Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best: Color, Makeup and Style [Paperback]

Mary Spillane (Author), Christine Sherlock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1995

The classic makeup and style book, now updated for the 1990s and expanded to 12 color palettes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

elaborates on the season-based palette concept and addresse figure problems and image-enhancing wardrobe selection (Miami Herald )

the system has been revamped....and the original "four season" categories based on your natural coloring have been broken down to more specific groups...The new book also has sections on personal style, body enhancement and the power of specific color families. (Jackie White Lexington Herald-Leader )

Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: Madison Books; 2nd Revised edition edition (April 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568330375
• ISBN-13: 978-1568330372
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good section on style, July 4, 2001

By 

K. Russell (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best: Color, Makeup and Style (Paperback)

As some of the other reviews here indicate, this book would probably be more helpful to the reader whose personal coloring is a seasonal blend, rather than to the reader who can easily identify herself as a Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter. If you don't seem to fit a seasonal type, you might find the expanded classifications in this book helpful. That said, I must agree with the reviewers here who complain about the shoddy color palettes and inconsistencies in the text. Considering the fact that the original COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL gave rise to the international CMB industry, one would think they could have allotted a budget for a book as esthetically appealing, not to mention as well written and edited, as Carole Jackson's books.

But wait -- there's plenty more to this book than the section on color classifications, including a genuine improvement over the chapter on style in the original COLOR ME BEAUTIFUL (the most dated chapter in that book). Like Jackson, the authors of this book identify different body types, offering recommendations for each on fabric and design, but Spillane and Sherlock don't link body types to specific styles as Jackson does. This book does have a section on styles (e.g. Classic, Natural, Dramatic, Romantic, Creative), but it has a separate section on body types, which I've found especially helpful. (I was never sure what my body type was until I found it clearly described and illustrated here.) On the whole, the book does not replace Carole Jackson's, but with the above-mentioned reservations I do recommend it.

117 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as the original, August 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best: Color, Makeup and Style (Paperback)

This is a pretty good overall guide to color, style, and makeup, but it doesn't have the simplicity and timeless appeal that made the original Color Me Beautiful so useful. The expansion from 4 color "palettes" to 12 is not especially helpful; it just leads to more confusion. I also think the authors' cavalier advice that anyone can wear black is harmful to those women who simply will never look their best in black and need to learn how to look formal without relying on that color crutch. I bought Carole Jackson's Color Me Beautiful in 1987 and kept it until the covers were falling off; I bought this version, read it, and gave it away to a friend. Another thing that ticked me off about this version was its bias toward career women; much of its advice (like "honestly, can you really afford to be seen in just a scrubbed face and a touch of lipstick?") doesn't pertain to students, stay-at-home moms, blue-collar workers, home-office workers, or even people with a casual office environment.

Bottom line: if you can still find the original, get it instead; some of the styles shown are a little dated, but most of the advice is as sound today as it was ten years ago. But if you can't find it, or if you really need something with a focus on dressing for success in the business world, then this version is a decent substitute.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Color me with wax crayons!, January 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best: Color, Makeup and Style (Paperback)

Ok if your short on cash buy the original Color me beautiful book. For many of my friends and I who felt that we were torn between two palettes, the expansions did not really clear things up for us... The color palettes really are an embarrassment! whos 3year old colored the squares for the coauthors? This IS a book on color so if you are real torn see the original book ok its dated in fashon but really does a much better job in the color department. As for the makeup section it stinks. I don't agree with their suggestions for eye makeup and eyeliner for alot of people... The best book on makeup is Carole Jackson's color me beautiful make up book... nothing comes close except a professional makeup artists manual I have. Bottom line, stick to Carole Jackson's books for the best information.