Meet Hélène, an expert in the art of colorimetry

Why does color play such an important role in our collections? Color is a unifying element in India, a country of diverse landscapes, beliefs and peoples. Color brings people together with emotions that outweigh all differences.

Shiny gold thread intermingled with rainbow color sarees, deep shades of green on every blade of grass as it reacts to the lush Assam monsoon, the rising mist that adds mystery to every sunrise, shifting river islands of the Brahmaputra, India's second largest river : these colors and contrasts form the DNA of our collections.

Parisian color expert Hélène's work fascinates and inspires us. Expert in the art of colorimetry, Hélène brings color into people's lives. Discover her journey and her passion below :

Hélène, tell us about your background

I'm an expert in color and colorimetry. I help people find the colors that suit them. I work with companies as a color consultant by creating color palettes, training teams in colorimetry, team-building, and hosting master classes (for example, a master class for the VIOLETTE_FR pop-up at Le Bon Marché).

Prior to setting up my freelance activity, I worked for 20 years in Parisian advertising agencies, helping major luxury brands in their communications. I spent two years as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Please magazine, a fashion magazine with an ultra-colorful art direction. These experiences gave me an eye for the importance of color in terms of the message and the image a brand wants to project.

Covid gave me an opportunity for introspection: I felt the need to evolve and bring myself closer to people. What if I finally started a freelance activity that really suited me? What if I quit a salaried job after 20 years to set up my own business and launch an innovative coaching offer ? What if my idea worked?

After some thought, I decided to train as an image consultant. During a colorimetry classes I had a revelation: unlocking the mystery of colors, their harmonies and their messages, was what made me really and truly happy!

@nos.renaissances

So I specialized in color, and more specifically in color painting and the creation of fully customized fabric charts (I have a pattern library of over 200 colors). I have created a unique and innovative offer, the "Color Energy Workshop" coaching, to help people in search of alignment, to discover colors that match and enhance their personality. I teach people to choose colors that harmoniously complement their facial tone, boost energy and give them a healthy glow and self-confidence. Colorimetry is a wonderful personal development tool, still largely unknown in France.

I launched my Instagram account @nos.renaissances where I share tips and show my curated color charts. It was an instant success. Women want to feel inner harmony and alignment and regain their self-confidence after two years of Covid. They wish to feel good about their image! They are aware that color plays an important role and want to wear color, but don't know how to approach it. They also want to declutter their wardrobes, buy less but better, and make fewer purchasing mistakes. I point out and paint the colors of my client's faces and create made-to-measure color for each of them: this really appeals to them.

Atelier Chardon Savard fashion school spotted my Instagram account and asked me to teach colorimetry classes. I had always dreamed of being a teacher and my life came full circle! Soon afterwards, Elle magazine asked me to host a masterclass on colorimetry at the Elle Active event in November, and published an interview with me. Madame Figaro used my Instagram posts to illustrate two articles on colorimetry. I see this as a sign that the study of color has tremendous potential in France.

How did color come into your life?

There were a few artists in my family : my mother, an uncle and two aunts who had studied fine art. I guess that subconsciously influenced me. But pictorial art seemed inaccessible to me. And like all women, I made a lot of mistakes with colors. For years, I gave myself golden-blonde highlights to prolong my childhood blondness, without understanding that it made me look awful! I spent 15 years telling myself I lacked radiance and had a dull complexion. Then I discovered during my Image Consultancy training that I was "winter" in colorimetry, and that golden blond was totally out of my palette: too warm and too light. I stopped bleaching my hair, got back my ash brown shade and a fresh complexion. I rediscovered my eye color, which had been dulled by the blond, and I dressed in my color palette, which gave me a unique style and a visual signature.

Before training as an image consultant, I found color mysterious and frustrating. Now I approach color not as an artist, trying to create something that matches my vision, but to help people and brands. Color is everywhere in my life: I dress in color, I have fun with my make-up, which is never neutral, I don't question my decorating choices (a month ago, I repainted my stairwell in midnight blue without hesitation, and I love it).

@nos.renaissances

How do you determine a person's colorimetry?

Colors are energies: we all have unique colors in our face that vibrate at certain frequencies. When we wear colors that have the same characteristics as the colors in our face, that are in harmony, we reinforce our energy and feel good. And conversely, when we wear colors that are not in harmony with our facial colors, we dampen our energy.

So I start with the person's natural colors. I paint the colors of their face, eyes, hair, skin and lips. It's a first palette, with the person at the center. I also observe the energy the person exudes. Then I complete this first palette with colors that harmonize with those of the person's face and personality, using the draping technique. By placing colored fabrics under the face, a reflection is created that has positive or negative effects: a healthy glow, a fresh, rested complexion, more charisma, stronger eye and mouth colors, or, on the contrary, a dull, tired complexion, dull eyes, accentuated dark circles, and so on. It's a collaborative process: I don't impose anything, I guide and advise. The person tries on dozens of fabrics. This personalized color chart allows her to choose the colors of her clothes, hair, make-up, accessories and even home decor!

@nos.renaissances

How important is color when it comes to interior design?

For me, it's essential. If you think of your home as an extension of yourself, you have to feel good in it, and it has to look like you. And no one, with rare exceptions, can live in a totally monochrome interior. Color is everywhere in nature, and as good mammals , we have a vital need for color: blues like the sky and sea, greens like plants, yellows like the sun, browns like wood, and all the colors of flowers, sunrises and sunsets, whose nuances are infinite. So for me, the question isn't "Is color important in interior design?" but rather "Which colors should you choose for your home?", which colors will you live with harmoniously and sustainably?

How do you imagine the color of a room?

I think that the less "interesting" a room is, the more it needs color to give it personality: entryways, corridors, landings, stairwells, for example. You can reinforce the cocoon effect with dark walls, which will create an airlock and accentuate the brightness of the other rooms.

When you know your colors and you've done a colorimetric test, it's easier: the colors that suit you are the same when it comes to decorating. The difference is that, when decorating, you can mix warm and cool colors: an interior in warm colors alone would be too energizing, and with cool colors alone, too soothing. You need a bit of yin and yang, a balance, it's more lively. As I'm a winter person (I need cold, intense and rather dark colors), all the paint colors in my home are cold or neutral-cold, so all the colors on the walls, and in the decor in general, are in harmony with each other, but I have honey-colored parquet flooring, warm wooden furniture, terracotta pots, golden mirrors and ochre bath towels to warm things up. And conversely, if all your walls and decor are in warm colors, it's nice to throw in a few cool colors to balance things out: silver candlesticks, steel fixtures, touches of black or cool blue, for example.

I'm wary of trendy colors and fashions: we sometimes adopt a color because we see it everywhere and think it's beautiful, but that doesn't mean we're going to live well with it. It's like with clothes: you don't feel good in every color, even if you think they're all beautiful. When it comes to decorating, a color that doesn't really suit you can quickly become boring or overpowering. Hence the importance of getting to know yourself: mistakes are part of the self-knowledge process, but we save time, and money, when we already know what suits us and makes us happy.

@nos.renaissances

How do you match the color of a room with textile pieces?

I'm looking for harmony in everything, so I like textiles to fit naturally into a room. But harmonious doesn't mean boring: you can create complementary harmonies that add pizzazz (pink and green, camel and blue, or beige and petrol blue, for example), analogous harmonies that give an elegant look (beige, brown and rust, or blue-green, sage green, khaki and gold, the possibilities are endless), or use the color of textiles as a punctuation mark in a room with neutral colors. It all depends on what you're looking for and what you like. It's just a question of knowing which shade of each color to choose to create these harmonies: there are warm and cool pinks, and the same goes for almost every color. Textiles are a playful and highly effective way of bringing color into a room. It's also easier to change cushions or tablecloths than to have an entire room repainted.

What's the first color rule for decorating a house/apartment?

Everything starts from the beginning: if you feel better in warm, light, cheerful, sparkling colors (Spring palette), it makes no sense to have an interior with lots of black, dark colors, white and contrast. It won't really feel like home. And conversely, if your colors are rather cool and soft (Summer palette), a décor in rich, spicy, deep colors, in a baroque and busy style, will be out of place. For me, it's essential to have a common thread that runs deep within us, an overall vision and a coherent color palette, so that each room leads naturally to the next. This harmony enlarges the space and adds to its chic.

@nos.renaissances

Your favourite Jamini color? Why

I have two: forest green, dark and cool, and cool pink, intense. I bought a tea towel in these tones and an Indian miniature in the store, and it was when I got home that I realized that the two go so well together, that I'm going to use the printed tea towel to frame the miniature. That's the advantage of knowing yourself and your colors: everything goes with everything, including decorating.

Jamini's colors are rich and varied, with character and personality. I love Usha's talent as a colorist and her sense of design: her pieces, all handmade, are very chic and contemporary.

More inspiration about our handmade products on ourwebsite.