Cassandra is an impressive woman who is intelligent, funny, and compassionate. She loves learning, is analytical, and is also process oriented. So PCA is a perfect fit. Her desire to help women is one shared by many analysts. However, why and how she wants to help and reach out to them comes from a very deep place. Here is her story…..

I’d like to say my color journey has been the same as everyone else’s – and perhaps it has. It certainly seems that way on the surface. When I was barely an adult, a coworker of mine had a color fan with pieces of fabric glued to it and explained to me they were “her colors” and told me how she got them and how she used them. Years later I remembered this and had mine done too. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t immediately look better. Thinking I had it sorted, I went on my merry way until some group or another brought colors by seasons into it. Finally understanding why my step-mother kept saying “you’re an Autumn, right?” [definitely not], I began to look into it further. I mean, I HAD my colors and no seasons were involved, so what was this? I went down the traditional spiral exploring all the color groups and methods for years and swimming in those waters. I had my colors done again in other systems and none of them looked like the original fan, save they were all more intense that I was living before. I drifted through the systems before deciding it’s really about picking one that makes sense to you and sticking to it.

I chose this one because you get to look in the mirror the whole time and watch the results with your own eyes. Seeing is believing. I considered becoming an analyst with this system in 2014 and seriously judged my finances, but another (very talented) analyst opened shop in the next neighborhood and I let it go. I recently moved to Albuquerque and noticed there were no analysts in the area and had another bout of inspiration; but let’s just back up here.

Didn’t I say this wasn’t the same story? Then I proceeded to tell you the same story, right?

Right.

Here’s the part I skipped. The part I didn’t tell. The part I never tell. Sometimes being seen for who you really are is scary.

At some point between seeing my coworker with “her colors” and getting my own, I developed major depressive disorder and was later also diagnosed with PTSD. It’s difficult trying to explain to an audience who presumably does not have these disorders how debilitating they really are. I’ll skip the gritty details, but imagine trying to explore the world of color and inspiration when all you can see is gray and the void. Also imagine you’re carrying an extra 100 lbs. on your shoulders; you’re perpetually exhausted, and you are torn between wanting to look your radiant best and not wanting to be seen at all. How can you present your best to the world? What if you don’t know who you really are anymore?

I’m not going to tell you my color journey saved my life or kept me going on the worst of days, but I’m not saying that it hasn’t.  And what I really want to do is help other women remember who they really are. To help other women get back on their feet and say, “Yes, I can do this!” To see that spark of confidence in their eyes and know I can help fuel that fire and let them be their best.

And every time I do a client’s makeup, turn their chair toward the mirror for the big reveal, and see the expression on their face, when they see how absolutely stunning they really are in the right colors… that’s the moment I remember what it’s like to be alive.