Welcome to the fourth edition of Behind The Drapes—your exclusive, all-access pass to everything going on behind the scenes at My Authentic Colors. This isn’t just about fashion; it’s about uncovering who you are and expressing that with confidence and joy. Whether you're a longtime color enthusiast or just beginning your style journey, I’m so glad you’re here.

🏡 Studio Updates

✨ GIFT CARDS NOW AVAILABLE! You can now purchase Gift Certificates on the website! Here’s some directions on how you can purchase Gift Certificates

Head to my website www.myauthenticcolors.com
Click on the Top Right Hand Corner and click on “Color Analysis Consultations”
Click on “Book an In-Person Color Analysis Consultation”
Scroll to the bottom where you will find Gift Certificates under “Products & Packages”

We only have Gift Certificates for the full amount of our Full 3 Hour and Mini (60) minute Color Analysis Consultations at this time.

✨ Scavenger Hunt! I just posted all of the details on Instagram. But I have 10 special business cards with my signature “MAC face” that I’ve hung in certain locations that I want you to look for. Here’s how it will work; every time you see one…

Take a selfie with my business cards with the “MAC face”
Post it on your feed or your stories on Instagram and make sure you use the hashtag #MACSCAVENGERHUNT” and tag My Authentic Colors on Instagram so we can see your post!
Each time you find me; you’ll have a chance to take 10.00 off an In-Person Color Analysis Consultation. The more you find me, the more money you’ll save off of your consultation! You could potentially save $100.00 off of my Consultations so you’re looking at a possible $200.00 total (regularly $300.00) for an In-Person Consultation which is the LOWEST we’ve ever discounted our services.

Once the scavenger hunt ends on June 9th, I will be sending those who participated in the scavenger hunt a DM with their special discount code, you will have until June 11th at 11:59 pm EST to book a consultation with your special code. When June 12th comes around, the codes disappear! If you have questions, email me at info@myauthenticcolors.com

✨ MINI Appointments: Did you know that I started offering 60-minute Consultations every Tuesday and Friday based on your requests? More time, more insights, more YOU.

Book Your 60 Minute Color Analysis Here

📅 Upcoming Events

Here’s where you can catch me next—and yes, I’m bringing the full-color energy:

🧖‍♀️ Amore Boutique Grand Opening
📍 Taunton, MA | 🗓️ June 6th | ⏰ 2PM–8PM

🧖‍♀️ Skin Spot Grand Opening
📍 Taunton, MA | 🗓️ June 7th | ⏰ 10AM–3PM

🧖‍♀️ Diversity Consignment
📍 Jamaica Plain, MA | 🗓️ June 14th | ⏰ 12PM–6PM

👗 Gloria & Co Pop-Up
📍 Marion, MA | 🗓️ June 20th | ⏰ 12PM–6PM

🧖‍♀️ Pretty Boutique MedSpa Grand Opening
📍 Westport, MA | 🗓️ June 21st | ⏰ 3PM–7PM

📚 Books & Bulldogs Market Pop-Up
📍 Norwood, MA | 🗓️ June 28th | ⏰ 10AM–5PM

🧖‍♀️ Summer Jam Pop Up at Westend Grill
📍 New Bedford, MA | 🗓️ July 12th | ⏰ 3PM–7PM

Community Perk: As part of my vibrant community, you can book a 30-minute Color Analysis Consultation for 20% off with a special discount code “BTD20”—for any of my 30-minute Color Analysis Pop-Ups! Physical Products included in my 3-hour Consultation are not included in my Mini Appointments and can be purchased separately.

Don’t miss your chance to get draped and dazzled at a discount!

Book Your Mini Color Analysis Here

Today’s Topic: My FULL Color Analysis Story.

For today’s topic, I wanted to give you the FULL, IN-DEPTH story on how I became a Color Analyst and Personal Stylist. If you’ve ever been to a consult of ours, we’ve shared a breif overview of my story on how I started this journey. I hope my story inspires you to either join me in the style world or to tap into the person you aspire to be. Buckle up, this story is lengthy!

You may or may not know this about me, but I’ve been a fitness professional since 2012—and I’m still very much in the game. I teach fitness classes regularly, travel for work in the fitness industry, and serve as a Master Trainer for multiple brands. I’ve had the honor of presenting at national fitness conferences, being featured in instructor video content, and pouring my energy into building strong, inclusive fitness communities. It’s been a huge part of my identity, and if you want to keep up with that side of me, you can always follow my personal/fitness journey over on Instagram at @mactiv8.

But when 2020 happened... yikes, right?

Like so many of us, I was completely shaken. Everything that had grounded me—my career, my community, my sense of purpose—suddenly felt uncertain. When the world shut down, it felt like a giant pause button had been hit on the life I had built with so much hustle and heart. When the gyms reopened again, it just wasn’t the same. The energy, the momentum, the joy I had worked so hard to cultivate over years… it felt like it had been wiped clean.

Not after a few weeks of the gym finally being reopened came the rumors of gyms possibly closing again. That’s when I looked at my partner and said, “I can’t do this yo-yo effect anymore. I need to find some sort of income—and fast.”

So what did I do next? I went on Indeed and started scrolling, looking for literally anything that could help me keep the lights on. Fitness wasn’t cutting it financially at the time, and let’s be real—I had bills to pay. That’s when I stumbled across a seasonal sales associate job at Macy’s.

Let me just say this: I had zero retail experience. I’d never worked a so-called “normal” job in my life. But something about working at the mall sounded… kind of fun? So I applied.

Two weeks later, I got an email from the general manager at Macy’s saying she’d seen my resume and wanted to schedule an interview. I was honestly surprised. We had a phone interview, and I was completely transparent—I told her I didn’t have any retail background but that I had years of customer service experience from the fitness industry. Thankfully, she saw the value in that, and we hit it off.

A few days later, I got the offer—and just like that, I was officially part of the Macy’s team.

My first day? Black Friday. 2020. IYKYK.

Let me just say this now: I have never had more respect for retail workers in my life. Working Black Friday in the middle of a pandemic was no joke. I worked primarily in the fragrance department from November 2020 through March 2021, and despite the chaos, I actually found myself really enjoying it.

There was something exciting about helping people find what made them feel confident—what smelled good, what looked good, what made them light up. Weirdly enough… I missed it when I left. I still miss it sometimes.

Here’s the full-circle twist: four years later, that same general manager reached out to me to do mini color analysis consultations at the very Macy’s location where I once sold perfume. How wild is that?

That experience, being back in the store but now using my own expertise, made me realize just how far I had come—and just how much I had grown. It also sparked something deeper in me. I wanted to explore this feeling more, this pull toward fashion, color, and personal style.

During my free time—especially in those uncertain months—I started binge-watching fashion and style content on YouTube. I’ve always loved expressing myself through color and clothes. If you’ve ever seen me in the gym or out in the wild, you know I’m not subtle with my clothing or color choices. Loud leggings, bold prints, unexpected color combos—I live for it.

But up until that point, it was just my outlet. My escape. The last thing I wanted to do after a day of fitness classes and social media deadlines was watch more fitness content. Fashion gave me a break. It was this beautiful contrast to my day-to-day grind—creative, expressive, personal.

In 2022, things seemed to pick back up in fitness. I had the opportunity to travel more, working with a well-known fitness organization doing their social media and presenting at conferences. On paper, I was living the dream. And for a while, I felt like I was on top of the world.

But the truth? I was overwhelmed.

I started falling into the trap of comparison—constantly measuring myself against other presenters, doubting my own abilities, questioning if I was even meant to be a leader in fitness anymore. I felt like an imposter in spaces I had worked so hard to earn a place in. The pressure to always be “on” was draining me. I hit a point where I was seriously considering quitting the industry entirely.

It was a full-on identity crisis.

So, for my mental health, I made a tough decision. While I was in Texas, I stepped away from working directly with that company. I still wanted to maintain the relationship and do other work with them (which I’m grateful I still get to do today), but I had to put me first.

Then 2023 rolled around.

I had good days, I had bad days. But underneath it all, I was struggling. I had checked off so many of the boxes I once dreamed about as a young fitness professional—presenting, traveling, being part of something bigger. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t satisfied anymore.

I didn’t want to manage a gym. Been there, done that.

I didn’t want to create a new format. Tried it—not my path.

It was like I had reached the summit of a mountain I had spent over a decade climbing… and I was just standing there thinking, Okay… now what? What else is going to fill my cup the way fitness has all of these years?

Then came the pivot I never saw coming: Color Analysis.

Sometime in 2023, my YouTube and Instagram algorithms must’ve been conspiring, because suddenly my feed was full of color analysis content. Not just once or twice—constantly. At first, I was intrigued. I clicked on a couple of videos just to see what the hype was about. And when I say I got hooked… I got hooked hard.

I’m talking hours of binge-watching the same videos on repeat, analyzing every before-and-after transformation, even falling asleep to people talking about undertones and drapes. It was wild. I mean, I kinda already knew what color analysis was—it rang a bell from the "Color Me Beautiful" era—but honestly? I thought it was kind of outdated.

But this new wave? It was modern, intentional, transformative.

After literal months of falling deeper down the rabbit hole, I finally thought, Okay, I need to experience this for myself.The problem? I couldn’t find anyone local offering the service. But then… a window opened.

I was in Salt Lake City to film for High Fitness On Demand as part of their big app relaunch—something I was super proud to be involved in. There was a chunk of downtime in my schedule, and I thought, This is it. If I’m going to try color analysis, now’s my chance.

So I did a quick Google search: “Color Analyst near Salt Lake City, Utah.” Sure enough, I found someone just a short drive from where I was staying. and I booked the appointment.

Let me tell you… that experience was nothing short of amazing!

I walked in not totally knowing what to expect, but from the moment the session started, I was completely immersed. I was energized, excited, and fully dialed in. It was like watching a whole new version of myself come to life in the mirror—one that had always been there but now made sense in full color.

Here’s the wild part: my instincts had been right all along. The colors I had naturally gravitated toward—vibrant, bold, unapologetic—those were my colors. Turns out, I had been living in alignment with my season without even knowing it. One of my WOW colors? Hot pink. A color I’ve always loved. A color that’s always felt like me.

That moment was liberating. It gave me language for something I had always intuitively known but couldn’t explain. And the minute I left that appointment, I started telling everyone I knew about it.

After my appointment, I couldn’t shut up about it. I was annoying my partner, my friends, my students—basically anyonewho would listen. I was so excited, I couldn’t help myself. And then, one night, a small but powerful voice that I hadn’t heard in a long time whispered something to me.

The same voice that once told me, “You should teach fitness classes.”

This time, it said:
“Why the hell aren’t you doing this?”

That was it. The spark. The call. And just like that, I told my partner what I was thinking—and of course, in true supportive fashion, he said, “Go for it.”

So I did.

I started researching color analysis certifications, thinking I’d just jump into a course and be on my way. But OMG. I had no idea how expensive the training could be. Some programs were asking $13,000 to over $20,000 just to get certified. And I was like… yeah, that’s not happening. I didn’t have that kind of money sitting around.

But I also knew that voice inside me wasn’t lying. This wasn’t a passing interest—it was something that truly lit me up. So I kept searching.

Then one night, I remembered someone who popped up on my For You Page all the time: Christie Ressel of Fashion Translated. I had watched her YouTube videos and always thought she seemed so cool and down-to-earth. I remembered her mentioning color analysis training in one of her videos and thought, Maybe she offers a course now?

So I checked out her website.

Sure enough—she had limited spots left for her certification program. I signed up that summer and went through the training with so much excitement and curiosity. And when it was all said and done, I passed with flying colors. Literally.

Then came the big question: Now what?

It’s not like I was going to show up at the gym and say, “Okay team, let’s squat… and now let’s talk undertones!” I had this amazing new certification, but no idea where or how to start using it in real life. I looked around at local spaces, salons, studios… but nothing felt like the right fit.

Until one day, I saw an ad for a brand-new salon opening just a mile from my apartment. Something told me to check it out. I met with the owners on a Saturday, and instantly loved the vibe. It felt right. I went home that night, talked it over with my partner, and said, “I’m going to do this.”

And on August 13th, 2024—my 31st birthday—I signed the lease.

That day, I did the biggest “big boy” thing I’ve ever done:
I opened my own color analysis business.
I called it My Authentic Colors. Fun fact, the original name was going to be “The SouthCoast Stylist” but I have a video on Instagram that you can watch all about that because this blog is already getting longer than it has too. LOL

It took time, energy, money, and a whole lot of hustle to turn that blank space into what it is today. But I did it. And on January 11th, 2025, I officially opened the doors.

Since opening the doors to My Authentic Colors, it’s been a whirlwind—in the very best way.

In just a short amount of time, I’ve had the absolute honor of serving over 100 incredible clients, each with their own unique story, style, and self-expression. I’ve become a proud sponsor for the Miss New Bedford and Miss Southeastern MA Organization, helping these amazing young women step into their power with confidence and color. And—this one still blows my mind—I was even scouted to work under a famous stylist. I didn’t land the job (not this time!), but the fact that I was on their radar? That’s a win in my book.

Every step of this journey has been proof that when you follow that little voice inside you—the one that nudges, whispers, and sometimes screams—you find something real. Something fulfilling. Something that’s yours.

I may be a newbie in the style game, but this is only the beginning. There’s so much more to come—more growth, more color, more connection—and I want you to be a part of it. Whether you’ve been with me since the fitness days or are just joining the journey now… thank you. Let’s keep evolving, together.

Because finding your authentic colors? It’s not just about what you wear.
It’s about who you are.

💖 Things I’m Loving (And... Not So Much)

Welcome to Loving vs. Not Loving — your weekly scroll through the swoon-worthy and the cringe. This week, I’m serving up a mood board of what caught my eye (and my heart)... and what made me roll said eyes. Let’s dive in.

Loving right now:

Puerto Rican Coffee
I recently went to a friend’s birthday and was craving a cup of coffee with the dessert. I WISH I figured out the name of the brand of coffee they used but OMG it was so good! If I find out what it is, I’ll talk about it next week.

Barrel Leg Jeans
I have been wanting to try the Barrel Leg Jean for quite some time now. Do I think they’re more of a trendy jean? Yes. Will it stay as a current silhouette for many years? No. Is it part of my personality style and will get use out of it beyond the trend? Yes. Remember this, friends: your style is, first and foremost, authentic to who you are. It’s not about chasing trends or fitting into someone else’s mold—it’s about expressing your story, your energy, and your unique perspective. Whether it’s bold and eclectic or simple and understated, true style starts with self-trust.

Headphones with a Cord
Unpopular opinion, I LOVE the quality of headphones when they have a cord. I think they last longer than something like an AirPod.

Not vibing with:

The Men’s Section of Major Retail Establishments.
The men’s section in traditional mall brands is BORING AS HELL! Seriously, in every single traditional retail store that I walk into, I see ALL the colors, prints, textures, and vibrancy in the women’s section. Brands go all in when designing collections for their female customer base; but what about the men? Men also deserve the same attention to their clothes just as much as women do. Do brands think men never want to express themselves through color? If you’re going to spend all this time and money designing collections for women, the men should also be considered. At least the same colors please and thank you.

The Daffodil Field in Dartmouth, MA
It’s pretty and all, but WHY do we obsess over this TINY…yes TINY field of daffodils? Is it just for the gram? Did some influencer on TikTok hype this place up? There are way better spots in my personal opinion where you can go see flowers and take pictures.

Rats roaming New Bedford
I know, I know… You can’t escape your feed without news outlets talking about the damn rats that have taken over. But can we stop announcing this news every 5 minutes? We get it. There are rats in our city, let’s shift our focus on to more important issues in our city. I hate rats too soooo…..there’s that.

🎨 The Color Connection

This week, I’m kicking off a new series: a deep dive into every color of the rainbow, starting with one of the boldest and most universal hues—red. While red might seem intimidating, here’s the secret: everyone can wear red. That’s because a true red—one without the influence of yellow or blue— is beautifully balanced and wearable across all seasonal palettes. Much better than everybody wearing Black or Beige honestly.

Of course, not all reds are created equal. Whether you’re a Cool Winter, a Warm Autumn, a Bright Spring, a Soft Summer, or any of the True seasons, there’s a version of red that enhances your natural coloring. Throughout this series, I’ll be breaking down how each season (and flow) can find its perfect red—from blue-based cranberries to warm tomato reds and soft rose tones.

Let’s start with red—and reframe it not as a "statement color," but as a signature color waiting to be claimed.

🎨 Color Theory: Red

Primary Color:
This means it cannot be created by mixing other colors and serves as a foundational hue for mixing others.
Warm Color:
Red belongs to the warm side of the color spectrum, associated with energy, heat, and movement.
Color Temperature:
It has a high color temperature, making it feel intense and closer to the viewer in visual compositions.
Complementary Color:
The complement of red is green. This contrast is often used to create visual tension and balance in design.
Tints and Shades:
- Tint (Red + White): Produces pinks, associated with romance or softness.
- Shade (Red + Black): Produces deep maroons or burgundies, often linked to luxury or power.
- Tone (Red + Gray): Produces soft, tonal, muted reds, often associated with calmness and serenity

🧠 Psychology of the Color Red

Red evokes strong emotional and physiological responses:

Emotional Associations:
- Passion & Love: Often linked to romance, intimacy, and desire (think Valentine's Day).
- Anger & Aggression: Red is also a color of rage, danger, and conflict.
- Urgency: Frequently used in warning signs and emergency notifications.
Physiological Effects:
- Raises Heart Rate & Blood Pressure.
- Increases respiration rate and can even trigger the "fight or flight" response.
Cultural Significance:
- Western Cultures: Associated with love, passion, danger, and importance.
- Eastern Cultures (e.g., China): Red symbolizes luck, prosperity, and celebration (especially at weddings and festivals).
- India: Red is connected to marriage, purity, and fertility.
Color in Marketing & Branding:
- Often used to attract attention (e.g., clearance sales, “Buy Now” buttons).
- Common in fast food branding (e.g., McDonald’s, KFC, Coca-Cola) to stimulate appetite and energy.

Now that we have an understanding of Red, what is every season’s best red? Here are some examples we have down below for each of the 10 seasons.

True Winter: Cherry Red
True Summer: Strawberry Red
True Spring: Coral Red
True Autumn: Chilli Red

Warm Palettes (Spring/Autumn): Fire Engine Red
Cool Palettes (Summer/Winter): Burgundy Red
Light Palettes (Summer/Spring): Watermelon Red
Deep Palettes (Autumn/Winter): Blood Red Bright Palettes (Winter/Spring): Poppy Red Soft Palettes (Summer/Autumn): Apple Red

💸 Discount of the Week

No Special Discount this week. Go out and do the scavenger hunt we posted about on our feed! You can earn up to $100.00 off your consultation, the BIGGEST discount we have ever done!

Book Your Color Analysis Here

💌 Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

Thanks for spending time Behind The Drapes. I’ve got so much more in store, and I want your input! Do you have a burning-style question? A favorite color combo? A topic you’d love me to cover next? Email me your ideas at info@myauthenticcolors.com—I’m all ears (and full spectrum lighting).

If you haven’t followed me on Instagram yet, this is where I hang out the most! I’m pretty cool on there if I say so myself.