If you're wondering how to find the best lipstick for your skin tone—and dreading the process of trying dozens of options to figure it out—I have great news. There is a much better way to identify which shades work best with your complexion, and it's called color analysis, a stylist-approved technique for identifying your seasonal color palette.
I discovered this method six months ago, when a video on Jenna Ortega's color contrast happened upon my Instagram Explore page. I had never thought about color contrast and how it could impact the color combinations I should wear, let alone the ones I put on my face. But when I thought about it in terms of Ortega, it dawned on me: The actor's high color contrast is part of why she makes such a good Wednesday. She truly shines in black and white, and cool-toned makeup like the infamous Wednesday lipstick.
I forwarded the video to my best friend and my sister, vowed to change my makeup and wardrobe, and smashed that “follow” button faster than ever before. Now I've convinced the creator behind said video, certified image consultant and color analyst Nathalia Eugenio Vaz, to share color analysis beauty secrets for Glamour.
Before we get into lipstick, let's get you up to speed. You might recognize color analysis or seasonal color palettes from the viral TikTok effect Armocromia by @aida.creator, which users have utilized to find their “seasons” (more on that below). But as is the case with many TikTok trends, the concept isn't exactly new: Much of contemporary color season theory stems from Carole Jackson's Color Me Beautiful, a style book published in 1987. Nearly 40 years later, color analysis is a full-fledged industry (and TikTok trend), and professional image consultants and color analysts are regularly hired to help individuals dress and feel their best through color.
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
“Seasonal color analysis is a technique [used] to identify your color palette and determine the group of colors that harmonize with your complexion,” Vaz tells Glamour, explaining that each person is classified by season based on the characteristics of their features.
There are 12 seasons total, divided into spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and then into subsections of each: light, true, bright, and deep. The full list of seasons is light spring, bright spring, true spring, true summer, soft summer, light summer, true autumn, soft autumn, deep autumn, true winter, bright winter, and deep winter.
In order to find your own season, you need to analyze three color dimensions: value, which examines whether your skin is light or dark; chroma, which analyzes whether it's muted or bright; and undertone, which is whether you are warm, cool, or neutral-toned. Or, ideally, have an expert do this for you.
It's best to have your color analyzed by a professional, but if you can't—or are patiently waiting on Vaz's waiting list like me—there are techniques to uncovering your undertones that can help you find suitable lipstick colors for your skin's temperature. “How to find the undertone is the question I receive the most,” Vaz says, since it's obviously useful when it comes to finding face makeup but essential for finding your color palette.
don't know what suits me best! When I found this article, it helped me so much. Thank you!"
..."
more"I hate wearing lipstick because when I try any on, it doesn't fit my skin color! I do want to wear it, I just