Last year, I got the idea that it would be fun to make word clouds from the seasonal makeup lists showing which color words occur the most frequently. Each list has hundreds and hundreds of products on it; what patterns occur?
Here's a snapshot of the first page of True Spring's list:
Here's a snapshot of the first page of True Spring's list:
You can see color words right away there: "apricot," "cantaloupe," "rose," "poppy." That's just the first of perhaps 15 pages.
Here's the word cloud for all of the color words, with the size of the word indicating how frequently it occurs:
Here's the word cloud for all of the color words, with the size of the word indicating how frequently it occurs:
Wow, brown is important for True Spring, right?
It makes sense if you think about the fact that we rely on our darker neutrals for eyeliner, eyeshadow and mascara. Which dark neutrals does each season get? A lot of seasons get brown *and* charcoal, or brown *and* black, or charcoal *and* black. But True Spring, being purely warm, doesn’t have black, or even charcoal. Its darkest neutrals are basically versions of brown:
It makes sense if you think about the fact that we rely on our darker neutrals for eyeliner, eyeshadow and mascara. Which dark neutrals does each season get? A lot of seasons get brown *and* charcoal, or brown *and* black, or charcoal *and* black. But True Spring, being purely warm, doesn’t have black, or even charcoal. Its darkest neutrals are basically versions of brown:
True Spring colors, and makeup, are warm, warm, warm. (Brown is just dark orange, and orange is arguably the warmest color.)
If you compare this word cloud to Light Spring’s, you’ll notice that the True Spring cloud features “red” much more prominently. That reflects True Spring’s turn to more vivid primaries, from Light Spring's comparatively pastel-y hues.
Compared to Bright Spring’s word cloud, “pink” is de-emphasized here. True Spring doesn’t have any real pinks to speak of; they’re all quite orangey and coraly:
If you compare this word cloud to Light Spring’s, you’ll notice that the True Spring cloud features “red” much more prominently. That reflects True Spring’s turn to more vivid primaries, from Light Spring's comparatively pastel-y hues.
Compared to Bright Spring’s word cloud, “pink” is de-emphasized here. True Spring doesn’t have any real pinks to speak of; they’re all quite orangey and coraly:
Is it just me, or are these True Spring makeup words particularly food-oriented relative to the words from other seasons? I mean, makeup names often sound edible. But this list is extremely tasty. I think that’s a function of True Spring’s warmth; we associate food and eating with warm, comfortable feelings.
Wow, these True Spring makeup food words are really tasty together:
 Peach vanilla jam.  Ginger cream cake. |  Honey-flavored chocolate.  Champagne with apricot brandy. |
If you think you’re a True Spring but you don’t yet own the makeup list, try googling cosmetics with words from the True Spring word cloud in the name. (For example, lipstick apricot, or blush coral, or eyeliner cocoa.)
And if you’re not sure what your season is, try the at-home draping cards. They're the most affordable option for accurate color draping.
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