When I first had my own colour analysis consultation, it was using a seasonal colour analysis system which I’ve spoken of previously. At the time, I was a ‘summer’, but I didn’t feel like it completely ‘fit’ me. It was only years later when I decided to train in colour analysis, that I discovered there were other methods of analysis. This introduced me to Tonal Colour Analysis through Colour me Beautiful, and I decided to train with them back in 2011. During my training, I felt like I finally understood why my seasonal analysis didn’t feel quite right for me.

Not everyone ‘fits’ in just one box, and as such both seasonal and tonal colour analysis remain popular today.

Last week I shared how to find clothes in your colours from a brand called Kettlewell. Revisit it here if you missed it.

It brought up a popular subject:

what’s the difference in the two systems?

Whilst this isn’t an exhaustive and detailed guide, I hope it serves as a simple explanation.

What’s worth remembering is that the aim under both colour analysis systems is the same – to identify the colours that will make you look your best. However, whichever method you choose, be sure to do your research to find an experienced professional Colour Analysis Consultant that you feel happy and comfortable with.

The difference between the two main systems is how the analysis is carried out.

seasonal system

Your skin tone and eye colour will determine if you are warm or cool. When you’re warm, you’ll either be a spring or autumn. If you’re a cool then you’ll be either a summer or winter.

Each of the four seasons has a quadrant on the colour wheel. This is usually what you find online with the spinning wheels and filters. Some seasonal colour consultations include a sub-set based upon your individual clarity and depth to determine your ‘wow’ colours.

tonal system

Under this system, your overall features are assessed together – your skin tone, eye colour and your hair colour. (I’ve talked about the importance of your hair colour previously here.) By assessing your overall features, a colour consultant will determine your most dominant characteristics (because it’s not always your skin tone) to determine your ‘dominant’ or ‘core’ colouring type. This tonal method of analysis is more descriptive and based upon the Munsell Colour theory (covered previously).

Your ‘dominant’ colouring type is one of six (light, deep, warm, cool, clear, soft), rather than one of four seasons. It is refined further with 24 possible categories to incorporate your ‘sub-dominant’ features and your secondary and tertiary traits.

I still meet people who struggle with colour analysis. Often it’s because none of the seasons feel quite right for them. They find that when they wear the colours for that season, they don’t always flatter them so they don’t look their best. Like me, they don’t ‘fit’ neatly in the seasonal box.

Examples of seasons vs tonal

This is Lisa.

Under the seasonal system, she is an autumn and she’s got many corresponding features which ‘fit’ the autumn quadrant.

However, some shades within the autumn palette, really are too intense and rich for her.

Under the tonal system of analysis, Lisa is a warm, soft and light colouring type.

Her hair is her dominant feature which has warmth to it, making her dominant colouring type warm. With Lisa’s skin and eye colour, the softer and mid-depth variations of the warmer colours compliment her better. Soft and light are her sub-dominant features making up her colouring type.

This is Josey.

She is a winter in the seasonal system.

Josey found that many of the very vibrant colours of the winter palette to be too overwhelming and the icy colours much too draining when worn on their own.

Under the tonal analysis system, Josey is a cool, soft and deep.

Her salt-and-pepper coloured hair has lost the warmth and depth this coupled with the rosy-ness to her skin makes her dominant colouring type cool.

As her features are less defined, lowering the intensity of some of her colours means they flatter her overall features. Soft and deep are her sub-dominant features making up her colouring type.

A tonal analysis is a different approach to the seasonal system, but it’s more refined. There are no wow colours, because the colours are fine-tuned to match your features. You’re shown how to wear your shades of colours rather than what colour to wear.

Once you’ve experienced the magic of a colour analysis, you won’t look back!

Want to get started? Get in touch to book your session!

Your hair, and specifically the colour of it, is often a huge topic of discussion during my colour analysis consultations!

I believe it plays an important part of your overall appearance, which is why I assess it during your colour analysis.

Over the years, I’ve seen many clients and heard lots of stories of how hair colour changes have an impact on what you wear. Whether it’s a choice of colouring your hair, ageing, or medical reasons like hair loss and cancer. They all have an impact.

Once you begin to notice that certain colours don’t look quite as good as they did, it’s worth determining if the reason is due to hair changes. If so, how permanent is it likely to be? You may be able to ‘weather the storm’ so to speak!

Skin tone

Worthy of note is that there’s a common misconception that the undertone of your skin doesn’t change as your age. Certainly, under the seasonal colour analysis system, you remain the same palette. However, I’ve seen plenty of examples where this isn’t the case.

The Colour Me Beautiful tonal colour analysis system which I use in my consultations, is more flexible as it recognises that as we get older, hair loses pigmentation, eyes become more muted, and skin becomes more transparent. These aspects will affect the impact of colour when you wear it.

The Colour Me Beautiful MD; Cliff Bashforth is a great example of this. Over the years, he has transitioned between palettes. Back in the early years of colour analysis, Cliff was an autumn. As the seasonal system was developed with CMB, he was a soft autumn Certainly, under the seasonal system, he would still be classified as someone with a warm skin tone, which he actually isn’t anymore. His overall features have changed.

Going grey

Along with Cliff, I have seen many clients over the years who have decided to embrace the grey! Revisit this blog here and take a look at Carol.

By way of another example, if you had dark brown hair in your younger years you’re likely to find that stronger, richer or bolder colours are now feeling and looking ‘too much’. They may be overwhelming your more delicate or softer appearance because the harmony between your hair, skin and eyes has changed.

Not all greys are the same either. There are ash tones, whites, silvers and salt and pepper. But, a colour analysis consultation can help to determine your best shades of colour and how to wear them.

Colouring your hair

Let’s say you were mousey and now have a more vibrant and striking red colour to your hair. The muted colours you will have looked amazing in previously are unlikely to have enough ‘bite’ or drama for you now. No doubt that if you’d been analysed previously, you’re likely to have stopped using your swatches some time ago! The key now is to match the intensity level of your hair with the colours you wear. Do be aware that red tones in the hair can be bold and bright or red and auburn and this difference can have an impact on the underlying hue of the colours which suit you best.

Medical reasons

This can be a very sensitive topic for people. Having worked with some cancer patients over the years, a result can often be hair loss. Many find that their hair grows back very differently! Resulting in a change to your appearance and therefore the colours which once loved you, might not love you the same now.

Deciding to embrace the no-hair look can be a brave move and I remember a client who had alopecia with the most remarkable pattern and design tattooed to her head for the summer. She found the heat was too unpleasant to wear her hair pieces.

Equally, hair pieces can transform your overall look in the same way. Choosing to go blonde, brunette, red or blue will all require an adaption if you want what you wear to harmonise with your features.

Wardrobe impact

If you have found that your hair colour changes are having an impact on your choice of colours and how they look, a wardrobe assessment might be in order.

Should the change be temporary, or you plan on frequently changing your hair colour, you may find yourself altering and updating your wardrobe frequently.

A more permanent change means it’s a good time to reassess your wardrobe and if what you have still works for you, or if you need to adapt it.

Be certain that it’s definitely the colour that’s not working for you, or if it could be the pattern/design/style/fit or material? These factors can also affect how ‘good’ something looks and how you feel.

Can you ‘rescue’ the colour by wearing it with another colour? Perhaps try a scarf or jewellery to break up the colour near to your face.

A piece of advice I give all my clients is to keep the ‘wrong’ colour away from your face and wear it on the bottom half. The impact of the colour will be far less severe when worn this way and you still get to wear and enjoy it.

Dyeing your clothes could be another option, especially if the fabric is not man-made. Synthetics don’t dye well at home (without major effort), but mixes still will (like polycotton).

For those that can’t be rescued and you decide to let them go, be clear about what colour you need to replace it with, if at all.

The impact of different shades of a colour

I always say that you can wear every colour. However, there is more than one shade, tint or tone of a colour!

I’ve recorded a video in which I show you examples of different tones of pink and greens against my features. I wanted to try and demonstrate the subtle difference in colours and how they would look different if my hair was different. You’ll find it on YouTube here.

A colour analysis consultation will help you with all the aspects discussed in this blog and shown in the video.

Get in touch to book your colour analysis consultation.

Appointments are available Monday to Saturday. To enquire about availability, just get in touch! Toni.carver@tlcstyleandcolour.co.uk

tonal colour analysis

Seasons and Tonal Colour Analysis – what’s the difference?