Can You Know Without an Analysis?

Many analysts will say that no, you cannot. No one ever gets it right, they say. But on the other hand, we’re only working with twelve seasons, so at the very least, you have a one-in-12 chance.And then you’ll see that there are seasons you can eliminate with certainty, making your chance of having landed on the right one even higher. But even some within the color community also say that they’ve never seen anyone get their own analysis right.

I would disagree. I’ve seen people who look great in their chosen season, and you’d never know they’ve never sat in an analyst’s chair. I’ve seen people who were analyzed, but disagreed with their result, and found their way to seasons I wholeheartedly believe are the correct ones.

I’m not guaranteeing the DIY process will lead you to the same result that you would get from an analyst. I’m not even 100% certain I’m right about my own season. But I am certain about what is very, very wrong for me, and I’m confident enough in what I see in the mirror to continue to attempt to restrict my clothing and makeup purchases to Dark Autumn.

Even if you’re wrong, in your eventual analyst’s opinion–you will gain some direction and knowledge about how you react to color. You will still probably find that you are wearing more of the things you buy and fewer things are languishing in your closet with the tags stil on–especially if you’ve figured out your lines as well. You’ll purchase makeup you actually feel comfortable wearing out of the house. And often, in our mistaken season, we still find clues that lead us in the right direction. If you read analyst Rachel Nachmias’s color journey, there was a period where she thought of herself as “a darker light spring who can handle more darkness, and some unexpected colors like Aubergine.” Reading this, it is obvious that Light Spring is going to be wrong, since Light Spring’s dominant characteristic is light. Of course, she ended up a Bright Winter in the end. If you read her entire journey, there are many signs that lead to Bright Winter. But in her case, she needed an analysis to put all the pieces together, and it’s likely that most of us do.

However–if you keep track of these subtle signs, and how you’re feeling in your palette, I think you can land upon the right season eventually. I recommend keeping track somehow, whether in a paper journal or on a blog. Then you can identify the patterns that arise and try to interpret them. Also, sometimes the differences are subtle. I know a couple of Bright Winters who were torn between Bright Spring and Bright Winter, but it was obvious that Bright Spring yellowed them slightly. Bright Spring won’t be bad; it was just clear that Bright Winter was just a little bit better.

In the end, I think it’s possible, but it takes time and careful observation. We also have to be careful to keep an open mind, and not attach emotion to being a certain season.

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