
Have you ever slipped into a dress you really liked but still felt that something was a bit off? It’s often not about the fit, but the colour. Some shades suit our skin tone better than others, and that’s where colour analysis comes in. It’s a helpful way to look effortlessly radiant by simply changing your colour palette, without altering anything about yourself.
Colour analysis is not about guessing your skin tone or randomly picking colours. Pushpa Pittala, founder and director of Intended Image Consulting, explains, “Colour analysis is the process of finding colours that naturally enhance your features based on your undertone, which is determined by melanin, keratin, and haemoglobin pigments, and it is not related to skin tone but applies to all seasons and undertones.” With over five years of experience, Pushpa shows how this subtle biology helps pick colours that truly complement your natural colouring.
Mithila Nemala, an IT professional, recently tried colour analysis herself and was intrigued by the buzz around it. She says, “I was very curious because it is a trend in Korea and I wanted to check which colour suits me. After colour analysis, I understood my rich deep autumn palette, which enhanced my features and confidence, apart from changing my shopping habits. People now compliment my style thanks to Pushpa.” For Mithila, it was more than just a makeover; it was a real eye-opener that changed how she sees herself.
The process itself needs careful attention. Pushpa points out, “Lighting is essential because colour analysis relies on it — you cannot see colours properly without light. Natural lighting around noon is ideal as it is bright, unlike the yellow light at dawn or dusk. If natural light is not available, we use full-spectrum lighting between 5000 to 5500 Kelvin to do the colour analysis.”
That is why sessions take place in natural daylight, around noon, or under full-spectrum lighting, making sure the results are not only accurate but truly transformative.
Many people come to colour analysis sessions armed with results from online quizzes or AI tools, but these are often misleading. Pushpa explains, adding, “The only problem is that when we are doing colour analysis, people already have some AI or Google knowledge, so they come with fixed ideas, like having brown or dark brown hair means they are autumn or winter, which makes convincing difficult.” It takes care and patience to help people move past their assumptions and embrace the colours that really suit them.
Colour analysis has also found its place in the film industry. Costume designers like Rick Roy use it to tell stories more effectively. He says, “This is exactly what we do colour analysis for and I believe that it’s a very interesting tool to highlight a character or an important aspect of anything. We have in fact worked on it very tediously. In my next film Diler, director Kunal Deshmukh was extremely specific about how he wanted every scene to look and how the audience’s eye should move. I’ve lived this for the past year — especially on how he envisioned Ibrahim Ali Khan’s character to move through colours.”
Rick further adds, “Using the wrong colour is always a disadvantage. You have to understand the character as well as the actor playing it, since some colours work on certain actors and some do not. Colour theory shows that colours influence mood, so it is very important to balance both in filmmaking.”
Celebrity fashion stylist Mustafa agrees with this view. He says, “It’s important to do colour analysis because it eliminates guesswork from shopping and styling, ensuring that clothes, makeup, and accessories complement the wearer instead of overpowering or dulling their features. It creates visual harmony, helping someone appear more put-together even in simple outfits.
Wearing the right colours can make your skin glow, eyes pop, and features appear sharper, while the wrong colours can make you look tired, washed out, or even older. He further adds, “The best time to get a colour analysis done is when you’re going through a style transformation, shopping for timeless pieces, feeling your wardrobe doesn’t flatter you, preparing as bride or groom, or just curious because undertones don’t change much. Earlier is better so you can build your wardrobe wisely and effortlessly amplify your presence.”