in how we look and who others think we could be in their lives. I wanted these three people I admire to look like the bright lights that they are, inside and out.

[@ayakohi0]

In East Asia, they have their own color analysis which is KS/PCCS system, which is mostly dependent on the amount of contrast and value of each individual, rather than their season. That gives them a wider range of how they can incorporate their colors in their wardrobe! For example, there are winters whose dark colors emphasize their fine lines and shadows, and instead advised to wear icy colors + deeper intensity for contrast(patterns/glossy accessories/dark hair/clear lip makeup)!

[@ChristineScaman]

Thank you for explaining these ideas! I appreciate learning about other ways of using colour and would like to learn more about how the various systems overlap, differ, and how we could learn from one another.

[@michaelaelizabethx]

that’s amazing thank you for sharing. i love how so many cultures have their own systems for very similar concepts.

[@evebeebee]

I've a Korean app that does color wheels and the level of your cool/warmness. However, interesting to mention that most people who use this app (are Asians) tested spring and autumn, and the least winter. I found it really interesting.

[@EmL-kg5gn]

@@evebeebee That’s so interesting! I have a Korean app that lets you test different colours against your face and tells you specifically what to look for at each stage (eg dark circles or whether the colour stands out too much). Idk if it’s the same one. Autumn and summer are noticeably the most popular results! Then spring then winter. Autumn is a little more popular than autumn and spring is a bit more popular than winter. But well over half of the results are soft seasons! Only a little over half got a warm result

[@ijmimi9186]

Thank you for this dedicated video for people of color.

[@ChristineScaman]

You are so welcome!

[@k.285]

You are my favorite KZbin channel 🖤

[@ChristineScaman]

Thank you! I hope you continue to find meaningful ideas here and real-world ways of applying them :)

[@calliekulawik619]

Oooh! Someone who might be wonderful to look at more closely is Symone Sanders! She has a show on MSNBC and also frequently appears on host panels. She presents with so much confidence and just so much life, always. Oh, another person just came to mind, too. Yamiche Alcindor, host of Washington Week on PBS. I am always fascinated to see these ladies on TV, hear what they have to say, and of course see what they are wearing! Each so vibrant and beautiful. Love them both!

[@ChristineScaman]

Fabulous suggestions, thank you! Inspiring women who wear lots of colours, couldn't be better!

[@lolotims3093]

I have to say that Christine is one of the most interesting colour analysts I have ever come across. I have not yet figured out my colours, I know I’m in a warm season but not sure where I’m sitting. The way Christine explains things, through the eyes of an artist rather than a technician, really helps me to know what to look for in myself to help identify, not only the colours of a seasons, but also the energy and traits of a season. Although I am not a person of colour I found this video to be just as informative for me as all of the others I have watched. I struggle to see myself in an objective way as I have episodes of dissociation and am also autistic. If I lived in Canada ( I live in the U.K. ) I think I would be visiting Christine. I am not longer in the work place so don’t need to present a professional front, but for the sheer peace of mind that knowing I was at least getting my clothing colour choices right would be worth every penny to me. Thank you Christine for these informative and inspiring videos.

[@ChristineScaman]

Thank you for your comment, your words are much appreciated. I'm so glad that you find the videos helpful. It's quite true that we can learn from how every Season and the many individual colourings within them wear colour. Please don't feel that you should be able to figure out your colours or see yourself objectively on your own. Nobody can objectively without training. We need technical training to ask the right questions, process and prioritize the answers, understand how to use calibrated colour standards in drapes and palettes, and so on. A proper analysis and the words that accompany the images in the videos would bear little resemblance if you listen to the audio portions. And seeing ourselves as we are subjectively, that' a lifelong journey :)

[@LiaAndrews]

Your videos are so helpful to give real world application of color theory. How you can use texture and extreme choices in your own palette can be used for a specific effect.

[@ChristineScaman]

I'm glad the ideas and comparisons are helpful for seeing the thousands of looks any Season's colours can create on their own, without ever bringing in another group. Patience with shopping, imagination, and maybe optimism, all good practices :)

[@userwhatnever]

Christine, I love how you describe how things work/should work. Esp how to make colours 'work' for oneself rather than saying avoid these colours.. you have a very balanced approach which I appreciate very much. With Maya, I did feel the blue countered her warmness but your argument to that was, I'd like to say encouraging. Thank you so so much for the content you post! Glad to have found your channel.. subscribed within minutes!! 😊

[@ChristineScaman]

Welcome to the channel :) Commentary in these videos is similar to real-world shopping in that perfect is rare whereas perfectly-good-enough can be found (and sometimes worn by the right celebrities!) I imagine it's like diet or anything else, 80% still puts us so much further ahead and I hope viewers find a way of thinking about how to make those colour choices in their own lives.

[@sandimcdougall2909]

I’m still learning about color and this was very educational. Thanks for the amazing color consultation in August in PEI. I’m really enjoying my new hair color and recently purchased clothing.

[@ChristineScaman]

You are so welcome! It's good to hear you're feeling good about your new look. I can imagine how beautiful you're looking these days :)

[@celiacoll9747]

I think Alicia Keys might be interesting to look at. I suspect she's an example of a person of colour without a winter influence. Plus she has been known to go on the red carpet make-up free, which I imagine helps show how her skin reacts to colour even more. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Gina Rodríguez, and Kerry Washington might also be interesting to look at. I don't think they're winters either (though I think they probably have a winter influence).

[@egeerdem410]

Alica keys is definitely someone I'd like to see on here. But I have the opposite view, I've seen her photos in bright fuschia and black a couple of times and honestly she looked so healthy and radiant. I don't think anyone without winter influence can pull off that level of saturation. I would add Aishwarya rai, Jennie from Blackpink as people I'd be interested in seeing analyzed by Christine.

[@celiacoll9747]

@@egeerdem410 that's interesting. I've never seen a photo of her in black where I think she looks her best.

[@ChristineScaman]

Thank you, those are great suggestions! I looked them up one at a time and could see how they'd be brilliant to learn from. Aishwarya, I doubt I could say anything meaningful or specific, I'm really not sure. I appreciate the ideas, looking forward to that video :)

[@jose11032]

Hi Christine, I would LOOOOVE to see your analysis of the very palest of people with different undertones, I myself are as pale as they get, and I have difficulties nagivating colors. Love your videos!

[@ChristineScaman]

That's a really interesting idea. There's no statement as to Season for very light skin, same with very dark skin tones, or pink or olive, meaning there are many possible Seasons for any of these and I'm not sure how much a video would help you in seeing your own colouring. Thinking about it, I might guess that many very fair skin tones might tend to the cooler side, somewhere in the Summers and Winters, although all 3 Springs can also appear to have very light skin tones. Autumns, it depends what you call 'palest' but it might be less common. Thank you for the idea, I'll think about how to feature it or include it with another topic. If you could share the people you have in mind as very pale, I could look them up. Glad you're enjoying the videos :)

[@jose11032]

@@ChristineScaman hello again, thank you so much for answering me! As Pale skinned women I am thinking about Emilia Clarke, Emma Stone, Emma Watson, Michelle Tratchenberg … and me 😂 I was blending into my own ivory wedding dress! I mix my foundation with blue or green, always the palest color. My feet can look yellow or “waxy”, I have always been called sickly looking. That make me think olive, but still I am too Pale to that. I am Danish/french. I have moss green eyes and a weird dark blonde hair that can look cool in one photo and warm in another. 🥴

[@gillespieroad42]

Come to this channel via the Timothee Chalamet winter lookbook, I found it very useful despite being a dark East Asian man, part Chinese and part Vietnamese.

[@ChristineScaman]

Welcome to the channel and thank you for taking the time to comment :) I hope you find lots of good information and don't hesitate to ask any questions that come to mind.

[@michaelaelizabethx]

your hair and glasses look so pretty on you here christine. you look absolutely beautiful. it’s clear you know what you’re doing from how stunning and cohesive you look. do you do online consultations? i’m in australia but i’m obsessed with this stuff and really want to confirm before i buy anymore clothes.

[@ChristineScaman]

Thank you :) We're all on our journey together on this channel. I wish that I could offer online consultations but I am not confident enough in my observations or conclusions. As you say, you want to confirm before buying more clothes and I couldn't give you (or myself) that confidence from online colour analysis. I believe that there are several analysts in AU however, you could look up the analyst directory at truecolour dot com dot au.

[@shirin9452]

I’m a probable winter type currently making my way back to ashy blonde from dyeing my hair back to its natural black. I’m stuck in the brown-orange shade of hair as I have to wait at least 4 months between appts. My stylist says otherwise my hair will fall out lol. And I KNOW it’s too warm and orange on my bright winter contrast, even though I’m keeping my dark roots, but I just have to put up with it until October. It’s kind of killing me, but apparently my family thinks it’s cute because they keep giving me compliments on the “new” colour 😢

[@ChristineScaman]

October being just round the corner, seems a good idea to wait and enjoy the new colour before the change. Hopefully you'll have lots of Before and After photos!

[@shirin9452]

@@ChristineScaman you’re so sweet! Maybe I SHOULD enjoy the current colour more, considering I like to change my hair up so often. I was actually wondering but I was going to ask on a winter video-if I am a bright winter, would going light blonde actually be a good look for me? My black roots and brows have worked surprisingly harmoniously with blonde in the past. But at the time, I didn’t know I was likely bw, and now I really don’t want to lose contrast. If I have tan skin, jet black roots and brows, and cool blonde hair, does that take away from BW too much?

[@ChristineScaman]

In any Season, hair colour is decided one person at a time. This is especially true in Winter where there can be some much diversity in natural appearance. The other part of the decision is how you want to look, which can vary for people in any Season. I find it helpful with myself and clients to look in the mirror or at selfies and pretend you don't know the person. She's just a woman seated at the next table in a restaurant or at a desk interviewing you for a job. Would you see her hair colour and think, 'Wow, that looks so flattering for her!', or, 'She's must be in transition.', or what would you think and is that what you wanted? It's hard to practice the detachment but it's how the world sees us and a really great way to make decisions about ourselves.

[@kyla3037]

I got a color analysis done by a person you trained, and I found out I am a Soft Summer. 🥳 I would love to hear your take on Gabrielle Union and Tyra Banks.

[@ChristineScaman]

Congratulations on learning your Season! Gabrielle and Tyra are beautiful people, although it's impossible for me to have any reliable thoughts about their colouring types. Gabrielle does seem Winter-like, striking when her hair is dark, though they may raise the contrast on those images, who knows. Tyra, she has those lighter eyes, which are so interesting, and she changes her look all the time. I'd really need to see the natural Tyra in person to say anything at all.

[@amerikatt]

My guess is Sandra is Bright Spring and Maya is Dark Autumn, unsure about Lizzo. Did you ever decide on their seasons?

[@ChristineScaman]

Good guesses, they'd have to be close, I would think. My focus is on showing the colour effects than the person's Season. We could have the same clothes in different photos and we might come to different decisions, both about colour effects and possible Season, so I don't think about Season too much . It might feel like guessing answers to a riddle and then not being given the right one. We'll never know for sure but your suggestions must be in the ballpark :)

[@hirsch4155]

I recall you were from PEI, hope everything is ok with you guys on the island ! Fellow Canadians thinking of Atlantic Canada today. 🙏

[@ChristineScaman]

Thank you so much, it's very kind of you :) It has truly been a devastation. PEIslanders are good at working together and used to doing this sort of thing in the snow and cold, but the changes have been profound and will take months to be known. Very humbling to still be here and allowed to try to make a contribution in this thing called life.

[@evebeebee]

Black has the same effect on me. It's probably the most harmonious color on me. It looks calm on the eyes. Velvet looks even better with the sheer and delicate shine. I have brown eyes but that's probably the worst color to wear close to my face. 😅 I look like the Grinch, especially warm browns make me look green. And yet, so many people think I'm a warm toned person, until they see me in cool colors. 😂 I'm a person of color(mulatto), and I'd say I'm between true and deep winter..

[@ChristineScaman]

Yes, there's an association that can be made between brown eyes and assuming the person is warm-toned. I've also heard something about Winters not having brown eyes, which makes no sense at all. A client of mine has colouring that sounds similar to yours and the colour she shines in is indigo. Warm browns make me look green too, and many years more tired :)

[@colour_me_now_joe]

I love your channel, Christine. Thank you for amazingjob ❤. I'm wondering if there is available the full book in pdf? Since I live in Ireland, I can not purchase the book, and ebooks are available only for seasons separately :( I would love to buy the whole book

[@ChristineScaman]

Hi, thank you for asking about the book :) Due to EU taxation laws for digital products, the e-books are only available in N. America at this time. The paperback version ships to the EU and AU fairly often. We arrange the purchase between us over email and PayPal. The paperback cost is CN38.10. Shipping is approx CN48.00 to CN 70.00 depending on destination and type of shipping. Please email if you have questions, [e-mail]

[@peacefreedomandwealth]

As to Lizzo: I think her colouring is too delicate for Winter seasons. She needs contrast, indeed, but black and white seems to harsh for her in my opinion. Besides, I have seen her pictures with no make up on - her level of contrast is rather medium, her eyebrows are relatively light and I feel like she should not enhance them much (If she was Winter season, she should do it otherwise). Her skin tone is more warm than cool in my opinion, and her complexion is relatively light for her ethinicity. She is not ebony black (a opposed to Lupita or Alek Wek). To sum up, I think she may potentially be closer to Spring seasons.

[@ChristineScaman]

It's possible. There is a delicacy there. I'm not quite sure I can project BSp or any Sp, but who can say. I had never heard about Winters enhancing their brows more, and hadn't observed that with clients. And I agree that stark black and white alone are somewhat severe, she's better in colour (or a different white and shiny black).

[@hirsch4155]

I wrote a comment but it was deleted, oh well lol

[@ChristineScaman]

I read it and replied (twice!) and that was deleted too. I'm not sure if KZbin is flagging anything or it's just a glitch in the software. We can wait a day and try again :) Thank you for taking the time, it was such a good comment!

[@ChristineScaman]

Well, that reply posted OK. If KZbin isn't sure about content, it holds the comment for review, but it's not there, and it posted the comment fine yesterday. Not sure...

[@egeerdem410]

I found maya in that burgundy color really jarring for some reason Christine, it looks like her face took on that typical liver failure yellow which unfortunately autumns are prone to in too cool or too muted colors. Same goes for the blue. A true shame after seeing what she could like like in that candlelight white.

[@Nyc520]

I see what ur seeing with the burgundy but take the background colors around her into consideration. As a dark autumn, summer colors make me look gray and some spring/winter colors make me look yellowish.

[@ChristineScaman]

An understanding in the advice Maya receives of how to work with her colouring appears to have some gaps. I would love to see her car pull into my driveway and get this sorted for good. Except for that white you mention, there's a reason to hesitate in every look. I agree with you both about the burgundy. I looked at it for a long time and thought it might be the pink sleeves, floral print, and even bits of white that were least comfortable. I know what you mean about gray skin for DA, I find that's often the cool and light tones, pastel, as you say. Maya does look yellow or orange in a lot of colours, which might happen for 2 reasons. One, the clothing makes it happen, like the orange dress, by being too warm. Second, the clothing is too cool or blued and the skin appears orange by comparison because it really is golden, that is its true colour. The jaundice yellow isn't being imposed by the clothing because being cool, it wouldn't do that to warmer skin, but it could make the natural warm tones appear unhealthy. The blue at the end was off too, but enough worked compared to all the available images. It is a shame, these people are so beautiful and wear so many clothes, and the information isn't that hard to have for ourselves. I was happy to have the white to set the benchmark for what's possible in everything Maya wears.

[@Nyc520]

@@ChristineScaman Yes it is the pastels, they are my worst colors as a DA. They make me look like ash and all my color gets drained which rarely happens. I mean it’s horrible I stay away. The blue on her is actually great I think it might be the pink background that is throwing it off but you can really see how nice it makes her skin and eyes look. That off white on her is magical.

[@Nyc520]

@@ChristineScaman also I wanted to add something funny about spring colors especially bright spring colors. When I have worn them in the past I always felt like I have to moisturize and oil up my skin to compete with the colors brightness and shine.

[@ChristineScaman]

That's interesting, I haven't heard that comment before but I can see how it would be so, describing the flip side of the same thing I see. Spring people need their colours for skin texture to be plump and moist, and somehow they don't look oily at all, even if the fabric is shiny. Autumn people wearing Spring colours, the skin texture looks dry and heavy, like canvas or burlap. You're probably reacting to the same impression, which is where the moisturizer comes in :)