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What is color analysis and how does it work?

How does a color analysis work?
How does a color analysis work? 02:56

MINNEAPOLIS — It's not a new concept by any means. Color analysis has been around for decades and was wildly popular in the 1980s with the release of Carole Jackson's "Color Me Beautiful."

It's now having a resurgence, with people over social media trying to find out what season they are.

Katie Tenney is a House of Colour consultant. Since 2016, she's helped people in her Minnetonka studio find their personal palette.

"We all have to get dressed in the morning and we have to do that every single day and there's so much stuff and noise and if you can just be comfortable in your own skin and know with confidence you're doing it right, you don't second guess yourself," Tenney said.

The first task is determining the skin's undertone: either a warm yellow or cool blue.

"The question we want to ask is what color do you look the best in," Tenney said.

Tenney then compares facial features while moving through different warm and cool color swatches.

Yellow undertones look best with gold jewelry and cool tones with silver.

"If you're yellow-based, you're either an autumn or spring," Tenney said.

Color analysis can go further, into subseasons and personal style. Tenney says it's a tool to help you not only look good but feel good too.

"I want you to be empowered to go home and do this thing well," Tenney said. "The most important person it should matter to is yourself."

House of Colour started in the U.K. more than 35 years ago. Due to the growing interest in color analysis, they now have nearly 300 consultants in the U.S. 

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