If you’ve landed on this page, you’re probably at least a little curious about colour analysis. Maybe you’ve wondered why certain outfits feel right and others just… don’t. Maybe you’ve had your colours “done” by an app and felt underwhelmed by the results. Maybe you’ve been standing in a fitting room under fluorescent lights holding two nearly-identical shades of blue, completely stumped.

I’ve been there. This is the story of how I got obsessed, what I learned, and why I decided to do something about it.

The Problem I Kept Ignoring

For years, I found myself second-guessing things - my hair colour, the clothes I’d buy, even the tones I naturally gravitated toward. Nothing felt wrong, exactly. Just... not quite me.

So I did what anyone does in 2024: I tried to solve it with technology. Apps. TikTok filters. ChatGPT. (Yes, really.) And every single time, I got a different answer.

That’s when something clicked. Not in a frustrating way - in an illuminating one. I realized I wasn’t the problem. The tools were just the wrong tools for the job.

What Colour Analysis Actually Is

Before we go any further, let’s talk about what colour analysis actually means - because it’s more interesting (and more scientific) than most people realise.

Colour analysis is the process of identifying which colours harmonise with your natural colouring - your skin tone, hair, and eyes - to help you look and feel your most vibrant, healthy, and like yourself. It’s rooted in colour theory: the study of how colours relate to each other, how they’re perceived by the eye, and how they interact with light.

At its core, colour theory gives us a framework for understanding:

• Hue: the actual colour family (red, blue, green, etc.)

• Value: how light or dark a colour is

• Chroma: how muted or saturated a colour appears

• Temperature: whether a colour reads as warm (golden, peachy) or cool (ashy, rosy)

When applied to personal colouring, these same properties matter enormously. Someone with high contrast between their hair and skin might look best in bolder, more defined colour combinations. Someone with soft, blended colouring might be overpowered by stark contrasts but absolutely radiant in muted, harmonious tones.

This is why a colour that looks stunning on your friend can wash you out - and vice versa. It’s not about which colour is “better.” It’s about resonance.

Why In-Person Analysis Is the Gold Standard (And What Virtual Can Still Do)

Here’s the thing I kept bumping into during my research: truly accurate colour analysis requires real light and real fabric.

Your screen emits its own light. Photos are taken under different conditions, compressed, filtered. The warm overhead lighting in your living room reads differently than a north-facing window. And a draped piece of fabric - held close to your face in controlled, neutral light - does something that pixels simply can’t replicate: it shows you the immediate, unfiltered reaction of your skin.

Under a warm-toned fabric, you might suddenly look flushed or sallow. Under a cool one, your eyes might pop in a way you’ve never noticed. Under your true season’s colours? You just look like the most alive version of yourself.

That’s why in-person analysis is the gold standard - and it’s why I’m investing in proper training rather than winging it.

That said, I will also offer virtual analyses, and I want to be upfront about what that means: virtual is a best-guess system. A well-trained eye working from good photos in good lighting can get you significantly further than an app or a TikTok filter - but we’re working with what we’ve got. It’s an educated, informed read, not a definitive one.

Because of that, virtual analyses will be priced meaningfully lower than in-person sessions. And if you start with a virtual analysis and later want to do an in-person session, I’ll apply what you paid as a credit - so you’re not starting from scratch, just getting closer to the full picture.

The Seasonal Framework (A Quick Overview)

If you’ve heard of colour analysis before, you’ve probably come across the seasonal system - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter - which originated with Johannes Itten’s colour theory work and was popularised by Suzanne Caygill and later by Carole Jackson’s Color Me Beautiful in the 1980s.

The four seasons were originally mapped like this:

• Spring: warm, light, clear; think golden, peachy, bright

• Summer: cool, soft, muted; think lavender, dusty rose, sage

• Autumn: warm, deep, muted; think terracotta, olive, rust

• Winter: cool, deep, clear; think navy, icy pink, true red

Over time, the system has been expanded into 12, then 16, and now up to 23 seasons by many practitioners, allowing for much greater nuance and accuracy. (No more being crammed into a box that doesn’t quite fit.)

Modern colour analysis doesn’t just assign you a season and hand you a fan deck - it looks at the flow between your dominant colour characteristic and how your individual hue, value, and chroma interact. That’s where the precision comes in.

Why I Decided to Train Properly

I could have kept reading about it. Lord knows I had enough tabs open.

But the more I understood about how colour analysis actually works - how much precision, observation, and understanding of undertones is required - the more I realised this isn’t something you can self-teach to a professional standard. And I wanted to be able to do this properly, in a way that I could genuinely stand behind.

So I made the decision to train in Toronto with Karen Brunger of the International Image Institute - someone who is widely regarded as one of the leading experts in colour analysis, not just in Canada but internationally. She’s spent decades developing advanced colour systems and has trained thousands of consultants around the world. Her approach is precise, methodical, and rooted in a deep understanding of how colour interacts with each individual - not trends, not guesswork.

Getting to learn from her directly is something I don’t take lightly. It means that when I work with clients, I’ll be offering a level of accuracy and care that’s really hard to find.

What This Means for You

I’ll be sharing updates from training and beyond right here - what I’m learning, what surprises me, and eventually, what the process looks like when I start working with clients.

And yes - I’ll be offering significantly reduced pricing for my first handful of clients while I build and refine my process. So if you’ve ever been curious about having your colours done properly (and affordably), this is a good time to pay attention.

If any of this resonates with you - the second-guessing, the sense that something’s almost right but not quite - you’re in the right place.

Keep an eye on this space. It’s just getting started.

Jena is based in Langford, BC and is currently training in colour analysis with Karen Brunger of the International Image Institute. Stay tuned for updates on services, launch dates, and early client pricing.