Seasonal Color Analysis

Seasonal color analysis is a method of determining which colors look best on you based on your natural coloring — skin undertone, hair color, and eye color. It groups palettes into four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) with three subtypes each, giving you a personalized guide to your most flattering shades for clothing, makeup, and accessories.

An online quiz gives you a strong starting point and is accurate for most people. Professional draping — where a trained analyst holds fabric swatches near your face in controlled lighting — can catch subtler nuances between neighboring subtypes. That said, our quiz uses the same underlying color theory principles and accounts for multiple data points (veins, hair, eyes, sun reaction, and color preference) to arrive at your result.

Your core season rarely changes because it is rooted in your natural undertone, which is determined by genetics. However, your subtype may shift slightly as your hair color changes with age (going gray, for example) or with significant changes in skin depth from tanning. We recommend retaking the quiz every few years to check whether your subtype has evolved.

Trust your instincts. If the result does not feel right, try retaking the quiz in natural daylight, which gives the most accurate vein and color reads. You may also fall between two subtypes — look at both palettes and see which colors you consistently reach for and receive compliments in. That real-world feedback is the ultimate test.

Save or download your palette card and reference it when shopping in-store or online. For foundation, follow the undertone recommendation on your result page. For lipstick, blush, and eyeshadow, choose shades that fall within your best-color palette. You can also use our Shade Matcher tool to find exact product matches across brands once you know your ideal undertone.

Personal color analysis (also called seasonal color analysis or color draping) is the process of identifying which colors harmonize with your unique combination of skin tone, hair color, and eye color. Rather than following general trend advice, personal color analysis gives you a customized palette — the specific shades that make your complexion glow, your eyes appear brighter, and your features look their most defined. The result is a practical guide for makeup, clothing, and accessories that always works for you.

The 12-season system expands the original four seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) into three subtypes each, for a total of twelve distinct palettes. The subtypes are: True Spring, Light Spring, Clear Spring (warm, light-to-medium, warm-and-clear); True Summer, Light Summer, Soft Summer (cool, light-to-medium, muted); True Autumn, Soft Autumn, Deep Autumn (warm, muted, deep); and True Winter, Deep Winter, Clear Winter (cool, deep, high-contrast). Each subtype carries a specific set of best colors, undertone guidance, and colors to avoid — far more precise than knowing your season alone.