Color analysis refers to finding out what colors look best on you, and it’s currently an internet sensation on TikTok. People will pay hundreds of dollars to find out their “true colors,” but is it worth the money? Moreover, does this trend restrict what you feel you can wear?
For those who don’t know, a color analysis has four color palettes that correspond with four seasons: winter, autumn, spring, and summer. These categories expand further when referring to one’s skin tone. From there, we also get light, dark, soft, true, cool, warm, and bright. What category you best fall under is based on your skin tone, hair color, and eye color. How light or deep your hair and the overall color tones of your face also play a big role in what season you fall under.
Winters have a cool undertone with deep tones in either their eye or hair coloring. Moreover, autumns have a warm golden undertone with an overall deep coloring and a low contrast between their hair and eyes. Similarly, springs also have a warm undertone, but they have the lightest coloring in their skin tone, eyes, and hair color. Lastly, summers have a cool undertone but with a low contrast between their eyes and hair color.
This trend first started in the 1980s with the publication Color Me Beautiful by color consultant Carole Jackson. She was the first to divide people into seasons based on their skin tone, eye, and hair color. She gathered her seasonal color theory based on studies of Swiss colorist and artist Johannes Itten. It eventually became a popular household practice to analyze what color best suits someone.
A color analysis consultation
What generally happens at a color analysis consultation is they place a white sheet on you for a neutral base. Color swatch fabrics are then placed on top of this sheet near your face. Warm and cool tones of the same color are placed on top of each other. You and your consultant switch between looking at your face and the color to see which ones bring out your best features. Some factors include whether it brings out your skin tone, the color of your eyes, or your overall complexion.
Most color analysis consultation practices are actually based in South Korea. There are, however, a few spread out across the US. One such color analysis consultant located in the US with a major TikTok following is Tatum Gangi. Gangi is better known on TikTok as “The Color Analysis Queen.”
One’s experience at these consultations varies, especially depending on whether you get roasted or not. Some color analysis consultations go viral because the consultant is brutally honest. They will tell you they hate how some colors look on you or that they make you look bloated, etc.
The primary reason for a consult, however, is that a professional can definitively tell you what colors look best on you. There is no guesswork in deciphering what your personal color palette is or what season you fall into. These consultations, however, can range from $120 to up to $800 for one session.
How to do it yourself
For those who do not want to pay to determine what colors look best on them, there are ways to do it yourself. Online, there is a plethora of recommendations on how to find your season, ranging from simple to simply bizarre. One way to find out if you’re warm or cool-toned is to compare whether gold or silver jewelry looks best on you. Another easy test you can do is to assess whether you have a high or low contrast between the color of your facial features and your hair.
Some stranger suggestions are to look at the pattern of your eye to see how it can determine your season. Another tip is to look at the color of your veins. Blue or purple veins mean you have a cool undertone, while green and olive veins mean you have a warm undertone.
There are so many different filters on TikTok that claim to tell you which season you fall into. You can see below how to use one of the most popular TikTok filters from the creator, Miss Frizzle Art. This filter centers your face in an oval to see which color palette matches your facial features and skin tone the best.
It’s important to note that this creator corrected herself after posting this video. In the video, she claims she is a summer. However, after various comments and further analysis, she came to the conclusion that she is an autumn.
The theory behind why color analysis appeals to so many people is that it tells them more about themselves. These sorts of tests have always been attractive. From the 90s and 2000s magazine quizzes to the 2010s craze of BuzzFeed quizzes, we have always been interested in looking deeper into ourselves. Color analysis is much more appealing because it gives you specific insights into your appearance. Color analysis can also be attractive, especially since color-saturated makeup looks are coming back into style, making color analysis a very useful tool.
Is a color analysis worth it?
A color analysis lets you know what colors enhance your features best. The benefit of paying for a color analysis is that you will know without a doubt what season you are. A consultation also gives you a specific palette of colors that best fit you. If you try to use filters online to find your season, you will only get the generic color palette that comes with the season. You can also do your own color analysis even by taking a look inside your closet and seeing which colors suit you best.
There are some important considerations that you should make before doing a color analysis. The first is that you might take up a bias against certain colors and clothes you would otherwise want to wear. You should seriously consider whether you will ever look at colors the same again after finding out your “best colors.” Some girls who’ve undergone color analysis have reported how they cannot wear their favorite color anymore because it doesn’t fit within their color palette.
Another consideration is whether a color analysis is even worth it in the end. Does wearing a color that doesn’t perfectly complement your skin tone mean that it’s a “bad color”? A popular saying on social media is, “You’re not ugly; you’re just wearing the wrong colors.” There is a lot more that goes into beauty and fashion, though, than the color you’re wearing.
This is also to say that what is trending is not always the style that will work for you. Trends have changed the fashion world, as it always has, but no one is limited to what is trending on social media. Just as how no one is limited to what a test like a color analysis tells them because fashion is a form of creativity and self-expression.
