Lately, I’ve found myself completely captivated by color season analysis, also known as color season theory. Although it’s not a new concept, it’s recently surged in popularity on TikTok, filling my For You page with videos on the perfect wardrobe choices for a Cool Autumn or the ideal eyeshadows for a Soft Summer. But what exactly does this mean?
Color season theory has been around for decades, suggesting that certain shades better complement your natural eye color, hair color, and skin tone. These shades are categorized as either cool or warm, correlating with specific seasons. Within these seasons, sub-categories exist, determined by the contrast between your eyes, eyebrows, skin, and hair.
While the theory might seem straightforward, identifying your personal color season can be challenging, especially after spending hours comparing yourself against various virtual “drapes”, which are images of fabrics placed beside your face to see which hues suit you best.
Many color season analysts offer their services online, analyzing your photos to determine your ideal color season. But they can be expensive, which is what lead me to explore the iPhone app Dressika.
How does Dressika work?
Listed as a “personal AI shopping assistant and color style consultant” in the Apple App Store, Dressika simplifies color analysis. The app evaluates a selfie to determine your color season, offering seasonal color palettes and makeup color recommendations.
After uploading a selfie and answering questions about your eye color and natural hair shade, the app either automatically detects your color season or guides you through the steps with a selection of carefully chosen drapes.
With my pale pink skin, blue-grey eyes, and dark blonde hair, I suspected I was a Soft Summer, known for its cool, muted colors. Testing Dressika yielded Soft Summer results, along with suggestions for Cool Summer and Soft Autumn, depending on the selfie. While not ideal, experimenting with photos in varying lighting seemed to refine the results. I was right, I’m a Soft Summer (most of the time).
Once I identified my color season, the app’s suggested palettes, particularly for eye makeup, proved really fascinating. Dressika visually applies these makeup shades to your face, highlighting the subtle yet significant differences in tones. The clothing and hair color suggestions were less convincing on my selfie, but as an introduction to color analysis, Dressika is a really great starting point, especially if you’re not able to afford professional services.
Although Dressika was my preferred choice, I also explored the MyColorPalette iPhone app. It offers a simpler, less feature-rich experience but still provides accurate color analysis and a beautiful color palette, despite occasionally delivering varied results across different photos.
