Determining your best colors can really enhance your appearance and boost your confidence. By figuring out if you have warm, cool, or neutral undertones, you can find the most flattering colors to wear for your complexion. Doing your own color analysis at home is easy and only requires a few simple steps.
Determine Your Skin Undertones
The first step is identifying whether you have warm, cool, or neutral undertones. Here are some guidelines on how to figure this out:
- Warm skin undertones: Golden, peach, yellow hints. Tans easily. Looks best in golden based colors like yellow, peach, coral. Veins appear greenish.
- Cool skin undertones: Rosy, red, or blue hints. Burns easily in the sun. Looks best in jewel tones like royal blue, magenta. Veins appear blue or purple.
- Neutral skin undertones: No strong red, yellow, or blue tones. Tans evenly. Looks equally good in most colors. Veins are difficult to see.
The best way to test this is by looking at the veins on the inside of your wrist under natural sunlight. If they appear blue or purple, you likely have cool undertones. Greenish veins indicate warm undertones. Hard to distinguish veins point to neutral undertones.
Drape Fabrics Against Your Face
Once you’ve determined your undertones, you can move onto draping colored fabrics around your face to see which shades are most attractive. You’ll want some neutral draping fabrics like white, black, and gray. Then collect a range of bright, jewel-toned fabrics in various colors.
One at a time, hold the fabrics underneath your chin and study your reflection in a mirror. Pay attention to how the colors interact with your skin. Some important things to look for:
- Brightening effect – Colors that make your skin glow and appear radiant.
- Dulling effect – Colors that wash you out or make you look tired and sallow.
- Harmonizing effect – Colors that seamlessly blend in and complement your natural skin tone and undertones.
Make notes on which shades produce positive, harmonizing effects vs. those with dulling or distracting effects. The most flattering colors for you will create that bright, illuminated look.
Analyze Your Responses to Color Palettes
Another helpful technique is looking at color palettes to gauge your responses. There are many seasonal color palettes online that you can reference. For each palette, study the group of colors and notice how they make you feel. Do you find them energizing and uplifting or off-putting and draining? Here are common color palettes to try:
| Palette | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Spring | Warm, golden undertones like peach, coral, periwinkle blue |
| Summer | Cool, delicate undertones like true blue, rose pink, jade green |
| Autumn | Warm, earthy undertones like terracotta, olive green, mustard yellow |
| Winter | Cool, vivid undertones like emerald, fuchsia, royal purple |
Your most positive response will likely come from your dominant seasonal palette. Pay attention to any colors you find jarring or unappealing, as those hues are probably not the best match.
Test with Clothing and Makeup
Finally, see how different colors look on you by trying on clothing and makeup in a range of shades. For clothing, choose tops in different colors you normally wouldn’t wear. For makeup, test eyeshadows, lipsticks, and blushes in colorful shades. Evaluate each look in natural lighting.
Notice which colors make your features pop or feel harmonious. Also take note of unflattering shades that skew or clash. Testing colors directly on your skin and seeing them in motion will give you the best sense of which palette fits you best.
Determine Your Color Season
Once you’ve experimented with all of these techniques, you can determine your overall color season to guide clothing, makeup, and accessory choices. Here are the main color seasons and their key characteristics:
| Season | Features | Best Colors |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Warm skin tone, golden undertones, responds best to warm colors | Coral, peach, lime green, sky blue, ruby red |
| Summer | Cool skin tone, blue/rose undertones, responds best to cool colors | Royal blue, ice pink, lavender, jade, navy |
| Autumn | Medium warm skin tone, golden undertones, responds best to earth tones | Olive green, rust orange, mustard yellow, terracotta |
| Winter | Cool or neutral skin tone, responds best to bold, cool colors | Emerald, fuchsia, royal purple, cobalt blue, cherry red |
Use these color palettes for each season as a guide when getting dressed, shopping for new clothes, choosing accessories, and applying makeup. Stick to your recommended shades to always look your absolute best!
Tips for Accurate Analysis
To achieve the most accurate results from your color analysis, keep these tips in mind:
- Conduct your analysis in natural daylight for proper color perception
- Remove any colored makeup or clothing before testing
- Don’t rely solely on physical traits like hair color – focus on skin undertones
- Drape fabrics on bare skin, not over other clothing
- Try a wide range of colors outside your comfort zone
- Look at color effects on your face as well as neck and chest
- Take your time and don’t rush the process
- Ask a trusted friend for a second opinion on your best colors
Remember that the effects of colors can be subtle, so be patient with yourself as you learn what flatters you most. With some diligence and concentration, you can successfully determine your personal color palette.
Consult a Professional Color Analysis
While do-it-yourself color analysis is absolutely worth trying, for the most comprehensive results, you may want to schedule an analysis with a professional color consultant. Experts can identify nuances you might miss on your own and provide swatches of fabric, makeup, and other products tailored to your coloring.
Professional analysts use high-tech camera systems to photograph how different colors interact with your skin, eyes, and hair. This extremely detailed information can give you confidence in the color choices recommended to you.
If you want to take your color knowledge even further, professional analysis is the way to achieve maximum enhancement. But the DIY methods in this article will still go a long way in determining colors that make you shine.
Conclusion
Finding the most flattering colors for your unique skin tone and undertones can feel like unlocking your best self. By taking the time to do your own color analysis at home, you’ll gain so much valuable insight into the shades that make you radiant vs. those that fall flat. Follow the step-by-step instructions outlined here to determine if you are a Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. Keep testing, observing and analyzing until you zero in on your ideal color palette. Drape those dazzling hues with confidence knowing they are specially selected to illuminate your natural beauty.