I got a color analysis done, here's what I learned about what to wear

• Color analysis, a tool to help determine your best palette, has blown up online
• The practice has been around for decades, but was popularized in the 1980’s
• FEMAIL is breaking it down with help from expert Julia Dobkine of Agile Styling 

Have you ever been on your way to a date and wondered what shirt would look better with your newly-highlighted hair – the emerald green blouse or a sky blue option?

What about when you’re getting ready for a job interview, and you want to look like the most powerful version of yourself. Should you go with the magenta blazer, or the plain black one?

Luckily, there’s a solution for all of this called color analysis, a tool that helps you determine what hues look the best with your skin tone and hair shade, divided into categories by season.

Color analyses have existed for decades, but blew up in the 1980s, after people became obsessed with the book Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson, according to The New York Times.

Leading color analysist Julia Dobkine, who has worked her color magic on stars like Hoda Kotb (above), broke her methods down to FEMAIL

Color analyses have existed for decades, but blew up in the 1980s and has made a resurgence over the past few months

The book served as a guide to discovering what colors look best with your skin tone, and which ones to avoid.

Jackson used seasons to help determine someone’s palette – meaning that someone would be labeled as a ‘winter’ or a ‘summer.’

Over the past few months, color analysis has resurfaced as a viral craze, this time blowing up 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 ‘true autumn’ or just a plain old ‘autumn,’ or offering followers a dramatic reveal of their best shades, is it all just a TikTok craze, or is it truly worth the hype?

Julia Dobkine, of Agile Styling, says it’s here to stay – and that one color analysis can truly change your life.

‘The main goal of color analysis is to ensure that the colors flatter your natural features and create the most harmonious look for you,’ Dobkine, who has provided color analyses for stars like Hoba Kotb, Zooey Deschanel and Savannah Guthrie, explained to DailyMail.com.

It’s a time consuming process best done with help from a professional.

Dobkine starts by analyzing the undertone of a person’s skin to choose a color profile, or ‘season,’ which contains specific colors that will look best.

Dobkine starts by analyzing the undertone of someone’s skin and then puts them in to a specific color profile – or ‘seasons’

She begins with the four primary seasons, determining which one you are, and then digs deeper by proceeding 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 that the difference between the seasons ‘lies in the hue, value, and chroma of colors best suited to an individual.’

Knowing your correct colors will not only inform your clothing and accessory choices, but hair and makeup as well, giving people hyper-specific shades to play with, like flamingo pink and butter yellow.

‘The aim is to identify a harmonious color scheme that enhances one’s natural beauty, leading to a more confident and cohesive appearance,’ she said.

The recent surge in popularity can be attributed to the fact that many people are looking to find their own unique style instead of following trends, according to the expert.

‘People are tired of overconsumption and want to invest in better quality pieces that will serve for years and create a colorful wardrobe,’ Dobkine explained to DailyMail.com.

‘Plus, the sustainable fashion movement encourages thoughtful wardrobe building that lasts for years, making color analysis more relevant than ever,’ she added.

‘The concept of

The certified image coach said that the difference between the seasons ‘lies in the hue, value, and chroma of colors best suited to an individual.’ Pictured is 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 Better Natured.

To kick off my analysis, Dobkine made me a comparison board to help me determine whether my undertone was ‘cool’ or ‘warm.’

I definitely got the celebrity treatment here, as this is something that she’s also done for Oscar award-winning actress Emma Stone.

Dobkine told me that my undertone was ‘cool,’ as it made me ‘pop,’ rather than the ‘warm’ undertone, which made me look ‘sallow’ and slightly washed-out.

She then compared what I looked like with a ‘cool’ undertone on a background with a template she uses, versus a ‘neutral’ one – and determined that neutral is the better pick for me out of the two.

Once she had figured out my true undertones, she told me I was a winter.

But winter was just the baseline here – she concluded that my flow season was a ‘deep winter,’ and matched me with specific shades.

The color palette between a winter and a deep winter differed – with the winter palette featuring magenta and pastel pink, whereas a deep winter palette included darker tones like muted pinks and dark grays.

To kick off my analysis, Dobkine made me my own comparison board to help me determine whether my undertone was ‘cool’ or ‘warm’

She then compared what I looked like with a ‘cool’ undertone versus a ‘neutral’ one – and determined that neutral is the better pick for me out of the two

Melessia Wade-Smith, the in-house color expert at Better Natured, told me that instead of a blonde, I should go for a red shade that’s on the cooler side

This means that the colors that look the best on me include navy blue, royal purple, and deep pinks, which was interesting because most of my wardrobe is beige.

My hair color match left me especially stunned – I always get blonde highlights in an ombre-style throughout my long brown hair, but it turns out that might not be the best style for me.

Wade-Smith told me that instead of a blonde, I should go for a red shade that’s on the cooler side, as it will perfectly match my complexion.

She matched me with Better Natured’s 4NRV hair color, a deep red-violet color.

The hair color expert explained that when it comes to choosing the right hair shade, you want to focus on something that makes your ‘eyes pop and your skin tone glow.’

‘Warm brown, hazel, or green eyes with flecks of gold make for gorgeous rich, velvety brunettes and sultry red heads,’ Wade-Smith explained.

‘Darkest brown or icy cool blue eyes make for exotic shades of black and stunning platinum blondes.’

By having a true understanding of what your correct color palette consists of, Dobkine promised that it will streamline many aspects of your life – and can even save you money in the long run.

‘I’ve seen remarkable transformations, not only in how people dress but 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 your clothes to your earrings and the shade of your lipstick works together harmoniously, easing shopping, saving money, and creating a capsule wardrobe,’ Dobkine revealed.

Personally, I know that it’s already helped me, as I’m not in a pickle when I’m rushing to get dressed for work every morning.

Now I know that I should be reaching for that deep purple sweater instead of my usual camel color.

Plus, it means that I don’t have to get rid of any of my trusty dark-colored going-out tops, and can make better decisions when shopping for clothes or even while shopping at Sephora.

A color analysis is something that can be a ‘lifetime investment,’ Dobkine said, and can make all the difference in how people feel about themselves from the inside out.

‘I’ve seen remarkable transformations, not only in how people dress but in their overall appearance and self-esteem, simply by aligning color choices with each person’s unique palette,’ she shared.

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