Jo MacIntosh

"Can I get a Colour Analysis if I've been out in the sun and built a tan?"

The short answer is yes, absolutely. But I'm big on the education side of things, so here's why.

Your colour season is determined by your skin's undertone, and that's fixed regardless of how much tan you've built on your skin's surface.

Skin colour is produced by two types of melanin.

Eumelanin is the brown to black pigment that primarily determines how light or dark your skin appears, and gives you your tanning capacity (very fair people who burn quickly have lower eumelanin levels).

People with proportionally more eumelanin tend to go darker, but the actual colour of the tan is determined by pheomelanin.

Pheomelanin is the red to yellow pigment that dictates the temperature of your undertone.

So, when UV exposure triggers your melanocytes to produce more melanin, the qualities of that tan is shaped by the ratio between the two. People with higher pheomelanin levels tend to tan with a warmer, more orange or golden quality, instead of an "olive-y" or neutral-toned tan. Lower pheomelanin = cooler undertone, and likely a Winter or Summer.

If you've been holding off on booking your colour analysis for this reason, you really don't need to. DM me if you have any questions.

Style is more than what you wear.

It's KNOWING yourself.

And how you choose to show up, even on the days when confidence feels out of reach.

Your wardrobe can be an anchor, supporting real growth and self-trust. Especially when life feels busy or overwhelming.

Ready to explore how your style can help you feel more like yourself? Message me to start your journey.

Who are you? Seems like an easy question, but how can you quantify your identity or behaviour?

In my Personal Style Foundations Package, I use credible standardised assessments to understand who you actually are at your core. These tools are used in psychology and coaching to map out a framework of how you think, what you value, and how you show up in the world.

Once I understand your personality type, I translate that into your aesthetic. An ENFP might gravitate toward creative, eclectic style with unexpected details. An ISTJ might prefer structured, timeless pieces with clean lines. Your personality isn’t separate from your style. It’s the foundation of it.

You CAN dress in a way that actually reflects who you are. Clothes feel authentic because they’re built on real data about your personality, not on what trends say you should wear.

DM me if you’re ready to discover who you actually are, and dress accordingly.

The last ingredient of my cocktail of disorders came a year after my ADHD diagnosis: PMDD.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder isn't just "bad PMS." It’s a severe sensitivity to hormonal shifts that directly impacts my brain chemistry.

I learned that estrogen is essentially fuel for dopamine—it helps produce it, release it, and keeps the receptors active. Since my ADHD means my brain already struggles to maintain enough dopamine for focus and follow-through, the relationship between the two is huge.

When my estrogen levels bottom out in the luteal phase (around 10 days before my period), my dopamine levels go into withdrawal, basically causing me a physical loss of the chemical fuel I need to function.

For me, that means ADHD symptoms (brain fog, lack of motivation, task initiation, zero executive dysfunction) take over.

At the same time, the PMDD kicks in, making my brain hypersensitive to the shift. My patience thins and my ability to regulate my emotions is just switched off.

Learning that this is a chemical shift, and not a personal failure, has completely changed how I operate. The diagnosis gave me permission to stop fighting my own biology, and plan my life around hormonal changes.

If you’re in those hard weeks right now, be kind to yourself.

Ready to refresh your wardrobe for spring? You probably don't need to buy anything new, but assess what already works.

Most of us have hidden gems just waiting to be rediscovered. A simple capsule that incorporates your favourite pieces will help you feel your best, with zero decision fatigue.

Try it out yourself: pull 10-12 pieces you genuinely wear, check the fit, then build outfits from there.

Easy peasy, low-effort system you can actually use.

Want more guidance with tackling your wardrobe? DM me to chat!

ADHD in women often looks different than what people expect.

It's not always hyperactivity or inability to focus.
It's perfectionism masking as control.
It's anxiety that tells you you're not enough.
It's depression that shows up as "I just can't" when really it's "my brain is working so hard to keep up that there's nothing left."

For me, it's all of that, plus.

The inattentive type means my brain functions in these chaotically creative bursts of productivity and then slams into a wall.

I hyperfocus on shiny things that suddenly matter to me (or things that are totally irrelevant and useless) and entirely lose track of time. It means I developed complete alter egos so good at being fake-productive that nobody realised I was struggling.

I wish I'd known this is not laziness or lack of discipline. It's neurology: Low estrogen = already-short-supply of dopamine tanks = brain gets chemical withdrawal = zero motivation or emotional regulation

If you think you might have ADHD, trust your gut instinct and consider getting assessed. Your life might change the way mine did.

Send me a message if you want to chat about it. No judgment, just understanding.

Imposter syndrome deepens when your outward presentation doesn't match your true identity. Your nervous system registers the incongruence as a threat.

Strategic authenticity means understanding who you actually are, then dressing that version deliberately. You're not trying to fit a role. You're expressing the authority you already have.

Here's how: together, we work through a calm, consent-led process. I will identify your colour, your silhouette, and the nuances of your personality. After, you're no longer performing. You're self-expressing. That's how you embody authority instead of just performing it.

2016. I was first diagnosed with clinical depression, and it was a relief to label the weight I'd been carrying. With that diagnosis, suddenly what I'd been experiencing in silence was actually okay.

Six years later, I got another diagnosis: ADHD-inattentive type. And I had NO. IDEA. But both depression and anxiety are symptoms of ADHD and I, like many other late-diagnosed women, had been miss-labelled.

A year after that, I learned I also have PMDD. Turns out my brain isn't just dealing with a baseline dopamine deficiency; it's dealing with a dopamine system that gets HYPERsensitive to the cyclical fluctuations of estrogen. My brain basically goes through biological withdrawal of the exact chemical (estrogen) that my ADHD brain needs in order to function.

I'm sharing because May is Mental Health Awareness month, and I want you to know: if you've been struggling and haven't found answers yet, keep looking.

And if you're feeling alone in it, you're not. Human connection is crucial. Reach out to someone. Even if you don't think you need to. Even if you're not sure what to say.

If your wardrobe feels inconsistent, there’s usually a reason for it.

Most women are mixing pieces that don’t follow the same visual logic: different shapes, different colour depths, different overall energy.

In your Personal Style Foundations, we define that logic.

You’ll understand:
– which silhouettes actually suit your frame (not just your “body type”)
– which colours match your natural colouring, not just what you’re drawn to
– how much contrast your features can carry
– where your style sits between more structured vs softer, minimal vs expressive

Your wardrobe can be a toolkit for growth. If you’re ready to see yourself more clearly, DM me.