Trend grades date fast. The teal-and-orange films of a decade ago now read as a specific year rather than a specific mood.
We build grades from skin outward. Get skin honest, then decide how far the environment can drift from it.
Contrast carries more emotion than hue. A deep, clean black point does more work than any colour wheel move.
If a client watches the film in three years and does not think about the grade, the grade did its job.