Color Analysis

Color analysis is the practice of finding which colors make a face look rested rather than tired. It works because skin, hair and eyes each reflect light differently, and a fabric held near the face either supports that reflection or fights it.

The guides in this section cover the whole method. At-home drape tests you can run beside a window in ten minutes. The seasonal systems, from the original four to the 12 and 16 season expansions, and what each one is actually measuring. The three variables that decide your palette: undertone, depth and contrast. And the practical questions, including what a professional consultation costs, whether photo-based apps are accurate enough to trust, and what to do when two tests give you different answers.

Every guide states its limits. Lighting changes results more than most people expect, camera white balance makes app results unreliable, and a season name on its own still leaves you guessing in a shop. Where a claim comes from practitioner judgement rather than a documented source, the text says so.

Start with the four-test method if you have never been draped, or take the color season quiz for a starting direction to confirm against your own face.