Personal styling company House of Colour promises to help you discover your true self by revealing your most flattering shades. Sarah Millington puts it to the test

PREPARING to meet Kristine Zuliani, my House of Colour consultant, I find myself in a quandary. Knowing I’m about to discover which shades suit me best, I suddenly question the contents of my wardrobe. There’s a lot of brown – what if it turns out to be completely wrong for me, and I’m obliged to have an entire rethink? I settle for a paisley dress I’ve had for years and hope for the best.

When Kristine greets me at her home in Gateshead I’m reassured. She’s wearing bright, rust-coloured jeans and a petrol top – making me look washed-out in comparison – but she’s friendly and welcoming, taking me upstairs to her studio and offering me a drink from a menu. She understands only too well that coming for a consultation can be a bit intimidating, having first encountered House of Colour as a client.

“I had my colours done back in 2012 and it was a real life-changer for me,” says Kristine, 41. “I was dressing in winter – the cools, the darks and the brights – which was completely opposite to what I should have been. I should have been autumn – the warms, the muted, the blended. I had no idea that skin tone could be either warm or cool and that people have different skin tones, and I was just very curious.”

Last year, a series of events in Kristine’s life made her pause for reflection. She turned 40 and two family members died from Alzheimer’s just as she was approaching her fifth anniversary of working for a company based in Nottingham, which involved a lot of travelling. “I thought I could either carry on and quite happily do another five years or try something different and be a little bit creative,” she says.

When Kristine thought about what had really inspired her recently, House of Colour sprang to mind. She decided to become a franchisee – and found it chimed with her corporate experience. “With having my own business, I’m attending a lot of networking events, doing a lot of public speaking and having a lot of meetings,” she says. “It’s a professional environment. I think my corporate background also helps me to know how people need to dress professionally.”

Established 30 years ago, House of Colour draws on scientific principles and the theories of artists such as Johannes Itten to categorise colours in four seasonal groups, with spring and autumn being typically warm, and summer and winter cool. At the start of my consultation, Kristine talks me through this, pointing to a colour wheel showing all the shades in their different sections. Then it’s time for my analysis.

I sit on a chair by a window, so there’s plenty of natural light, and look into a mirror as Kristine methodically tests swatches against my skin. For every colour there are multiple variations, and sometimes the differences are so subtle as to be barely perceptible. To my untrained eye, it’s initially hard to determine whether, say, soft woollen white is better than bright cotton white. As we go on, though, with Kristine voicing approval for some colours, while dismissing others, I do begin to feel as though I get it.

What Kristine is looking for are shades that complement my skin tone and eye colour – those that subtly enhance what nature has provided. It’s easiest to see with darker hues – the plums that appear to give me a rosy complexion and the blues that emphasise my eyes. They have the effect of making me look healthy. By contrast, the ones I don’t suit, like a harsh cerise, give me a yellowish pallor, making me look ill.

As we work through the analysis I find there are colours, such as pale lemon, which, though they’re on the approved list, I would never have thought to wear. Kristine suggests that these might be good as a layer with something on top, as part of a pattern or in a scarf.

With the testing complete, Kristine delivers the verdict – I’m summer, or, more specifically, brown summer, which means that I suit muted, rather than bright shades, with a cool, rather than a warm base. Browns should be greyish, as opposed to yellowish, and I should go for silver jewellery and avoid red-tinted hair colours. My optimum shades are: rose brown, musk pink, French navy, dark blue-grey, Airforce blue, sea green, smoked grape, raspberry and rose madder.

To help clients get their bearings, Kristine provides them with a wallet containing all their recommended colours, which they can take shopping with them. It’s claimed that, over time, the ability to select your best shades becomes innate and that, far from costing you money, being colour aware enables you to put together an effective capsule wardrobe.

Colour consultations are often followed up with personal styling sessions, in which Kristine helps clients identify their characteristic look and what best suits their body shape. For men, colour and style are combined, and Kristine also offers additional services like children’s colour and bridal styling.

As a final touch, I’m given a 90-second makeover demonstrating that, even on a busy morning, applying the right shades of foundation, blusher and lipstick can enhance my summer look. While I don’t feel like I can fully absorb my new colour classification overnight, I leave feeling better educated on what suits me. Thankfully, I can continue wearing brown – and, who knows? I might even splash out on a pale lemon scarf.

W: houseofcolour.co.uk