A Wardrobe Full of Clothes and Nothing to Wear?

Years ago, training in Colour Analysis was just something for me to do in passing whilst working out what I was going to do with my life after walking out on my job in the City.  It was nevertheless incredibly valuable and I've helped lots of friends and family save a shed load of money and to be able to always look their best when they really want to.

I'm not selling anything - just thought it would be fun.

Not only has it saved me a fortune too, it has taken away a great deal of anxiety and frustration that a lot of us suffer when trying to make the most of our appearance without the know-how and confidence that is gleaned by using its easy formula.  By far the biggest benefit has been the stacks of time I have not wasted on decision making when shopping.

We won't necessarily stop impulse purchases (especially at that vulnerable time of the month!), but we will stop making rash mistakes.

Based on a scientific theory used by artists and designers for hundreds of years, it's all about the skin undertone.  This isn't the colour you see when you look in a mirror, as you can't see it until you put another colour against it - which will either clash or enhance your whole appearance.

Nature gave us hair, eyes and skin that harmonise totally.  There are only four colours of skin undertones in the whole world, so they're simple to identify and then it's a case of analysing which tones compliment or clash.  We can all wear all colours - it's the tone that matters.  

We spend a lot of time poring over brochures to get the shades exactly right to pull a whole room together - so let's work out how to do it for ourselves.

The wrong colours will make your hair and eyes go dull.  Shadows (and who doesn't have any of those once they're a mum?) will look darker and you can look tired or even ill, plus blemishes and wrinkles become much more apparent, which none of us needs!

The right colours bring everything together - your hair honestly does look richer (although if you've not dyed it in the most flattering shade - it can really throw things out - you'll soon see), our eyes seem to shine, so we look much less tired and the skin takes on a much healthier glow - less sallow or brassy.  Even facial hair can be flagged up or fade away - it's astonishing!

As a result, less make up is required and we feel better because we look better.

In fact, a whole new world opens up.  Trial and error are abolished.  When you stay within your Colour Analysis, everything goes with everything and choosing a new lipstick / top / something to wear to a certain conference coming up will no longer be an ordeal.            

I'm going to go into it in more detail, but it can't be done in one post, so, for now, this is all you need to know:

Each of the four undertones have been named after the seasons:

Winter - blue based- cold - will give you vivid colouring, with dark hair, very white skin or white with pink tones, beige or brown skin or very dark skin.  With dark brown or blue eyes , they're normally easiest to identify.  Think Myleene Klass (who started all this off when I wrote about her recently).

Summer - blue- grey based - cool - gives a classic delicate English Rose look.  Skin will be pale, light beige and hair will be white / pale blonde, brown or mousey.  Think Princess Diana.

Nicole Kidman - a beautiful 'Spring' (Image courtesy Wikipedia)

Spring - gold based - warm - ivory skin - peaches & cream complexion. Could be florid and need toning down. Hair will be golden brown, sometimes with red in, or golden blonde.  Usually green / hazel eyes.  Think Nicole Kidman.

Autumn - the most rare - gold based - warm - ivory, peach skin again but the hair is golden brown, reddy brown.  Usually brown or green eyes.  These are the hardest to identify.  Think Audrey Hepburn.

The first step is to get your hair out of the way (especially if it's not your natural colour) and hold up the nearest thing you can get to a piece of gold based fabric and a piece of silver / grey based one and watch the shadows / blemishes / come and go.

We'll be going into each 'Season' individually, using Bloggers as examples, so feel free to send me a photo (oldersinglemumgmail.com) and I'll post pictures of ranges of colours best suited to each. It won't be possible to classify the least easily identified but it might be to teach you to do it for yourself!

P.S Photos that are very wrong would be good too.  Evening dress ones are classic. Please send 'em over and watch this space!

If you're kind enough to have me on your blog roll, please update the link on it to http://www.oldersinglemum.com/ - I'd be really grateful, thank you. 

Win a Holiday to Barbados via Myleene Klass and Littlewoods.

Most of us lucky enough to attend last year's MAD Blog Awards dinner will have met the marvellous Myleene Klass.  She made a point of visiting every table and having a chat with virtually everybody.  I wrote about our very touching conversation and posted a pic of some of us with her HERE.

She has just launched a swimwear range with Littlewoods and, together, they are running a competition to win a holiday in Barbados, which is somewhere I tell my kids every aeroplane overhead is going and where we pretend to drive to on every boat, train or car when we're playing in parks!

Heaven only knows what the other parents think when they hear my two announce that's where we're supposedly going.  The word 'precocious' springs to mind, but there isn't anything wrong in setting their sights high and it's fun anyhow.

It's somewhere I have been lucky enough to visit, albeit a very long time ago, and it's always been a dream to return.  Talking to the children about it keeps that dream alive.

All you have to do to enter is design your own piece of swimwear on this special Facebook page. The winning one will be handpicked by Myleene and added to the Littlewoods 2014 collection.

I quite fancied this - not just because of the prize - but because of the other ambitious ideas it stirred up in me for different coloured designs complementing peoples' different colouring and I was going to wax lyrical about blue skin undertones vs gold ones and how which colour would be best for each.

Being a trained Colour Analyst, it's simply impossible for me to put everybody in the same shade of swimsuit!

My debut design (sort of!). 

We can't all carry strong colours off the way Myleene can.  For the fairer - skinned, it is the swimwear you would see, not the person, so it's important to get it right.

Plus - equally importantly - most of us aren't shaped like her and aren't comfortable with the 'less is more' approach in this department.

But here's my debut go within the confines of the set-up.

I'd have liked to make the legs higher cut to add the illusion of more length and definitely would have added strong (but secret) stomach control and decent (but attractive) bust support.  

There are some really pretty designs and fabrics to choose from, but I wanted this colour for its flexibility. It would suit Myleene, but also blondes (with blue eyes). I actually would have liked her in a royal blue, but that would overwhelm or clash for those not as dark skinned as her.

For redheads (usually with green eyes) I'd make it more green - limey for the strawberry blondes / deeper, more olive for the proper auburns with brown eyes.

Unfortunately there's no room for me to say all this stuff on there (but I can stick some more on here next week if you're interested), so this design will probably be the most boring entry they'll have and, perhaps, we'll have to settle for going to Barbados in the park!

Disclosure - This post is in Association with Littlewoods, but it is a genuine entry into the competition.

A MAD Imposter.

There is an Award Ceremony each year, presenting prizes in the Mum and Dad blogging arena.  To those in the know it's called the MADS.

It is run by the lady who started the Bloggers' Tots100, Sally Wonder Woman Whittle, a fellow single mum.

It was a truly awesome event, which I very nearly didn't attend, because it didn't seem I really had a right to be there.

I felt like an imposter.  Having been nominated in the early rounds in the 'Inspiring' category, my little blog never made it to the finals.

Tickets for this top notch, fancy 'do' are much coveted and not for sale, but there are some available to win.

Which is how I ended up going.  By fluke.

I was dreading it though.  It was tempting to repeatedly watch my own 'Nobody is a Nobody' Vlog, recorded for those feeling nervous about going to the BritmumsLive conference in June.  Yet, there, at least we'd all bought our tickets and our places were paid for.

Here, if my fabulous boyfriend hadn't insisted on me going, bought me THAT dress and paid for the plush Hotel room, with me not having 'earned' my place, it would definitely have been too daunting.

THAT dress!

Not being a Social Media addict exhaustive enthusiast can give rise to everyone else looking very chummy.  Naturally high about a night out in itself, finalists were also feted by sponsors.  Some were given exquisite outfits and loaned jewellery, plus appointments for professional hair and make up were abounding over Twitter.

It  all adds to the intimidation, although you have to feel sorry for the poor 'Travel' category ones for having to endure a prior sunny evening's party aboard one of those posh yachts, don't you just?!

The best I could manage was tweeting a half hearted joke in a taxi on my way there about possibly winning an Award for the 'Best Boots,' because I'd bagged some great ones at the end of last year and had them on. 

Then there was a breakthrough: ''u do realise we all feel the same - now come show us your fabby boots xx''

A reply from Elaine Colliar Mortgage Free in Three.                  

And I knew I'd be OK.

Our paths hadn't ever crossed before - and they haven't since.  We never actually met, but I was grateful for that teensy bit of encouragement.

It's difficult walking into a room full of strangers, but before I'd even got that far, I'd forgotten that it's possible to feel you know people that you truly don't and I committed the fatal faux-pas of rubbing the very pregnant belly of Susan K Mann in the lift on my way to change.

I'm sorry, Susan. I looked for you to apologise to you personally, but you managed to elude me, deliberately or not!  I was horrified when I remembered that all our contact has been impersonal.  So here's my apology now.  It won't happen again.  Er, it haunts me.

She was very gracious, by the way.  And was stunning.  Everybody looked unbelievably beautiful.  All had gone to town with their appearance and I was proud to be among such crazy, friendly and outgoing, (mostly) warm, wonderful folk.

Ruth from Dorky Mum took me under her wing and Sarah from Grenglish was the most enlightening company for the entire evening, which eventually ended with these two at the bar around 2am.  That's not bad for an outsider. 




Sarah - a perfectly 'bad' influence.

But, most importantly, I had something to contribute after all.  Having had the privilege to meet the scrumptious Myleene Klass - who made a point of saying Hello to each and every table and the famously fabulous Sue Atkins, also a TV regular, who happened to be sat on ours, I was able to offer them some stuff no-one else did.

Both have recently been shocked to find themselves single mums and, despite being clever, capable, gorgeous women, they are unsurprisingly and accordingly devastated.  Their eyes widened when they'd routinely, politely and innocently inquired about the name of my blog and their transparently genuine interest was touching. 

I told them about the groundbreaking Single Mums' Stories series I ran and soon hope to continue, so as well as sympathy, gave them solace and solidarity and, among the giggles, hope.

Perhaps, it was impossible not to have a good time.  Perhaps there's a time and a place for everyone.

So just because you feel like a saddo, it doesn't necessarily make you one.  

A very big thank you to Sally Wonder Woman Whittle for an #incredible occasion - you see there's simply no stopping some single mums - and many massive, heartfelt Congratulations to all the winners (and (no) losers) of the MADS.  

There's a ''Storify' HERE  the morning after the night before, with highlights, photos and quotes.