Customer Reviews

More Alive with Color (Capital Lifestyles)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This latest entry in the color for people books written over the years is without a doubt the easiest and most sensible to date. The author divides colors into sunrise, sunset and sunlight groups with an additional group of neutral colors including black, gray, navy, true red, sunny yellow, khaki and several more that go with all three color families. The advantage of this method is that there are both warm and cool shades in all three of her divisions - instead of a regimented cool only for certain complexions and warm only for other complexions as was the case with the seasons method of color management. She is also much more supportive of using colors that are "outside" your color family and explains how to make a color choice from outside your color family work with your complexion and correct color family.

In the book she extensively covers everything from clothes to accessories to makeup to hair color choices for women and as well - includes a very helpful section for men in which she makes recommendations that are realistic for the average non-metrosexual guy as well as being useful for a very fashion concious and elegant gentleman.

Included in the book are tear-out pages for each color group and for the neutral family making it extremely easy to choose flattering colors that coordinate with your complexion and existing wardrobe.

The best thing about this book is it not only beautifully takes into consideration coloring to choose correct colors - it also takes into consideration personality - and allows one to choose colors that both look beautiful on and make you feel wonderful! No more choosing colors you don't like because they are the correct warm or cool shade! Anyone can wear pink, blue, green, purple, red, brown, - or whatever color you choose - as every color group has shades of every color in it! No longer are you told you cannot wear black as if it isn't your season! The only thing wrong with this book is that it didn't come out years ago!!!

Have you ever noticed that wearing a particular outfit makes you feel extra confident? Or that when you wear a blouse of a certain color you receive more complements because you look especially attractive in it? Would you like to look in the mirror everyday and see a reflection that says "I look and feel great"? More Alive With Color by Leatrice Eiseman reveals how to discover your personal colors and build your wardrobe around them so that you look and feel sensational whether kicking back at home or kicking up your heels out on the town.

The Colortime system organizes colors by how they appear during different times of the day: at sunrise, at sunset or in the sunlight at midday. Rather than dictate a particular set of hues as some other books do, Leatrice offers you a system to identify your best colors allowing you to build a versatile wardrobe that reflects you taste and personal style.

Leatrice incorporates crossover colors that work across all palettes and shares tips on how you can wear a favorite color even if it doesn't fall within your personal palette. The book includes removable pages for each color palette and the crossover color so that you can see how the colors work together and makes it easy to choose new colors to add to your current wardrobe. Best of all Leatrice shares a wealth of information on putting color together and includes her guide for goof-proof combinations.

Once you have an understanding of your personal colors Leatrice gives you the secrets to putting together a perfect look for any occasion. She also offers sound solutions for building a wardrobe and packing for a trip. One chapter offers practical advice especially for men that any man will be able to use regardless of his level of fashion sophistication.

Leatrice who has assisted corporations worldwide to choose colors to communicate a particular brand or product message distills her extensive knowledge into two information packed chapters that explain what the colors you wear say about you and how colors influence others. This information alone could change the way you think about what you wear.

This book is beautifully illustrated and Leatrice's timeless wisdom takes the guess work out of selecting clothes, accessories, hair color and cosmetics. Choosing colors that are flattering and communicate your personal style has never been easier or more enjoyable.

This was the best book since the now badly outdated Color Me Beautiful (they really need to update that thing; it too was great in its day).

Ms. Eiseman provides three different palettes: Sunrise, a collection of clear, bright colors which occur naturally at dawn; Sunlight, the more muted colors of midday, and Sunset, which includes the vibrant oranges and reds seen at the end of the day.

These palettes are perforated, for easy removal when shopping. The quiz in the book makes it fairly easy to determine which palette is yours, but she has advice if you are stuck between two palettes.

Really enjoying this book, and highly recommend it.

This book is a great read and a good introduction to the concept of color palettes arranged by time of day. The book is easy to understand and the layout is very pleasing and attractive. The suggested color combinations and photographs included are very effective-what I've always expected in a book dealing with such a visual topic but have rarely found.

The only reason I rate the book a "4" instead of a "5" is because some of the sections, the men's section for example, are too brief and really just touch on the concept outlined.

A worthwhile investment for up-to-date information regarding color and preparing a pleasing wardrobe.

I purchased this book because I "love" color. I devoured the old Color Me Beautiful books years ago and hoped this would be an updated look at colors.

I was disappointed in every way. There is no "meat" to this book at all. The criteria for choosing your colors are pedestrian at best. The first three questions are: Which colors do you like best - stated in three different ways. There are no examples of people in your color family and by their criteria I could easily fit into two of the groups and with very little stretch...the third.

It's a very short book and the ideas are never fully supported. It could have been expanded and made much better. Save your money on this one. I'm keeping it...so I guess that says something, but there's better stuff available.

The only plus is they reference Pantone colors for each of the swatches so that you can get an actual, correct color (IF you own a color fan, which I do <grin> BUT unless you are in a job that utilizes it, the average person would not have access to nor choose to purchase this pricey piece of goods.)

If you are buying this to help you with a new wardrobe, save your money and go for the old CMB.

This is an updated version of the author's previous book called "Alive with Color" and it was helpful for me.

I was born a sunrise with white skin and dark hair but had my hair colored with blonde streaks on lighter brown hair recently. The sunrise color palette now seemed too bright or too dark for me so after taking the test in the book that determines your personal colors I found that the sunlight colors work best and I have received compliments when wearing them and changed to softer more natural makeup.

Leatrice Eiseman also explains how to wear your "signature" colors based on your hair, skin tone and eye color. My signature color scheme would be a beige and brown jacket to go with my streaked hair and a teal shirt to go with my hazel eyes and something as an accent in rose (or even rose blush and lipstick) to pick up my rosy light skin.

I have really enjoyed the tips in the book for looking your best but I only rated it a 4 because it was based on the author's previous book.

I rate this book high, because I found it to be a refreshing change from the cookie-cutter "Color Me Beautiful" formula. It's not only fun, but accurate!!!! So, if you're sick and tired of someone demanding that you're a "Winter" and better not color your hair red -- but you LOVE being a redhead - this book is for you. Not only does it show you how to look your best through color, but teaches how to safely cross those old fashioned seasonal boundaries of the 80's "Color Me Beautiful" rules.

As advertised, "More Alive With Color" makes it easy to find your, um, time of day. Of course it's easy: Eiseman's basic advice is, "If you're not a Sunrise or a Sunset, you're a Sunlight." This slap-dash, half-baked method makes sure you can categorize yourself, as long as you don't mind wearing colors that look hideous on you. Eiseman's method is just as limited as that of her primary target, Carole Jackson, the author of the original, "seasonal" color system, "Color Me Beautiful".

While some of us may look gorgeous in some warm and some cool colors, that is not true for all of us. When I wear the "fruit" colors (with the correspondingly toned makeup) that Eiseman claims will look so great on me, people (usually men) ask me if I'm feeling ill. Follow the advice in this book, and you may make some costly fashion blunders.

Many reviewers have mentioned the gorgeous photos in this book, and they're absolutely right; the book itself is stunning. But, if you want more than pretty pictures, look elsewhere. For the best advice on color, I'd suggest "Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best" by Mary Spillane and Christine Sherlock. The pictures may be outdated, the swatches unhelpful. But as long as you have the name of your expanded season, you can do an Internet search, and find places to buy fabric swatches from the expanded CMB system.

Leave "More Alive With Color" on the coffee table!

Leatrice Eiseman is a color consultant who has developed her own original 'color clock', explored in depth here in MORE ALIVE WITH COLOR: PERSONAL COLORS-PERSONAL STYLE. It goes far beyond how to apply makeup and coordinate clothing, surveying how a body's natural colors lend toward inclinations such as using pastels or natural colors reflecting sunrise, sunlight and sunset. Packed with color examples throughout - and not just your usual model displays - a page of lip colors displays lipstick examples at their best - MORE ALIVE WITH COLOR is a winner for any who would understand how color choice ultimately works.

Diane C. Donovan, Editor
California Bookwatch

More Alive With Color: Personal Colors-Personal Style By Leatrice Eiseman is the second book by the world-renowned color authority who helps people and businesses feel alive by choosing the right colors for their look and mood and for the image they want to create. In this book Ms. Eiseman has made it very simple and fascinating for every person, no matter what his or her skin color or nationality, to create their own very best looks. Instead of choosing colors by season, as was the classification in the Color Me Beautiful scheme years ago, the Colortime Pallettes are named by time of day: Sunrise, Sunlight, and Sunset. There are charts of these color pallettes and directions as to how to ascertain which is most beautiful for you. A chapter deals with color to fit your changing moods and various needs throughtout a day or a lifetime. By using your Colortime Pallette to create your wardrobe, it becomes easy to decide what to wear for each occasion and how to pack easily for business or pleasure because everything coordinates, saving you time and money. This book is a MUST for everyone who feels frumpy or who wants to make a good business impression, or who just wants to feel great about looking in the mirror