Do you remember the “Color Me Beautiful” craze back in the 80′s?  If you had your colors done like I did, you know that you are a Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall.  Though I lost it a long time ago, I always carried my color palette whenever I went shopping.  Back in the day, I was a Spring.  I had very blonde hair with even blonder highlights.  My colors consisted of jewel tone greens, blues, pinks and purples.  I never really felt comfortable in these colors, but I bought them because they were in my Spring color swatch book. Plus, Miss America told me too!  Yep, Miss America 1964, Donna Axum Whitworth was my “Color Me Beautiful” consultant!  I certainly wasn’t going to question her!

The one thing I did like about having a color palette to refer to when shopping was it made me feel more confident.  I felt that I really had control over what was going to look good near my face and what colors I should avoid.  I still believe to this day that there are definitely colors that look better on some people than others.

Recently I was introduced to Jill Kirsh and her color philosophy based on your hair color.  In Style magazine had featured some of Jill’s gorgeous hand-painted silk scarves in a recent issue and I was intrigued.  The scarves are based on Jill’s color shades that work with your hair color.  WHAT?  I’m no longer a blonde high-lighted gal.  I love being a red head!  If I follow Jill’s advice, I’ve been wearing the wrong colors!  Jill and I had a long chat on the phone and she told me she was sending me her makeup and color palette for red heads.  Jill has worked with Red Carpet celebrities, so I couldn’t believe she was consulting with me on colors.  I sent her a few photos of myself with various shades of red hair and she mailed me these wonderful items.

“I’ve designed a unique and innovative color system for your wardrobe and your makeup that’s entirely based on your present hair color – Deep Brunette, Warm Blonde, Golden Brown & Red, and Ash Blonde, Platinum & Gray. It’s fun, it’s simple and it works! I’ve put together a wallet sized swatch book filled with fabric of all the best shades of every color for each hair color group. You use this swatch book as a guide to shop for everything from tees and trousers to party dresses and stilettos. In addition, I’ve created mineral based, fragrance free makeup kits with all your best shades for the eyes, cheeks and lips.” said Jill.

The colors in this makeup kit are so warm and rich looking.  I had to call her back because I wasn’t sure what to do with all of them.

There was one lip pencil and one eye liner included.

Three different lipsticks that were just slightly different in color.

The kit also included 4 different makeup brushes!  Wow!  Makeup kits never include wonderful brushes too.

There was a really awesome lip gloss.

Here you can see how my new color palette works together with the makeup.  It all flows and matches.  No more jewel tones for me.

Now comes the MAJOR problem.  My closet is full of boring neutral colors.  I had no idea until I started sorting my closet how incredibly boring I had become.  Browns, beige, black, white…my closet was void of color.

Please ignore the wire hangers in this picture!  I was sorting and ran out of good hangers.

So here are the few things I found that work with my new color swatch book.  I hadn’t realized until now that these were the perfect colors for me.

So now I’m on a new journey.  I’m cleaning out my closet and consigning clothes that are the wrong colors. I’m looking at things from a totally different point of view.  I really do love my red hair, so I don’t think I’ll ever be blonde again.  I’m feeling really good about this decision and with my quest to find my new colors.  Jill Kirsh is beyond wonderful and I’m super excited to be collaborating with her.

I hope you will enjoy my outfit posts in the future as I’m now more mindful of my color choices.  I encourage you to visits Jill’s website at www.jillkirshcolor.com and follow her on Twitter at @JillKirshColor.  Tweet her your questions.  Watch the videos on her website and let me know your thoughts.  Do you think you have been wearing the wrong colors?

Beth Anderson, CEO of Chic Galleria Publications, LLC, is a member of STYLE COALITION, an elite group of beauty and fashion publishers for HEARST DIGITAL GROUP. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest.

Financial compensation was not received for this post. Makeup provided courtesy of Jill Kirsh Color. Opinions expressed here are my own.

Tags: Beth Anderson, color, color consultant, Jill Kirsh, makeup