I think I know myself pretty well, but I still like confirmation. I’ve taken every personality test under the sun, from Myers-Briggs (I’m an ENFJ) to Enneagram (I’m a type two). I grew up in a hippie town, where I have a preferred psychic for tarot card readings. I always stop scrolling on TikTok when I see a collection of mood boards and a prompt to “pick which one you are.”
I also have a “signature color,” red, which happens to be my favorite color, and I’ve been told many times that it looks good on me. But when I got my “colors done” recently at a color analysis studio in New York, I felt strangely nervous, like I was taking an exam. A woman stood behind me, draping swaths of ROYGBIV fabrics across my shoulders while nodding in approval or clucking her tongue. Her demeanor was as nonchalant as telling me the weather, but to me, it felt like I was awaiting a medical diagnosis.
Color analysis, already a popular service in South Korea, has been trending on TikTok. To participate, you pay an expert to tell you your seasonal archetype—there are 16— such as “deep spring” or “bright autumn.” All over the app, people have revealed their results and how the analysis affected their lives, in ways big and small. For some, it made them spiral about their life choices. User @JigglyJulia dramatically proclaimed, “I spent thousands of dollars on my gold collection, only to be told I am cool-toned, and that silver looks better on me. My heart literally shattered.” For others, it’s as simple as realizing that their favorite color (black) might actually not be the most flattering; according to Lily Heo, co-founder of Seklab, a color analysis salon in New York, most people actually don’t look good in black, unless you’re a winter. First popularized in the 1973 book Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson—where she recommended makeup, fabrics, accessories, and more based on someone’s designated color season—color analysis largely fell out of favor in the U.S. But now, it’s back in a new way.
Like BuzzFeed personality quizzes or astrological birth charts, color analysis is a new type of identity marker. According to astrology, I’m a Taurus sun and a Taurus moon, which means I’m doubly loyal, stubborn, and maybe a bit sybaritic. In color analysis terminology, I am also a textbook “bright winter.” “You look better in silver jewelry than gold,” my color analyst noted. As she continued, she got even more specific. If I want to wear beige, I should go for taupe tones instead of warmer tans. Black and white look better on me than brown. Jewel tones help bring out my green eyes, but pastels would do them no favors. And this means that, yes, my signature red lipstick was okay. When I heard all this, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if I wasn’t sure how much stock I put into color analysis, I felt validated about the way that I’d been presenting myself.
According to Jackson, winters and summers are cool-toned, while springs and autumns are warm-toned. For each season, there are four different subcategories, such as bright, deep, soft, or true, which relate to how much gray or chroma you have in your skin tone. If someone’s features are more muted (or have a higher amount of gray) then they will be “soft,” but if someone’s features are more vibrant (or have a lower amount of gray), they would be considered “bright.” Low-chroma colors are like a Mary Cassatt painting—soft around the edges and tranquil (the water signs of the color analysis world). High-chroma colors are like a Frida Kahlo painting—louder and defined by vivid shocks of brightness (the fire signs).
Color analysis in Korea uses the Korean Standard color system, which relies on even more undertones than the system Jackson outlined. Heo explains that this is because in South Korea, most people have the same skin, hair, and eye color, so their system needed to have more nuance. Like their spas and beauty treatments, South Korea’s color analysis sessions have now become a tourist attraction.
Plus, Korean color analysis isn’t just about clothing and accessories—it also includes recommendations for makeup and perfume. “Floral, fruit, and aqua perfumes, which are light and refreshing scents, are recommended for the type that goes well with pastel colors,” says Diane Dasol Kim, CEO of popular South Korean color analysis salon Colorwings. “For the type that goes well with dark colors, the rich scents of musk, smoke, and wood are recommended.” Bright winters like me might want to try a botanical, spicy fragrance with notes like juniper or ginger, which makes sense, since I typically reach for these scents. At Seklab in New York, they even have clients try four different lipstick colors—two for daily wear and two for special occasions. The sisters will also have clients try different eyeshadows and blush colors.
While seemingly objective on the surface, after doing my color analysis session, I could see where subjectivity could creep in. For instance, I believe my assigned astrological traits fit who I am, but I’ve also studied astrology since I was younger; it’s possible I’ve subconsciously leaned into those aspects of my personality. Similarly, as confirmed by my color analysis session, I believe silver, black, red, and white look best on me, but they’re also my favorite colors, so I feel most confident wearing them—and it probably shows.
At its very basic level, color analysis helps answer the age-old question of “What looks good on me?”—a question that’s been made more complicated thanks to the internet’s endless products and micro-trends. But I found that it also tapped something deeper. In today’s fast-paced, hyper-digital, and algorithm-ruled society, it’s never been harder to figure out a sense of self. Social media contributes to feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and more. Things like astrology and color analysis might seem silly on the surface, but when someone tells us characteristics about ourselves, it’s a form of validation that enables us to feel more secure in who we are. You might be doom-scrolling, but you know you are a Scorpio. You might be feeling isolated in one aspect of your life, but you know you are a “light spring.”
Astrology and color analysis give us new “facts” that help us exert control over how we present ourselves. Being armed with these identifiers can help people find more confidence to engage with the world around them, both online and off. I’m Katie. I’m a Taurus. I’m a bright winter.
Katie Berohn is the Beauty Assistant at Good Housekeeping, Woman’s Day and Prevention magazines, all part of the Hearst Lifestyle Group. She graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a major in journalism and minor in technology, arts, and media, and earned her Master’s Degree at NYU’s Graduate Program of Magazine Journalism. In addition, Katie has held editorial internships at Denver Life Magazine, Yoga Journal, and Cosmopolitan, a digital editorial internship at New York Magazine’s The Cut, a social good fellowship at Mashable, and has freelanced for HelloGiggles. _When she’s not obsessing over the latest skincare launch or continuing her endless search for the perfect shade of red nail polish, Katie can be found in a hot yoga class, trying everything on the menu at New York’s newest restaurant, or hanging out at a trendy wine bar with her friends.