How to find the perfect colour for you

Are you “warm”, “cool” or “neutral”? The way the retro trends of “Coting Your Colors” came back with personalized color analysis on social media, and the perfect colours came back in a “pierce” way of “career, conversation, connection.”

Are there any cool or medium undertones? Does red brighten your skin or dull you? Questions like this may have never crossed your mind before as users try to define a color palette, but they have become prominent on social media. Color analysis, once considered a niche, has seen a surge in popularity, with bookings booked months in advance and apps like Tiktok and Instagram gushing tutorials on how to determine the right colour for you.

“Before I offered online consultations, I had people from all over the world jump in to meet me,” says an image consultant and color analyst in Canada. Carol Brayley.

Since Brailey launched her business in 2012, she has had thousands of consultations. “It appeals to people in all life,” she tells the BBC. “There’s everyone from the 17th to the 70s. I find people tired of being drawn to black clothes.”

At Tiktok, Brailey’s client transformation has won millions of views, and like the hashtag #ColorAnalysis, it often comes with a filter that allows users to find a palette. But while this technology is new, this practice has been around for decades.

Color analysis enjoyed popular spells in the 1980s and early 90s. “Achieving Coing Your Colors” means visiting a professional color consultant in person, and you have been assigned a specific hue (often based on a seasonal system) that suits you. Roughly speaking, spring meant bright and fresh colours, cool and bright colours in summer, autumn burned with orange and mossy greens, and winter was a deep gem tone. This surge in interest colored me the Bernice Kentner season, thanks to Carol Jackson’s bestselling book (which sells over 13 million copies worldwide), and mainly thanks to beautiful books.

However, the theory of seasonal colours was born in the studio in the early 1900s. Johannes IttenSwiss painter and art professor. Ittten noticed that some of the student portraits seemed more vibrant than others. By analyzing the colours that were “harmonized” together, he developed the seasonal analysis tool that is still used today, grouping people together in summer, autumn, winter and spring.

Braley places on how visual we have become today’s revival. “Whether you upload Instagram photos, record Tiktok content or zoom in on Zoom meetings, we’ve become a very visual society.”

It’s not uncommon to see tears after her consultation, she says. “People cry because they have never seen themselves become so vibrant. I’ve seen people’s lives change with promotions and new jobs because I’ve grown more confident.”

Tabitha Lofts did not cry after the color consultation, but she made a complete transformation, died her hair, switched her makeup routine and chose to introduce the color to a wardrobe she hadn’t worn before. “I did the whole shebang,” she laughed, adding, “I liked it and I felt very different.” Before her consultation, Tabitha thought she had a warm spring or summer palette and said, “I was sure I was in the warm tones as I was burning in the sun, but that was totally against it.

For Loft, a nutritionist Content creatorColor analysis was a way to build confidence. “I was addicted, so I had stopped fake tanning and relied on it to put my clothes together,” she says. “It was confidence in the bottle, but I need to find it elsewhere,” she explained that she got the idea of ​​an image consultation, wearing clothes that “doesn’t understand” her skin tone. “The results really changed my mind about pale skin. I used to think about it in a negative sense, but I thought it looked like ice, but now I know that it can be warm without warm vision.”

To those who disrespect color analysis, the lofts living in Dubai acknowledge that it’s not everything and end it all. “I got a lot from it, but I still wear colors that are not in the palette. That’s not a prescription.”

I grew up in Costa Rica as a fashion designer and stylist. Mika Ramsden She has always been drawn to bright colors, as she has found that wearing them lifts her mood. But that was an experience that made her want to better understand the theory of color while at fashion school. “We were studying color analysis, but my skin tone was not understood by the teacher. We received some backup consultations from other students, but there were so many misconceptions about dark skin,” she tells the BBC. Comments such as the idea that “every black person looks red” and “people with dark skin see all colors better.” ”

It was this lack of awareness that prompted Lumsden to launch Cocoa Styling, a styling consulting firm. “I started working with painters, makeup artists, people who really understand the theory of color.” She currently has clients all over the world and is aware of more male clients in her book. “Everyone cares about fashion,” she says. “I saw one man in 1 in 10 clients, and now it’s one in 5.”

As a stylist, she approaches her wardrobe of colour at the forefront, not her design. “Most people look good on tailored blazers and t-shirts, but personalising of the colours gives them a special touch.”

Color analysis is often expensive, but Lumsden does not want it to be a deterrent. She is also skeptical that online color analysis filters are the answer. “It’s difficult to give a fair reading of the filter and the screen also reflects the light.”

Instead, she suggests lifting items from around the house onto your face or going to a local craft store to buy felt patches. “You can use blankets, cushions… anything. Put them on your face in the mirror and take a selfie. Once you’ve got a collection of selfies, do you place them next to you and look better in blue and purple?

We know that fashion runs in a cycle, but many believe that knowing your personal palette could be a way to break up in fast fashion. “Trends spin so fast, knowing your best colours is a great way to take advantage of what suits you and eliminate everything else,” Ellie Richards tells the BBC. She is the founder Nuude Studio Get closer to fashion through psychology in Queenstown, New Zealand. In her opinion, colour is the most important tool.

“There’s science in clothing that changes your mood, your behavior, and how people perceive you,” she says. “When you create the right colour for us, it’s a powerful tool because we’re instantly confident and tailoring to our personal identity.”

She says the easiest way to actually see color psychology is in films and TV series. “When you look at euphoria, for example, Cathy (played by Sidney Sweeney) often dresses in light blue to show off her angelic innocence, while Maddy (played by Alexa Demy) wears a darker chestnut tone to show her influence.”

Look at some Trend colors for 2025and black is not a feature. Instead, you’ll see bold cardinalized red, impressive marigold and dusty rose pink. According to Richards, we are entering an era of being “bold.”

“The grey sweating pandemic day is over. Instead, we showed up looking for fun and playful looks,” she quotes social media as having an impact on our style too. “It had a huge effect. At Tiktok, creators need to stand out and can do so by wearing bright, eye-catching colors. These videos have been seen by millions of people and normalised these bold looks.”

Richards is passionate about the benefits of color analysis. “A deep understanding of personal style and colour can inspire careers, conversations and connections,” she says. I admit that it can be a bit daunting at first, but I recommend starting by adding some colours little by little. “One option is to wear a muted hues or accessories.”

Despite colour consultations that confirmed that Cobalt Blue is best for her, the loft is still drawn to black. “It’s easy to wear,” she says with a smile. “But I’m trying to venture more.”

As a personal trainer, she sees pushing a lot of online content as “optimized” and “the best version of yourself.” She sees color analysis as part of that trend, but most importantly, she feels comfortable on your own skin. “Everyone is focused on self-improvement and there is vanity in it,” she says. “But it doesn’t have to be serious. Experiments with colour should be fun, playful and free from judgment,” she laughs. “You don’t have to stick to the assigned palette.”