Colour analysis
Colours for dark skin
This is your palette
In our quiz deep skin casts no vote on warm or cool: it says how deep your colouring is, not what your undertone is, so your wrist, eyes and hair settle that. What it does bring is depth and rich pigment, so it most often leads to Deep Autumn, then to True Winter, and only rarely to a soft, muted palette. Green-leaning veins at the wrist usually point to Deep Autumn; blue veins, especially with black hair, usually to True Winter.
What it says about your colouring
On its own, it says nothing about warm or cool.
It can carry clear, saturated colour.
It reads deep.
The palettes it leads to most often
Colours to try first
- Mahogany
- Deep Pumpkin
- True Blue
- Cool Cobalt
- Vivid Coral
- Clear Warm RedTomato red, not blue-red.
Tips
- Go for clear, saturated colour. Deep skin holds strong shades that would overpower a lighter colouring, while dusty, greyed ones – dusty rose, sage, putty – tend to look dull and ashy next to it. If you want something light, choose a clear light colour rather than a chalky pastel.
- If green-leaning veins or warm hair put you on the warm side, try Deep Autumn’s colours: rust, deep pumpkin, warm gold, deep olive, rich teal and mahogany. Your white is ivory rather than optic white, your dark is chocolate or a warm navy rather than black, and gold, bronze and copper suit you better than silver.
- If blue veins or black hair put you on the cool side, try True Winter’s: cobalt, true blue, emerald, cherry red, fuchsia and royal purple. Here optic white and real black are working colours, not a last resort, and silver, platinum and white gold sit better with you than yellow gold.
- Not sure which side you are on? In daylight, hold optic white and then ivory just under your chin. If the white looks crisp and the ivory looks yellowish, you lean Winter; if the white looks stark and the ivory looks warm and easy, you lean Autumn. You can change that answer on your result and watch the palette move.
- Dark neutrals will not swamp you. Black, navy and chocolate sit close to your own depth, so they read as calm rather than heavy. The one to watch is a brown or bronze at exactly your own shade near the face: it blurs the line between skin and clothes, so go a step lighter or darker, or add a clear colour at the neckline.
How to find your palette
Colour analysis reads three things in your colouring: warm or cool, light or deep, clear or soft. The quiz asks about your eyes, hair and skin, looked at in a mirror by a window in daylight. It never photographs or scans your face, and the palette it finds is yours to keep.