Have you ever been on the way to a date and wondered which shirt would look best with your newly highlighted hair: the emerald green blouse or a sky blue option?
What happens when you’re preparing for a job interview and want to look like the most powerful version of yourself? Should you go for the magenta blazer or the plain black one?
Luckily, there’s a solution to all of this called color analysis, a tool that helps you determine which shades best match your skin tone and hair tone, divided into categories by season.
Color analysis has been around for decades, but it exploded in the 1980s after people became obsessed with Carole Jackson’s book Color Me Beautiful, according to The New York Times.
Noted color analyst Julia Dobkine, who has worked her color magic on stars like Hoda Kotb (above), broke down her methods on FEMAIL.
Color analysis has been around for decades, but it exploded in the 1980s and has seen a resurgence in recent months.
The book served as a guide to discover which colors match your skin tone best and which ones to avoid.
Jackson used the seasons to help determine someone’s color palette, meaning someone would be labeled as “winter” or “summer.”
In recent months, color analysis has re-emerged as a viral trend, this time exploding on TikTok and Instagram with more than 227,000 videos on the platform using the hashtag ‘color analysis’.
With influencers and celebrities trying to figure out if they’re a “real fall” or just plain “autumn,” or offering their followers a dramatic reveal of their best shades, is it all just a TikTok craze or is it really worth it? Fashion?
Julia Dobkineof Agile styleHe says it’s here to stay and that a color analysis can truly change your life.
“The main goal of color analysis is to ensure that colors flatter your natural features and create the most harmonious look for you,” Dobkine, who has performed color analysis for stars including Hoba Kotb, Zooey Deschanel and Savannah Guthrie, told DailyMail. com.
It is a time-consuming process and is best done with the help of a professional.
Dobkine begins by analyzing a person’s skin tone to choose a color profile, or “season,” which contains specific colors that will look best.
Dobkine begins by analyzing someone’s skin tone and then places them into a specific color profile, or “seasons.”
Dobkine will look at someone’s background by comparing the difference between “cold” and “neutral” versus “warm” and “neutral,” as he did with actress Emma Stone.
She starts with the four main seasons, determines which one you are, and then goes deeper by moving into the “flow seasons.”
These are categorized and make up 16 seasons in the color analysis system, including “deep winter” and “true summer.”
The certified image coach said the difference between the seasons “lies in the tone, value and chroma of colors that best suit an individual.”
Knowing the right colors will not only influence your choice of clothing and accessories, but also your hair and makeup, giving people very specific shades to play with, like flamingo pink and butter yellow.
“The goal is to identify a harmonious color combination that enhances natural beauty and leads to a more confident, cohesive look,” he said.
According to the expert, the recent rise in popularity can be attributed to the fact that many people are looking to find their own unique style instead of following trends.
“People are tired of overconsumption and want to invest in better quality pieces that will last for years and create a colorful wardrobe,” Dobkine told DailyMail.com.
“In addition, the sustainable fashion movement encourages the creation of well-thought-out wardrobes that last for years, making color analysis more relevant than ever,” he added.
“The concept of ‘seasons’ in color analysis derives from the observable changes in nature’s color palette throughout the year,” Dobkine told DailyMail.com.
The certified image coach said the difference between the seasons “lies in the tone, value and chroma of colors that best suit an individual.” In the photo, Dobkine with content creator Safiya Nygaard.
A few weeks ago, I had a consultation with Dobkine, as well as a hair color match with Melessia Wade-Smith, the in-house color expert at Best character.
To start my analysis, Dobkine made me a comparison board to help me determine if my undertone was “cool” or “warm.”
I definitely got the celebrity treatment here, as this is something she also did for Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone.
Dobkine told me that my undertone was “cool”, as it made me “popular”, rather than the “warm” tone, which made me look “sallow” and slightly washed out.
She then compared how I looked with a “cool” shade on a stenciled background she uses, versus a “neutral” one, and determined that neutral is the best option for me between the two.
Once he discovered my true nuances, he told me that I was a winter.
But winter was just the base here – he concluded that my flow season was a “deep winter” and matched me with specific shades.
The color palette between a winter and deep winter differed: the winter palette featured magenta and pastel pink, while a deep winter palette included darker tones like muted pinks and dark grays.
To start my analysis, Dobkine created my own comparison dashboard to help me determine if my undertone was “cool” or “warm.”
He then compared my look to a “cool” tone versus a “neutral” tone and determined that neutral is the best option for me between the two.
Melessia Wade-Smith, Better Natured’s in-house color expert, told me that instead of blonde, I should opt for a red tone that’s cooler.
This means that the colors that suit me best include navy blue, royal purple, and hot pinks, which was interesting because most of my wardrobe is beige.
My hair color especially stunned me: I always have blonde highlights in an ombre style throughout my long brown hair, but it turns out that may not be the best style for me.
Wade-Smith told me that instead of blonde, I should go for a cooler shade of red, as it will match my complexion perfectly.
She paired me with Better Natured’s 4NRV hair color, an intense violet red color.
The hair color expert explained that when it comes to choosing the right hair shade, you should focus on something that will make your “eyes pop and your skin tone glow.”
“Warm brown, hazel or green eyes with flecks of gold create beautiful rich, velvety brunettes and sultry redheads,” Wade-Smith explained.
“Dark brown or cool blue eyes create exotic shades of black and stunning platinum blondes.”
By having a true understanding of what your correct color palette consists of, Dobkine promises that it will optimize many aspects of your life and may even save you money in the long run.
“I have seen remarkable transformations, not only in the way people dress, but also in their overall appearance and self-esteem, simply by aligning color choices,” Dobkine shared.
“It simplifies decisions about what to wear and ensures that everything from clothes to earrings to lipstick shade match harmoniously, making shopping easier, saving money and creating a capsule wardrobe,” Dobkine revealed.
Personally, I know it has already helped me as I am not in a bind when I am in a hurry to get dressed for work every morning.
Now I know I should go for that deep purple sweater instead of my usual camel color.
Plus, it means I don’t have to ditch any of my trusty dark-colored tops to go out and I can make better decisions when shopping for clothes or even shopping at Sephora.
A color analysis is something that can be a “lifelong investment,” Dobkine said, and can make a difference in how people feel about themselves from the inside out.
“I’ve seen remarkable transformations, not only in how people dress but also in their overall appearance and self-esteem, simply by aligning color choices with each person’s unique palette,” she shared.
