Category: Fashion

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Look Fab on Zoom!

Desk

LOOK FAB ON ZOOM!

The latest from our House of Colour blogger Fiona Ingham

Fiona Ingham


Suddenly we have had to become Zoom experts. I enjoy Pilates and chats with friends and am even dragged unwillingly to the weekly Zoom quiz! I can’t do Colour Analysis sessions but Zoom Make-up Demos for groups and Zoom Personal Style Individual Sessions work incredibly well. Many have booked as they now have the time, want some escapism, can be based anywhere, and importantly, because they want to look better under the scrutiny of Zoom.

By now we’re well versed in the basics: don’t clash with or have an embarrassing background. Angle the screen well and raise it. Be a distance from the laptop so the face doesn’t fill the screen. Maybe promote your intellectual side with carefully chosen books that you always meant to read. Ensure your partner won’t appear in a dressing gown. Don’t say anything negative in case you’re unmuted or haven’t actually left the meeting. Wear a suitable bottom half in case you need to stand up. Control the family noises off.

It's not just your clothes...

So, with all of that sorted let’s turn firstly to make-up. On my Zoom demos I talk about an Express Make-up which takes a couple of minutes. It’s the one for you if you are time-poor: foundation, blusher, mascara and importantly lipstick which adds contrast to the face. For a Zoom chat that suffices for me but for a professional consultation I prefer to go for a full Classic look where I add concealer, bronzer ( or powder), illuminator, eye brow pencil, eye shadows, eye pencil, lip pencil. Demonstrating and talking through this takes me an hour but left to my own devices it’s just 10 minutes, and well worth it! Lockdown is the best time and place to practice your make-up skills.

Self Care

Don't be afraid of colour

I recommend wearing a coloured top rather than a neutral one as you’ll stand out more in that sea of neutral squares. If you know your colours it’s easy, if not here are some safe colours which work for all skin tones: Royal Purple, Primary Red, Sea Green, Kingfisher, Hyacinth Blue, Forest Green. Beware Marmite colours such as Mustard, Coral, Burgundy or Fuchsia. Make sure the neckline you choose works well for your face shape and neck length. If you must wear a neutral maybe try a colourful scarf appropriately tied, or a necklace in the right scale for you. (See my Instagram for example of wrong and right scales). Patterns can be difficult so do take care.

It’s good to avoid anything moving about such as those wonderful dangling earrings which will distract from your words on screen, or the necklace you can’t help fiddling with. A nice watch and a bracelet which doesn’t clank on the table, can add interest as can a ring if your well-manicured hands will be seen.

Desk

Final touches

Lockdown hair! My Gamine crop has grown out and I find hair gel gives it the neat outline that I need. Hair grips and hair bands can give a new style. Maybe the hair pulled back or put up will work. It’s fun to experiment. Hair mascara produced by many brands will cover up the grey roots.

Looking good on Zoom lifts the spirits and getting our make-up right for Zoom will stand us in good stead for any future settings, whether on screen or in person, and whether at work or out on the town!

stripey dress and blusher copy

Fiona Ingham

Consistent holder of the House of Colour Star Consultant award each year since 1991 plus the new Double and Triple Star Consultant award for 2020. Winner of the Business Development Award and Team Productivity Award and also a 2017 Livewire Innovation and Excellence Award.

Colour Analysis can be a private, Individual session or Duo session where two friends attend together in the Primrose Hill studio.

Personal Style can be an Individual session or a Duo session for two friends in the studio OR an Individual session on Zoom for clients who live further away.

Please email or call for full information.

[email protected]
@fionainghampresentation
07791 507534

See Fiona's Profile

Join the list

Get the VIP info on all things Healthy Back Bag, including our newest designs, special releases and monthly giveaways. Plus you’ll get 10% off your first order!

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Colour Analysis – To do or not to do?

Clothing Rack

Colour Analysis - To do or not to do?

By Fiona Ingham

Fiona Ingham

The latest from our House of Colour blogger Fiona Ingham

You probably already have a strong sense of which colours suit you best but if, like us, you really want to understand exactly which shades perfectly suit your skin tone, which are your best neutrals and what exactly are your ‘Wow!’ colours, then colour analysis could be for you.
House of Colour consultant and HBB blogger, Fiona Ingham answers some of our questions:

So why should you invest in colour analysis?

Firstly, because whatever your age or gender, wearing the right colours will make you look your best, with glowing skin, fine lines and dark circles reduced and the jawline defined. Your eye colour will look brighter and natural hair colour be enhanced. Clients are astonished to see the difference when draped in flattering colours.

How does it work?

Colour analysis discovers your best neutrals as a great basis to the wardrobe. For some this will be pure white through all the greys to charcoal and black, for me it’s cream through the beiges, camels, coffees to darkest chocolate. There is a specific navy in each section. You’ll be introduced to your bright colours too. It’s so easy to be adventurous and wear a splash of fuchsia or buttercup yellow if you’re certain it looks good. There’s no need to get rid of all ‘wrong’ colours, although some clients do, but you can just make a start by getting great colours around your face, maybe as a scarf or top.

What’s the benefit?

In the 90’s the desire to be simply the best, to Dress for Success was a major impetus in ‘doing Colours’ but now clients want a more sustainable wardrobe, which meets the #30wears challenge. They aim to buy smart and less, eliminating mistake buys, wearing everything and so trying to avoid contributing to global textile waste.
Hannah Betts of the Sunday Times Style Magazine discovered that jewel winter colours suited her best and wrote that wearing our right colours “gives a kind of superpower and visual charisma”

Clients report that they feel more confident and save time, stress and of course money by knowing exactly what works and disregarding the rest.

You use a ‘seasonal’ colour analysis system, how does this work?

The colour wheel is divided into four sections, given the seasons names as a shorthand description. You discover which section your colouring fits into. If your skin undertone, eyes and hair colour need warm colours you will be an Autumn or Spring. Winters and Summers colours are cool. There always are surprises so it’s wise not to self-diagnose or make assumptions in advance!

We work with specific contrasts from 144 precision dyed drapes. You can wear almost every colour but will discover the right hue. Make- up colours, including a range of lipstick colours are chosen. This is often a revelation for clients who suddenly discover a lipstick they love.

You don’t simply learn your season, but the best colours within that season, aka your Wow colours! You take away a leather wallet with colour swatches to make colour matching easy and an individualised booklet to ensure that you shop effectively.

stripey dress and blusher copy

Fiona Ingham

Consistent holder of the House of Colour Star Consultant award each year since 1991 plus the new Double and Triple Star Consultant award for 2020. Winner of the Business Development Award and Team Productivity Award and also a 2017 Livewire Innovation and Excellence Award.

Colour Analysis can be a private, Individual session or Duo session where two friends attend together in the Primrose Hill studio.

Personal Style can be an Individual session or a Duo session for two friends in the studio OR an Individual session on Zoom for clients who live further away.

Please email or call for full information.

[email protected]
@fionainghampresentation
07791 507534

See Fiona's Profile

Join the list

Get the VIP info on all things Healthy Back Bag, including our newest designs, special releases and monthly giveaways. Plus you’ll get 10% off your first order!