How to work out which colours suit you

You do not need a professional to get a strong sense of which colours suit you. Three tests, done in daylight with a mirror, will point you at your season — and the colours you can shop with.

The three tests

1. The undertone test. Look at your wrist and jaw in daylight. If your skin has a golden, peachy or yellow cast, you are warm. If it has a pink, rosy or blue cast, you are cool. On deep skin, a golden or red glow reads warm and a blue or berry cast reads cool.

2. The value test. Compare your natural hair to your skin. If they are close in depth, you are light. If your hair is clearly much deeper, you are deep. The gap is your contrast.

3. The chroma test. Hold a clear, saturated colour and a muted, greyed colour against your jaw. If the clear colour makes you look clearer, you are bright. If the muted colour sits better, you are soft.

Why lighting ruins most self-tests

Colour judgement depends entirely on the light you are in. A warm bulb makes everything look warmer; a cool bulb makes everything look cooler. That is why every test here insists on daylight, not a bulb — and why a mirror in a dim room will mislead you.

How reliable is the vein test?

The vein test — green veins mean warm, blue veins mean cool — is a useful first clue but not proof. On deep skin the veins are often hard to read, and lighting changes what you see. Treat it as one signal among several, not a verdict.

Put the three answers together and you have your season. Take the quiz to resolve it and get your palette.