Category Archives: Uncategorized

Colour, Men, Uncategorized, Wardrobe, Women

How to Wear Colour Schemes Effectively

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Throughout history, clothing colour combinations have been made more complicated than they need to be because fashion has always dictated what we should wear. However one of the nicest things about being a certified image consultant is that I get the privilege of showing my clients what colours look great with their colouring and what they should wear based on their personality, body shape and goals. Instead of focusing strictly on fashion, they are shown how to dress to look their personal best with colour.

In general there are two types of colour schemes – related colour combinations and contrasted colour combinations.

Related combinations are colour schemes where the colours have something in common. An example of this is an analogous colour scheme, where colours are side by side on a colour wheel. Monochromatic colour combinations are another related colour scheme. These colour combinations refer to colours that are made from the same base colour. The colour is altered by toning with grey, adding black, white or a small amount of another colour. When these colours are worn together they appear tone on tone.

Contrasting colour schemes are colours that have nothing in common. They are on different sides of a colour wheel. When side by side they draw attention to each other and stand out. Complementary colour schemes are the most contrasting. Complimentary colour schemes are when the colours are exact opposite to each other on a colour wheel. For example: red and green; blue and orange; violet and yellow; another example of a contrasting scheme is using three colours all equal distance apart on a colour wheel. An example of this is would be wearing red, yellow and blue together in a combination.

To look more elegant, softer, more approachable or harmonious opt for related colour combinations. To appear more dynamic, fun or energetic dress in contrasting combinations.

I highly recommend playing with colour and creating your own colour schemes with a box of Crayola crayons or paints. Find the combinations that interest your personality and suit your colouring. Incorporate them into your wardrobe and the way you dress.

Men, Uncategorized, Wardrobe, Women

13 Packing Tips to Make Unpacking Easier

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Looking great, while living out of a suitcase, is definitely not easy. You will find that your clothing tends to wrinkle and it is usually impossible to pack enough outfits to wear without having to find a Laundromat if your trip is more than a few days. For many women and men, deciding what to pack to look good while traveling is a huge challenge.

Below you will find tips for packing to look great while you travel. Follow these tips and you won’t have to lug three suitcases with you. Looking great while on the road does not have to be difficult at all.

Avoid Pure Cotton
Cotton wrinkles rapidly and it is probably one of the worst fabrics to pack when traveling. Instead, look for clothing that is either supposed to be wrinkled (think crinkle fabric) or that is wrinkle-resistant. There are several brands of clothing that are specially designed not to need ironing and these work very well for travel.

Use Accessories to Dress up or Down
As I mentioned in my previous post, ‘Packing Light for the Stylish Traveller’, before by changing accessories you can take an outfit from one activity to another or change your look from daytime to evening. Save space by packing basic clothing styles in neutral colours. Using accessories is an easy way to alter your appearance.

Give it a Roll
A good way to pack your clothing is to roll it, rather than fold it. Roll garments in tissue, plastic or a thin towel if they are likely to wrinkle. This helps to eliminate lines and creases and helps keep clothes nice and smooth.

Keep Garments looking Great with Plastic
Covering garments in a clear plastic dry cleaning bag before hanging them in a garment bag will help to prevent wrinkling.

Roll ties and belts.
This will stop them from getting crushed during transport.

Fill the Gaps
Socks and underwear can be stuffed into shoes. This will save space while keeping your shoes from getting crushed. These items can also fill in gaps around bigger items and prevent them from moving around.

Use Space Saver Bags
This idea works well for wrinkle free fabrics. By removing the air you will get a lot more into your suitcase. Test the fabric of your garment before you try this unless you are planning to bring an iron.

Use Travel Sizes
By transferring toiletries into travel size containers you will save space and weight in you suitcase.

Limit the Shoes
Shoes weigh a lot and take up precious space. Limit your shoes to neutrals and metallic’s. They will be easier to coordinate with your clothing. Stick to comfortable, basic styles that can be worn for different kinds of activities.

Protect with Plastic
When travelling use plastic bags to protect your clothing from your shoes and toiletries. Ziploc bags work particularly well and keep your items sealed and visible. Use a kitchen garbage bag for dirty laundry.

Leave the Blow-Dryer at Home
Most hotels and resorts now have blow-dryers in the rooms. Check ahead to be sure.

Swap Clothing
No I don’t mean share clothing, although if you have laundry facilities, the idea does have possibilities. What I mean is, if you are travelling with family pack an outfit in each others’ suitcase. If swapping clothes is not an option, carry-on a complete outfit.  Just in case you and your luggage don’t arrive together.

Unpack Immediately
When you arrive, unpack immediately and hang up hanging garments. If they are wrinkled, hang them in a steamy bathroom for a short while and then let them cool in a closet.

If you have a packing tip or any questions about packing for travel, I would love to hear from you.

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Look Younger, Make up, Uncategorized

How to Apply Make-up to Look Younger – Part 2

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Although good skincare and foundation and concealer applied properly will make you look younger, it does more than that. It will create the perfect canvas for your masterpiece. Try the following for a younger looking you…

Keep eyebrows groomed. Nicely shaped eyebrows will open the eyes and automatically give a more youthful look. For a more defined look use an eyebrow pencil. Match the colour as closely as possible to your hair colour or use a slightly lighter colour. If the hair is grey use a soft grey pencil.

As we age, our skin tone, hair colour and eye colour tend to soften. This can cause dark and bright colours and combinations with a strong dark/ light contrast to appear harsh on our skin, making us look older. If this is the case, try colours that are slightly softer and more muted instead for a more youthful look. Avoid using dark colours on areas that appear overly sunken.

Neutral eye shadow colours tend to be easier to wear. Be careful with extremely dark colours. Avoid frosted eye shadows on crêpe areas.

Give your eyes a more open look by curling your eyelashes.

Applying mascara can be a nightmare when you can’t see. Use a magnifying mirror at eye level or higher. When applying mascara on your upper lashes lift your head slightly. This will cause your lashes to lower slightly making it easier to apply your mascara on your upper lashes. Focus on the mirror rather than trying to look at the brush. With practice you will find it much easier to apply mascara.

If you have a double chin or want a stronger looking jaw line, sweep a matte brown shading powder under the jaw line.

Use blush without sheen on the cheekbones. Products with shine and or a frosted finish will enhance lines and wrinkles. For more prominent looking cheekbones, use a matte brown shading powder under the cheekbones.

If lips are aging try using a lipstick base. This will help to stop the colour from seeping into the lines it will also help stop feathering.

If lips are lined or wrinkled, avoid using a dark matte lipstick or a very frosted lipstick or shiny lip gloss all over the lips. Line lips with a lip pencil a more defined look.

For more make-up tips and application instruction see ‘Masterful Make-up in Minutes’

Uncategorized, Wardrobe, Women

4 Ways to Instantly Look Slimmer!

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This picture demonstrates 4 ways to look slimmer.

  • A non-descriptive print with no background can fool the eye, camouflaging the area. This print works particularly well. It forces the eye to look diagonally and vertically.
  • The crease up the centre of each leg on the pants creates vertical lines elongating and slimming the legs and body.
  • A broach draws attention, acting as a focal point close to the face and by-passing the figure challenges.
  • The tie on the shell creates a vertical line drawing the eye toward the face.
Etiquette, Uncategorized

Handshakes

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When meeting and greeting for the first time, be sincere, stick to the rules of etiquette and be sensitive to the person’s strength.

Make eye contact, smile and shake hands, repeating the person’s name in the greeting. For example:

  • “Hello Mary. It’s nice to meet you, I am …;
  • Or ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The most formal greeting would be

  • “How do you do, Mary, I am…” The reply to “How do you do.” is “How do you do.”

If you would like to meet someone, when approaching that person:

  1. Make eye contact and smile.
  2. Introduce yourself with your first and last name.
  3. Shake hands firmly, web to web. Lean into the handshake. Hands should be vertically parallel.  Shake hands 2-3 pumps.

This shows confidence and sincerity

Handshakes to avoid

  • The bone crusher – some people have no idea how strong their grip is.
  • The limp handshake (sometimes called the dead fish) – gives a non-confident wishy-washy impression.
  • The power grip (when someone grips with their hand on top) – in body language this indicates that the person perceives themselves as more important or is trying to get the upper hand.
  • Gabbing the finger tips sometimes very softly-  this can be a cultural difference not unusual on some Asian cultures – in western society we prefer a web to web handshake

These handshakes are a bit too friendly for business. You may be perceived as coming on too strong. Better to be saved for friends and family.

  • 2 handed handshake (when you cup both hands around the other persons hand) – is very nurturing and friendly.
  • Keep your hands to yourself. Avoid shaking hands while holding the other persons elbow or shoulder – too friendly for business

For another way to get a grip on your handshake watch the video on Living Vancouver with host, Jaeny Baik and Kimberly Law, AICI CIP. Click on Watch the Show in the top menu and then on It’s a Living in the right column.

Uncategorized

Hi There!

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Image really is everything… and companies are no exception!

I am really excited to announce that Personal Impact now has more Personal Impact with the launch our new Website and Blog.

Since starting Personal Impact in 1999, one of my goals has always been to make personal image knowledge easily obtainable for everyone. Because of this, one of the most important things for our new site was to have the ability to make even more personal image information easily available.

Our new resources page is loaded with image tips, articles and links in all media formats including audio, video and print.

Or try one of our Free Self-Assessments tools. This tool contains seven self-assessments on the following image topics: Personal Care, Makeup, Wardrobe, Business Dress, Manners & Etiquette, Dining Etiquette and Communication. Try one or all of them to find out if you have Personal Impact or which areas of your personal image need tweaking. Once you have determined which areas need some tweaking you can use the Free Self-Assessments as an action plan. Work on them yourself using the resources page, Image Matters articles or the future resources on our Blog described below. Visit the shop to find our how our Personal Impact Series of 8 special reports can help or contact us for a complimentary initial consultation to find out how we can help.

Along with our new website, I am especially excited about our new Blog. I have been looking forward to setting one up for quite a while and here it is… finally! I will be using this as a medium for sharing tips and information on image, fashion and etiquette.

I hope you will visit my website www.personalimpact.ca and comment frequently or you can sign-up for an RSS feed at Personal Impact Blog so you can be notified about our Blog posts right away.

If you find the information interesting please share it with your friends, family and social media sites.

I look forward to hearing from you. Please contact me if you have any questions, comments or if there are any topics you would like to hear more about.

Enjoy!

Kimberly