Now, technology tools like TikTok effects, standalone apps, and ChatGPT have brought this process into our homes, making it possible to experiment with different color analysis methods inexpensively. Finding the color that best suits you, such as your zodiac sign or Myers-Briggs type, can help distract you from life's demands. But expert analysts say color analysis has historically excluded people with darker skin, and AI is particularly likely to reverse these biases and misconceptions. In recent years, experts have moved beyond the traditional four-season system to a more customized approach, advising clients on the clothing and jewelry that best suits them without pigeonholing them into rigid categories.
“If a color looks good on you and makes you feel good, then it's your color,” says Yvonne Henderson Decker, a Chicago-based image consultant, and many people pointed out that it combines warm and cool colors, bright colors and muted colors. and light and dark complexions.
If you're ready to use technology to navigate the fun but admittedly complex world of color analysis, here are some tips from the experts.
What's happening on TikTok?
The idea that every person has a uniquely appealing color palette has been in our cultural rearview mirror for decades, gaining traction in video apps. Some he TikTokers use AI effects to digitally “drape” themselves in colored fabric. Some people are having a protracted fight over whether Zooey Deschanel should wear hot pink or powder pink.
The most avid fans of color analysis travel for in-person consultations. They often visit South Korea, where this technique is more mainstream and popular.
While some TikTok videos show people happily sharing their color palettes, many others include questions and frustrations. Why is it so difficult to assess whether your skin is “warm” with yellow or peach shades, or “cold” with pink or gray shades? Why do different analysts get different results? And does this system work well for people of all races?
Jada Foote, a style coach in Atlanta, became interested in color analysis as a way to help her clients, who are primarily women of color, feel comfortable in their wardrobes. However, she soon became aware of the exclusive myth that all black women have warm skin tones, or that all dark-skinned people fall into the winter palette.
Currently, Foote uses the four seasons as a starting point, giving him plenty of room to improvise. Many don't fit well into the seasonal color palette, so feel free to throw them out, she said.
“We all look different. We all have different characteristics that we want to emphasize. And once you understand what those are, you can say, 'Actually, I look my best in this.' I can tell you,” Foote said. “I want people to have the confidence to assert themselves and develop a unique style that no one else can imitate. Your wardrobe becomes a snowflake.”
Decker said modern color analysts look at a color's value (how much white is present), intensity (how much gray is there), and temperature (is it warm or cool)? All of these factors will help you identify your favorite shade or the one that looks best on you.
Professional analysts recommend starting with broad questions such as “Is my skin tone warm or cool?”
Adobe Color is a tool that helps designers explore color options. The Extract Theme tool creates a palette based on your face color. Upload a photo of yourself standing in front of a shadow-free window with your hair pinned away from your face. Then move these little circles around to sample colors from different places in your photo. Place these on your eyes, hair, lips, and neck.
Screenshot or save the resulting palette and see if the shades are warm or cool. Is it a yellowish color, like kelly green, or a bluish color, like emerald?
Some users on TikTok asked ChatGPT to help them rate their colors. On iPhone, take a selfie or download Adobe Palettes, then tap Edit. Go to “Markup” in the top right corner and open the color menu. Tap the eyedropper tool and select a color. Next, change the view to “Slider” and write down the hex code for the color, something like #000000.
Repeat this process for hair and eye color. Then open ChatGPT and enter what you found. The prompt I used is: “My skin color is #000000, my eyes are #000000, and my hair is #000000. Is this tone warm or cool?”
The bot guessed my temperature (warm overall) and suggested some colors that would work best for me. However, please be careful. Foote said ChatGPT seems to struggle with darker skin tones, indiscriminately labeling them as warm.
TikTok effects like this Look up and place it next to different color palettes to compare. Select “Use this effect”, hold down the record button and tap the screen to cycle through the seasons. Color analyst Karen Branger advised her to always pay attention to her own face and see how it looks next to her different tones. Will the spring palette make your eyes and teeth look brighter? Do you look tired in summer? Attractive colors can help draw attention to your face, rather than drawing attention away from your face, Brunger says.
Why do different tools give different results?
It occurred to me that a new technological tool might make the color analysis process easier. They didn't.
First, ChatGPT labeled me fall. Then I saw TikTok and was convinced it was winter. Seeking higher authority, I paid Carol Braley, a color analyst and popular TikToker, $150 to review my photo via her email: “Real Spring.” Then I called Lili Henry, a personal stylist in San Francisco. He came to my office and had it analyzed in person. A light summer, she declared.
Unlike blood type, color seasons cannot be determined empirically. If you need more data points, consider trying a color analysis app like Dressika or scheduling time with an analyst in person or over a video call. Decker says your color can change over time, so think of it like a lifelong self-exploration rather than a one-and-done label.
The goal of color analysis should be to feel comfortable and gorgeous in your own skin, says Henry.If the color you choose makes you feel fun, bold, bubbly, intimidating, gorgeous, frightening, or in any other way more lively — Consider this a successful exercise.
