Want to stand out? Get your color groove on with The Gracious F

A friend of mine recently told me about a client she worked with: "You have to get to know Fatima Al Shirawi! There are synergies between you. Maybe you two could collaborate?"

A quick online research revealed: Fatima Al Shirawi is the proud owner of a multiple award-winning business. People also call her the leading Aesthetics Consultant in the Middle East. She specializes in color consulting, personal styling and Feng Shui - for both, individuals and corporates. That sounded interesting!

So I called Fatima, we met for a coffee and a few days later I found myself sitting in her beautiful office in Dubai Design District. The Aesthetics Consultant invited me to a 1,5h color consulting session in order to understand her work better. I decided to share this experience with you today, as it had a positive impact on my work. I have the feeling that things somehow flow better since we met.

The definition session in detail

The definition session was divided into four sections: A personality questionnaire, a gold or silver test, an eye color check and the color pallet test.

In the first bit, Fatima asked me all sorts of questions: From my favorite color and what accessories I like to wear, my characteristics as a child, my work to the way my dream villa looks like.

During the gold and silver test, Fatima placed a piece of gold on the inside of my underarm, then a piece of silver. The golden chain made my veins stick out and my skin pale. The Aesthetics Consultant and I came to the conclusion that wearing silver is more flattering for me.

In a third step, Fatima took an elegant, little magnifying glass and studied my eye color and iris. After that my favorite part began: The color pallet test.

I sat on a chair in front of a big mirror and was covered with a big neutral color coat. Fatima put a white patch of fabric on my cleavage next to my collarbone, then an off-white colored fabric. What happened? The white fabric made my lips turn pale, the spots underneath my eyes turned grey, the natural rouge on my cheeks disappeared. I looked tired and older. When Fatima changed to the off-white colored cloth, my face came back to life.

Lessons learned: I will never wear pure white clothes from now onwards. Fatima repeated this process with a few different colors and shades. Colors, which suit and which do not suit my type - to illustrate the power of the correctly chosen colors on me.

The end result

I am an autumn type with a touch of winter - which explains why I never wear anything flowery and avoid pastel colors. Both are characteristics of the summer resp. spring type.

What would happen after the first session, if I booked the whole package with the Aesthetics Consultant? After two, three days you will receive a personality report, a look book and a color kit that explains when and how to wear certain colors and fabrics. A follow-up meeting takes place after two weeks.

Furthermore Fatima will encourage you to write a journal. She wants you to reflect on what changes in your relationships and business if you wear clothes and fabrics according to your type.

Two powerful stories...

...Fatima shared to illustrate how her work can make a difference in your life: First example: One client told her that she dislikes big family gatherings she regularly gets invited to. She is always confronted with a lot of questions and prefers to stay in the background. Fatima encouraged this woman to wear grey for the next family get-together. The client texted her during the same evening stating "...it is as if I disappeared. Nobody really pays attention to me. I love it!"

Example two: A lawyer wanted her audience to interact with her and to ask many questions after her talk. So the Aesthetics Consultant suggested to play with the color turquois in the speaker's outfit. Guess the outcome? The client was almost overwhelmed by the curiosity of her audience....

How to get in touch

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If you want to experience Fatima's art in person, you can book your session here.