Imagine this: you walk into a room, and heads turn. Not because of some outrageous outfit, but because you radiate confidence and effortless style. That’s the power of knowing your perfect colors! Color is one of the ABSOLUTES that I insist my clients know when working with them because color is THAT impactful!
In today’s post, I am going shatter some major color analysis myths that are holding you back. You might be surprised to learn that some popular color analysis beliefs are totally wrong! From vein tests to skin tone assumptions, these myths can leave you confused and wearing the WRONG colors!
Are you ready to GLOW? Read on to learn 9 Color Myths that are holding you back!
First, let’s talk a bit about color and the things a Color Analyst analyzes to determine what colors will look best on you.
The entire reason a person gets a seasonal color analysis done is so that they can find their very best colors. These will be the colors that allow them to glow and be seen just as equally as the colors they are wearing. The goal of seasonal color analysis is to find the colors that HARMONIZE with you and your features and skin tone. When you are being evaluated by a Color Analyst, she/he will look at 3 important factors:
- Undertone. The first step is to determine what the dominant color UNDER your skin is. There can be some confusion about OVERtone versus UNDERtone. An overtone will be affected by skin conditions like acne or rosacea, excessive alcohol consumption, or even tanning. To correctly determine your true colors, we must determine what color is UNDER your skin. When wearing your correct colors, the overtone will be impacted only because you are wearing the correct undertone, which allows the effects of the overtone to be diminished. We determine your correct undertone by seeing how your skin reacts to color. This is why I NEVER will tell someone what I think their color season is when I see them “out in the wild” without a complete analysis.
- Value. This is the amount of lightness or darkness that a person has. This piece is more than just skin tone. With value, we are examining the amount of contrast someone has to their features, both their skin and eyes, and the undyed hair.
- Intensity. When looking at a person’s overall features, again, we are looking to see if their features are more bright or more muted. For example, someone with jet black hair and bright blue eyes will look very bright, whereas someone with brown eyes and brown hair will have a more muted coloring to them.
For a fully accurate analysis, this is why as your color analyst, I will tell you that you must be wearing NO makeup, you must remove any colored contact lenses and, especially if you color your hair, we will cover it.
Lighting also impacts your analysis, which is why it is BEST to have your analysis done during the time of day when natural light is the most pure, which is around Noon. Of course, using a light that is the correct temperature allows for analysis to be performed outside of that “perfect” time.
Now that you understand a bit about what we are looking for in a Color Analysis, let’s get into the Myths!
Myth 1: If your skin is pale, you are a cool undertone; if your skin is dark, you are a warm undertone.
Any color of skin can be any undertone. The reason that we have lighter or darker skin is due to the amount of melanin we have in our skin, which is genetic. Undertone is not determined by melanin, but is determined by whether you have more hemoglobin (blue) or carotene (yellow) in your skin.
You can see in these images, Lupita Nyong’o has a cool undertone while Beyonce has a warm undertone.
Myth 2: Everyone looks good in black.
Oh how we all wish this were true! Black is a very high-contrast color, alongside it’s opposite, pure white. To be able to pull off wearing true black, you as a person have to have a very high contrast. In terms of seasonal color analysis, the only season that has true black as an included color is Winter. Winter is the most inaccurately analyzed season and, in my opinion, it’s because of client bias. Most people think (and wish) that they will look their best in jewel tones and come into an analysis saying that they wear a lot of black. If an analyst is taking this bias into account, they may throw a bone by saying someone is a True Winter. Beautiful as the colors are and, as much as we all would like to be best flattered in black, it cannot be pulled off to flatter by many.
Myth 3: Tanning changes what colors I can wear.
During the warm months of summer, naturally many people get a bit more tan, which makes their skin darker. However, this does not impact your undertone. While you may feel more comfortable wearing some of the brighter or darker colors in your palette when you are more tan, it does not change what colors you will look best in as being tan is an overtone.
Myth 4: Natural Redheads can be any color season.
Natural redheads can only be warm. The color of hair stems from a yellow undertone. Whether you have strawberry blonde hair or more of a rich auburn color, your hair is a part of your biology. If you have lighter red hair, you are likely leaning Spring and if you have darker hair, you are likely leaning toward Autumn, but either way, you are absolutely a warm undertone. There is no “orange” in cool and so these tones are only found in a warm season.
Myth 5: If I dye my hair blonde, I will look more youthful.
Not only is this myth untrue, but it can actually make you look older if you are a high contrast color season. When you wear the wrong colors, they drain you and can accentuate any darkness or lines you have on your face. Instead of making you glow, it will make you look a bit unwell. Furthermore, even if you can handle a blonde highlight of some sort, based upon your coloring, you will have to make sure that your highlights match your undertone or they will be unflattering.
Myth 6: I can determine my undertone by looking at my veins.
Nope. Nada. Completely inaccurate. I’m guessing that this one stems from the fact that your skin on your wrists is very thin, so seemingly, would change the color of your veins based upon your undertone. However, the color of the blood in your veins is impacted by your oxygen levels and your skins thickness. We are not all one size fits all. Someone with cool-toned skin might have greenish veins simply because they have thin skin and good circulation. I know of people who have veins that appear blue in some sections and green in others. Please do NOT expect to know your undertone using this method.
Myth 7: Blue eyes are always cool and brown eyes are always warm.
Eye color is a tool that color analysts use to put into their toolbox to determine a person’s color season, that much is true. However, just because the base of your eye color is blue, there are MANY shades of blues and many patterns that can incorporate other aspects into the eye coloring that can lean the blue to be warm. The same idea stands for brown eyes. There are warmer brown colors and cooler brown colors (YES, brown can be cool)! You cannot fully determine someone’s true color palette by eye color alone. You will find nearly every eye color in every color season.
Myth 8: Natural Blondes can be a Winter color season.
I mentioned value earlier in this post. That is how much contrast a person has to their coloring. A natural blonde biologically does not have enough contrast to their coloring to be able to be a Winter season. A Winter season will always have dark hair. Period.
Myth 9: As I get older, my home color season will change.
Your home season will not change. What is a “home season”? All color seasons are based upon one of the 4 home seasons which are known as Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. As we age, our natural color tends to desaturate. This means that our skin may become more naturally light. You will not change your home season, but you may find that you need a lighter flow inside of your home season as you get older.
I want to address graying hair as I talk about the change in coloring. Whatever your natural gray color is, whether white, salt and pepper, silver, or a warm gray, how your hair grows out will be perfect for your undertone.
BONUS Myth: Learning my color season is limiting.
I completely disagree with this. I find that learning your true colors that allow for you to shine and let you be seen is quite freeing. It makes shopping much easier and it makes putting together outfits much easier because all of the colors in your season are meant to go together. You can admire someone in their black knowing that color is only going to make you appear pale and disappear while they may look radiant.
Are you interested in having your colors analyzed? I would love to help you shine! Check out my website to learn more!
Stylishly Yours,
