Why In-Person Colour Analysis Changes Everything

And Why Online Colour Analysis Can Miss the Mark

If you’ve been considering a professional colour analysis, you’ve likely noticed how popular online and Instagram-based colour typing has become. With a few photos and a quick turnaround, it can feel like an easy and accessible way to discover your “season.” But colour analysis is far more nuanced than a screen can capture and when accuracy is compromised, you can feel it.

This beautiful client’s journey is a perfect example of why in-person colour analysis matters, and why truly seeing your colours in real life can change everything.

A Client’s Experience With Online Colour Analysis

Before working with me in person, this client had already invested in two online colour analyses through Instagram professionals with large followings.

• The first placed her in Soft Summer

• The second placed her in True Autumn

Neither felt quite right.

This wasn’t simply about disliking certain colours or resisting change, something that can happen during colour discovery. She could tell, especially with makeup, that something was off. Instead of looking clearer or more balanced, her features appeared muted or overpowered.

While Soft Summer wasn’t horrible — she is cool undertoned — it didn’t fully harmonize. And when she was placed into Autumn, the disharmony became especially visible.

In Soft Summer Palette

In Autumn Palette

Why Online Colour Analysis Can Be Inaccurate

Online colour analysis relies on images and images introduce limitations, even with the most experienced analysts.

Some of the biggest factors that affect accuracy include:

• Uncontrolled lighting

• Camera auto-corrections

• White balance distortion

• Filters (even subtle ones)

• Makeup choices

• Screen-to-screen colour variation

Colour analysis depends on undertone, chroma, and contrast — all of which are nuanced and dynamic. When even one of these elements is misread, the season can shift entirely.

In this client’s case:

• She is cool undertoned, which explains the Summer placement

• But she is not soft or muted

• And she is not warm, which is why Autumn was especially disharmonious

Online, those distinctions are easy to blur.

In Autumn Palette

Colour Bias: When the Right Palette Still Feels Wrong

There’s another important piece of this conversation that often goes unspoken: colour bias. Even when someone is placed into their correct palette, that doesn’t always mean they’ll believe it right away. We all come into colour analysis with preferences. With favourite colours. With years, sometimes decades of identifying with certain aesthetics, trends, or beauty standards. Colour bias happens when we want to be placed into a season because we love the colours, admire the vibe, or associate it with how we want to be seen, even if those colours don’t actually harmonize with us. This is incredibly common. And very human.

My Own Experience With Colour Bias

This is something I experienced personally. If I hadn’t seen the difference with my own eyes — in real light, in real time — I wouldn’t have believed my own results. And even then, it took time for me to fully settle into my palette. Thinking about letting go of colours you love can feel like letting go of a version of yourself. And stepping into new colours can feel surprisingly vulnerable. That doesn’t mean the analysis is wrong. It means your identity is catching up.

What Changed During Her In-Person Colour Analysis

When we worked together in person, everything became clear, not just for me, but for her.

With:

• Controlled natural daylight

• Live draping

• Immediate comparison between seasons

• No camera distortion

• No digital interpretation

Her True Winter palette emerged unmistakably. Her skin appeared brighter. Her eyes clearer. Her features more defined. And most importantly — she could see it for herself.

This is something I emphasize deeply in my work:

Colour analysis isn’t just about being told your season — it’s about understanding why.

Once she saw the difference live, the uncertainty disappeared. Makeup made sense. Clothing choices felt intentional. There was no lingering question of “what if.”

GLOWING In Her True Winter Palette

Can People Be Mistyped? Yes — And Online Compromises Accuracy the Most

Mistyping can happen in any setting. Colour analysis is both technical and human.

However, online analysis compromises accuracy the most, because it removes the very elements colour analysis depends on:

• Light

• Movement

• Real-time comparison

• Visual feedback

Even the founder of the International Image Institute has spoken openly about how online analysis requires compromise, simply because lighting and cameras cannot be controlled.

When accuracy matters, compromise matters.

Online vs In-Person Colour Analysis: The Real Difference

Online colour analysis can be a starting point. In-person colour analysis is a transformation.

If you’ve ever:

• Been placed in multiple seasons

• Felt unsure about your results

• Noticed makeup always looked “off”

• Wondered why your colours never quite worked

It may not be you. It may be the method.

The Glow Colour Analysis Approach

My goal is never just to assign you a season.

My two objectives are:

1. To help you find your wow colours

2. To help you see and understand them for yourself

Because when you understand your colours, you trust them.And when you trust them, you use them.

Final Thought

Colour analysis isn’t about trends, rules, or fitting into a box.

It’s about harmony.And harmony is something you experience — not just view on a screen.

If you’ve been debating between online and in-person colour analysis, I hope this journey helps you understand why seeing it in real life makes all the difference.