About Us
Christine is the owner of 12 Blueprints Personal Colour Analysis (PCA). She provides modern, accurate PCA training and services, and the resources for clients to become self-sufficient in choosing their best colours and updating their wardrobe and image. She also trains colour analysts to develop their own PCA businesses around the world.
She is the author of Return to Your Natural Colours (1st, 2nd ed.), Discerning our Natural Colours, and the 12 Blueprints blog. She also owns the 12 Blueprints cosmetic line and provides education, materials, and supplies for graduates of the colour analyst training courses. She resides in Prince Edward Island, Canada.
From interest to passion
For the first 45 years of my life, my approach to appearance was double-sided. In one way, I thought I looked fine, which meant looking similar to those around me. On the other hand, I was discouraged. Every hair colour was too warm and turned orange after two weeks, and I did not own one outfit in which I felt confident.
Having read about colour analysis in the 1980’s, I had a general sense of creating an image based on my natural colours. Every quiz placed me as an Autumn but I didn’t apply the colours to my choices because I didn’t know how. When I tried, results were hit-and-miss and I concluded that it only worked for some people or getting it to work me might be harder than it looked.
Colour analysis was temporarily forgotten, replaced with education, career, and family. In 1990, I arrived in Ontario with a doctorate in veterinary medicine. For the next 20 years, I was a practicing veterinarian, raising three children.
Appearance was not top of the list, but I have always loved makeup and been fascinated by the extent to which appearance speaks on our behalf. The problem was repeating buying patterns and only buying what I liked, with no idea of a better way. Plus, I looked like a teenager and couldn’t put together a single outfit I felt confident in wearing.
In 2005, I began a blog called A Greener Tea where I wrote about beauty, fitness, and life’s journey. Being on the Internet and writing about beauty brought colour analysis back into my life.
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A site called 12 Blueprints
It's now 2009 and I'm still writing about colour. I figured that I should be formally trained as a colour analyst. In researching PCA systems, none was convincing enough for the investment until I happened upon Sci\ART. The blend of Kathryn Kalisz's expertise in colour classification with her artist’s eye for colour harmony were the partnership that convinced me.
I was trained by Sci/ART analyst Terry Wildfong (www.yournaturaldesign.com) who taught me how objective and detailed a great colour analysis can be. My analysis result was Dark Winter, meaning that my colouring is derived from Winter colours with a smaller influence from Autumn.
Plain as day, I could see the improvement in my appearance. Once you’ve seen it, going back to random is harder than staying on track. I had a way to shop that was miles beyond buying what I liked.
The first week was unsteady. Some habits were easy to leave behind, recognizing them for the security blankets they were, and others took longer to let go. As I wrote about the journey, the colour category of the blog outweighed all the others. A Greener Tea was retired and 12 Blueprints appeared.
If you wonder where 12 Blueprints comes from, it refers to the 12 Seasons (or groups of natural colouring) and their colour palettes. Every person within a group is an individual in their appearance preferences but in terms of their colours, they share more than they differ. When you have your palette of colours, you have the blueprint to build a wardrobe in colours that look better on you than any others, whichever style you prefer.
Purpose
With every purchase, the value of PCA was becoming more obvious. This method worked for me from Day 1 in my real life and would clearly work for anybody who knew their own colours. The new makeup looked right and I could put outfits together for any occasion in colours I knew to be flattering. My perception of how colour relates to me will continue to improve because I was finally on the right track.
The mission of 12 Blueprints grew from these experiences, which is to help you apply your palette colours to your best effect, in every item of apparel that you wear, including your makeup and hair colour. I had found a way to improve my presentation and self-esteem in the real world, with a healthy and self-respecting approach to appearance. Then and now, I want the same for you.
Teaching, Resources, and a Store
Once the first edition of Return to Your Natural Colours appeared in 2012, I received many requests to teach PCA. The Test and Luxury drape collections were created for the growing community of colour analysts.
I left veterinary medicine in 2014 to concentrate fully on the colour enterprise, improving existing products and adding more. Season-coloured cosmetics were added a few years later in an online shop.
Today 12 Blueprints has grown into a platform for analysts and individuals to access more information about the Seasons, with the second edition of the book released in 2018. Shopping guides, products, and other tools are now available for clients and students.
The 12 Blueprints Shop
Welcome to a store dedicated to your colours.
With personal colour analysis (PCA), you will know which of the 12 Season palettes contains the same colours that are in you right now. Your days of wondering which colours to buy in clothes, makeup, and hair colour will be over. With the Season-specific products in this store, you don't have to go looking for your colours any more. They just found you.
I want you to know that by starting with your own colours, you have another way to shop, a smarter way to spend your appearance dollars, and an immediate reward of clothing and cosmetics that look like they were made for each other and for you. The 12 Blueprints Store brings you closer to an appearance goal that I set for myself: looking like the best possible version of me.
Specifications for the cosmetics include:
No animal testing at any stage. Paraben and fragrance free.
Made in Canada from start to finish, not just assembled in Canada.
Triple milled. Matte powders feel like creams. Shimmer products, which require a more loosely pressed product, are soft and blendable.
Please note: The line is not certified as vegan or gluten free. One of the manufacturer's foundations contains wheat germ and may be sourced from the same laboratory. Cross contamination is possible even though an ingredient list might not specify wheat-derived products. Ingredient lists are here.