How to do color analysis at home

A professional color analysis can cost anywhere from $150 to $500. The good news: the core method is simple, and you can get most of the way there at home with a mirror, daylight and a few items you already own. Here's exactly how to do it.

What you'll need

• A spot with natural daylight: stand facing a window, ideally late morning or early afternoon. Avoid direct sun and lamps.
• A mirror large enough to see your face and shoulders.
• A neutral top: gray or off-white, or a gray towel draped around your shoulders.
• Color "drapes": solid-colored tops, scarves, towels or even sheets of colored paper. You want pairs that differ in just one way (more on that below).
• A gold and a silver item: jewelry, foil or a spoon.
• Optional: a friend, who can see subtle changes more objectively than you.

Step 1: Find your undertone

Start with temperature. Hold the gold item, then the silver item, under your chin. Then try a warm color (like coral or tomato red) against a cool one (like raspberry or fuchsia). Our guide on how to find your undertone has six quick tests if you want more certainty.

Step 2: Check your depth

Next, compare a light color with a deep one of similar temperature: say, powder pink against plum, or pale mint against forest green. If the light shade looks natural and the dark one feels heavy, you lean light. If the light shade washes you out, you lean deep.

Step 3: Check your clarity

Finally, compare a bright, clear color with a soft, muted version of the same hue: hot pink vs. dusty rose, or turquoise vs. soft teal. Clear colors suit people with high contrast and sparkling eyes; muted colors suit softer, blended coloring.

How to judge each drape

This is where most people go wrong. Look at your face, not the color. With a good color:

• Your skin looks smoother and more even
• Under-eye shadows and redness soften
• Your eyes look brighter and more defined
• Your face looks lifted and healthy

With a poor color:

• Skin looks gray, yellow, blotchy or tired
• Shadows and lines look deeper
• You notice the color before you notice your face

Step 4: Put it together

You now know your temperature (warm or cool), your depth (light or deep) and your clarity (clear or soft). Your strongest trait decides your season type:

Then check the full palette for your season and hold a few of its colors up to confirm. If they don't feel right, try a neighboring season.

DIY vs. professional color analysis

If you're between two seasons after trying at home, a professional session can settle it. For most people, a careful DIY analysis plus our free quiz is plenty to start shopping smarter.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Testing under indoor light. Warm bulbs make everyone look warm.
2. Wearing makeup, which masks your natural undertone and contrast.
3. Judging the color instead of your face. You might love a color that doesn't love you back.
4. Using drapes that differ in more than one way. Comparing navy to coral tells you nothing, because they differ in temperature, depth and clarity.
5. Going by dyed or gray hair. Use the natural color you had as a young adult.