A colour analysis quiz can only be as accurate as the answers it gets, and most inaccurate results come from the same few mistakes: answering under warm indoor light, answering about dyed hair rather than natural colouring, or answering about the colours you like rather than the ones that suit you. Learning how to take a colour analysis quiz properly takes five minutes of preparation and makes the result far more reliable.
This guide covers how to set up, how to answer each kind of question, what to do if the result feels wrong, and where a quiz stops being useful. More in our Colour Analysis section.
Before You Start
- Sit near a window in natural daylight, not under indoor bulbs
- Remove makeup, or at least foundation and blush
- Pull your hair back if it is dyed, so you can think about your natural colour
- Wear a white or grey top so no strong colour reflects onto your face
- Have a mirror to hand
- If you have them, gather a gold and a silver piece of jewellery
How to Answer Each Kind of Question
Questions About Your Skin
Answer about your skin without a tan, and without makeup. If you tan easily, think about how your skin looks in winter.
Questions About Your Hair
Answer about your natural colour — the colour at the roots, or your colour before you started dyeing it. Dyed hair describes a choice, not your colouring.
Questions About Your Eyes
Look in daylight and notice the overall impression — clear and bright, or soft and blended — as well as the colour itself.
Questions About How Colours Look on You
Answer about what happens to your face, not whether you like the colour. A colour suits you if your skin looks even and your eyes look clear; it does not suit you if you look tired, grey or flushed.
Take the Quiz
Twelve questions, weighted scoring, and a result in one of twelve seasons. No email, and no photo.
If you are not sure whether you are warm or cool, start with the undertone test — it is the foundation the quiz builds on.
If the Result Feels Wrong
First check the conditions: was the light warm, were you wearing makeup, did you answer about dyed hair? Retake it in daylight if any of those applied.
Second, look at the neighbouring seasons. Many people sit near the boundary between two, and the quiz result page names the closest alternative. Read both descriptions and try colours from each — the shared colours are safe, and the difference shows at the edges. The best colours for your season shows all twelve side by side.
When a Professional Is Worth It
An in-person colour analysis uses physical fabric drapes under controlled light and a trained eye, and it is meaningfully more accurate than any quiz. It is worth considering if you are about to rebuild a wardrobe, if quizzes keep giving you different results, or if you simply want certainty. A quiz is the free first step; a draping is the precise one.
After You Have Your Season
Turn the season into a working palette with the personal colour palette generator, then read building a wardrobe from your colour palette and how to shop with a colour palette. For an example of one full season, see the Deep Autumn palette explained. For neutrals and metals, the best whites and neutrals for each undertone and gold or silver for your undertone. Changed your hair recently? Hair colour by colour season explains how it shifts things.
Seasonal Colour Analysis Quiz
Your season, your 12-season subtype and a full palette.
Try this free calculator to find your exact match.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I take a colour analysis quiz accurately?
Should I answer about my dyed hair?
Why did I get a different season from another quiz?
Is a photo analysis more accurate?
Is colour analysis scientific?
For the history of the approach, see colour analysis, and on how cameras change colour, colour balance.
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