Color Analysis

You always have the option of professional color analysis but if you would rather do it yourself, there are a lot of books and websites that can help you do it. The place to start is figuring out which is your dominant characteristic. The best way to tell is to look into a mirror while standing or sitting near a window on a sunny afternoon.

Here's what you need to examine...

(1) Your hair color

(2) Your eye color

(3) Your skin color

I was surprised at how many different colors I saw in my hair and my eyes, and you may be, too. But your first look is to determine your overall look.

What stands out most about your coloring? The qualities to evaluate are warm vs. cool, clear vs. soft/muted, and light vs. deep. For help in understanding each of these color characteristics, take a look at these articles and then, use the charts below...

The Beginning of My Color Analysis Journey

My color analysis journey began many years ago, in the early 80s, when I was analyzed one summer at a Belk department store by a Color Me Beautiful color analyst. At that time, there were only four "seasons" and if you were African-American, you were typed as a winter or autumn, but usually a winter.

I was told I was a winter and began to wear very deep, jewel colors. In retrospect, I am sure they overwhelmed me somewhat, but back then, that was idea...sort of. We were told we needed to correct our coloring by wearing the colors that opposed it. So if our undertone was olive or golden, we needed cool colors to offset it.

Now, the idea is to harmonize with your own natural coloring, rather than trying to fix it. It is true that the right colors will "perfect" your coloring, but not by opposing it.

Color Analyzed by Element, not Season

Last year (2010), I discovered the Dressing Your Truth system, and after a pretty long false start, found out that I am a dressing your truth type 3. I have been dressing my truth and blogging about it ever since!

Being a dressing your truth type 3 is more than just wearing a certain set of colors, but it does speak to that, for sure. I know that my best colors will be rich and warm and deep.

How Does that Match Up to Seasonal Color Analysis?

Recently (2011), I decided to explore the new 12-season color analysis system because I was curious about whether my season would match my dressing your truth type. Using that system, I discovered that I am a warm and my best seasons, in order, are warm autumn and deep autumn. So my very best colors are warm and rich and deep.

Becoming a Certified Color Analyst

I became so fascinated by the process of seasonal color analysis and so determined to find out for myself how to help other women of color find out their own seasons that I decided to get trained as a color analyst. Recently, I became a certified color analyst and have really enjoyed helping women discover their seasons using virtual color analysis.

What's your color analysis story?