These days, many people believe that those with tan or medium skin tones should stick to “warm” colors, while those with fair skin look best in pastels. But is that really true?
According to Polene Tan, Founder and Head Color Analyst at the Jakarta International Color Academy (JICAcademy), there’s a common misconception linking skin color stereotypes to clothing choices. The right clothing colors aren’t determined by skin tone alone, there are several other factors that come into play.
To find the colors that best match your personal characteristics, you can try personal color analysis. This method helps you identify the ideal color palette that brings out your best features.
What is Personal Color Analysis?
Personal color analysis is a method used to identify the colors that naturally suit a person best. These “personal colors” are something you’re born with.
To determine personal colors, several aspects like skin tone, hair color, eye color, and even the color of your veins must be analyzed. The results are then matched with specific categories in personal color analysis to find the palette that best fits each individual’s unique features.
The concept of personal color was first introduced in the 1940s by artist Suzanne Caygill, who believed that everyone has their own unique colors and that wearing the right shades can enhance one’s appearance.
In the 1980s, Carole Jackson popularized the fabric draping technique, which is still widely used today. This method involves placing pieces of fabric in specific colors near the face under natural lighting to see which tones complement you best.
Today, personal color analysis has grown in popularity, especially in South Korea. In Indonesia, there are now over 20 organizations offering personal color analysis services.
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The Benefits of Knowing Your Personal Colors
Here are some of the advantages of discovering your personal color palette:
1. Finding the Right Colors for Your Outfits
Knowing your personal colors makes it easier to choose shades that make your face look fresh and radiate a positive energy. The right colors can even make a simple outfit stand out.
2. Boosting Confidence
Wearing colors that suit you can make your face look brighter and more alive. This naturally makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin, which will boost your confidence.
3. Saving Time and Energy When Choosing Clothes
Personal colors serve as a guide when picking clothes. You won’t have to try endless mismatched combinations or spend too much time standing in front of your closet. Shopping becomes faster and easier because you know which colors to look for and which to avoid.
4. Strengthening Your Personal Brand
Consistently wearing your personal colors can become your signature style. This visual impression plays an important role in personal branding, especially in professional environments, helping shape how others perceive you.
How to Do a Personal Color Test
During the Introduction to Personal Color Analysis event at @america on April 16, 2025, professionals from the Jakarta International Color Academy shared the following steps for doing a personal color test:
1. Check Your Vein Color
The first step is to look at the color of the veins on your wrist under natural light or a flashlight. This helps you identify your undertone, which is the subtle color beneath your skin’s surface.
Your undertone is different from your skin tone. Unlike skin tone, your undertone does not change, even if your skin tone shifts due to skincare treatments or sun exposure.
Here’s how to figure out your undertone:
- If your veins look more blue or purple, you most likely have a cool undertone.
- If your veins look green, you probably have a warm undertone.
- If you cannot clearly tell whether your veins are blue or green, you might fall into the neutral undertone category.
2. Identify Your Natural Eye and Hair Color
Next, take note of your natural eye and hair color without any dye or colored contact lenses. The combination of your natural eye and hair color can influence your personal color palette, which will be discussed further in the skin tone palette section below.
3. Do a Contrast Test
A contrast test helps you see how much your natural features—such as your skin, eyes, and hair—stand out against each other. To check your contrast level, take a selfie in natural light and convert it to black and white.
If there is a strong difference between them, for example very dark hair with light skin, you have high contrast. On the other hand, if your features blend more softly, such as light hair with light skin or dark hair with dark skin, you have low contrast.
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4. Check Which Metal Suits You Best
Finally, try wearing gold and silver jewelry alternately under natural light. If gold jewelry makes your skin look healthier, you likely have a warm undertone. If silver jewelry makes your skin look fresher, you probably have a cool undertone.
Skin Tone Palettes Based on Personal Color
The results from the steps above can then be matched to seasonal categories such as Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each category has its own unique characteristics, explained as follows:
1. Spring
The spring palette is usually found in people with a warm undertone and a medium to high level of contrast. Colors that suit this palette include peach, coral, buttery yellow, mint green, and turquoise blue.
2. Summer
The summer category is associated with a cool undertone and a low to medium contrast. Suitable colors for this type are soft, cool, and slightly muted shades such as pastel blue, lavender, dusty pink, soft teal, and bluish gray.
3. Autumn
Autumn types have a warm undertone with rich, deep, and warm colors reminiscent of fall foliage. Ideal shades include brown, olive, mustard, terracotta, burnt orange, and moss green.
4. Winter
Winter is typically linked to a cool undertone and high contrast. This palette works best with bold, crisp, and vivid colors such as maroon, navy blue, emerald green, fuchsia, and pure black or white.
If this has sparked your interest in trying a personal color analysis, join the next @america personal color analysis event, it is completely free and open to everyone. We have so many other exciting events for you to enjoy. Click here to check the schedule for this month’s events.
