What is Colour Analysis?
At its heart, colour analysis is the study of how different shades react with your natural features. Every individual possesses a distinct, genetically determined combination of undertones in their skin, eyes, and hair. When you wear a colour that harmonises with these natural tones, something magical happens: your skin looks smoother, blemishes soften, your eyes sparkle, and you instantly look rested and vibrant.
Conversely, wearing the wrong shade can drain your complexion, casting shadows under the eyes and making you appear tired or washed out. Colour analysis uses a systematic process of elimination—comparing warm versus cool, bright versus muted, and light versus dark tones—to discover the exact spectrum of colours that bring your natural beauty to life.
Beyond the Four Seasons: The 16 Sub-Season Method
You may have heard of traditional colour analysis, which places people into one of four broad buckets: Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter. While this classic system is a great foundation, human colouring is incredibly diverse and nuanced. A one-size-fits-all approach rarely tells the whole story.
That is why at Bourne in Colour, I use the advanced 16 Sub-Season Method.
This highly precise system takes the traditional four seasons and breaks each one down into four highly specific sub-categories based on your dominant trait (whether you need warmth, coolness, brightness, or softness above all else). This expansion means we can pinpoint your exact placement on the colour spectrum:
The Spring Sub-Seasons (Warm & Bright)
Light Spring: Delicate, soft, and warm with an airy clarity.
Warm Spring: True, radiant warmth where golden undertones shine brightest.
Bright Spring: Highly saturated, vivid, and striking coral and turquoise tones.
Pastel Spring: Clear but softened, gentle warm hues.
The Summer Sub-Seasons (Cool & Muted)
Light Summer: Pale, icy, and delicate with a very gentle cool touch.
Cool Summer: Pure, classic coolness dominated by elegant slate blues and berry tones.
Soft Summer: Muted, velvety, and hazy—perfectly balanced with dusty roses.
Smoky Summer: Deeper, shadowed, and elegantly softened cool neutrals.
The Autumn Sub-Seasons (Warm & Muted)
Soft Autumn: Muted, gentle, and earthy with just a whisper of warm gold.
Warm Autumn: Rich, spicy, and deeply golden like an untamed forest floor.
Deep Autumn: Dark, intense, and mysterious with a heavy, warm luxury.
Muted Autumn: Deeply softened, rich tones that are beautifully understated.
The Winter Sub-Seasons (Cool & Bright)
Bright Winter: High-contrast, electric, and sparkling jewel tones.
Cool Winter: Piercingly cool, pure, and icy with absolute blue undertones.
Deep Winter: Dark, dramatic, and velvety rich, bleeding into deep charcoal and plum.
True Winter: Balanced, timeless, and stark high-contrast clarity.
Why This Matters For You
By analysing you through this 16-season lens, we eliminate the guesswork. You won't just leave knowing you are an "Autumn"; you will leave knowing exactly why a rich burnt orange makes you look radiant while a dusty mustard might tone you down. This level of precision is the ultimate celebration of your individuality—giving you a bespoke colour roadmap that is entirely, uniquely yours.
What to expect at your appointment.
When you step in to the Bourne in Colour studio, your session is entirely designed around comfort, clarity and discovery. We begin with a relaxed chat over a warm/cold drink to discuss your personal style goals and how you currently feel about colour. Next, we sit in front of the mirror under specialist daylight-balanced lighting, ensuring absolute accuracy. Using a meticulous, step-by-step process with professional drapes, we will explore how different undertones react with your skin, eyes, and hair. Because I work with the advanced 16 sub-season method, we don't just stop at finding your main season; we will fine-tune the process to pinpoint your absolute "wow" colours—your power shades.
There are no strict rules or judgments here; it is a collaborative, eye-opening experience where you will see the transformative effects of the right colours in real-time. By the end of our time together, you will leave with a clear understanding of your palette, expert tips on makeup and best jewellery shades, a premium swatch wallet to guide your future shopping, and a custom goodie bag to celebrate your new colourful journey.
How to Prepare for Your Session
To ensure your 16 sub-season analysis is completely accurate, please follow these simple steps before arriving at the studio:
Come Bare-Faced: Please arrive with completely clean skin and no makeup (including tinted moisturiser, mascara, and lip balm). This allows me to see your skin's natural undertones, clarity, and how light bounces off your complexion.
Avoid Recent Fake Tan: Please ensure you have no fresh or fading fake tan on your face or neck, as artificial tanning products completely alter your natural colouring and will skew your final results.
Wear Neutral Clothing: If possible, wear a simple top with a low or neutral neckline (white works best). Don't worry too much about this, though, as I will gently drape a neutral caping over your outfit before we begin.
Bring Your Everyday Makeup: Feel free to bring along a small pouch of your most-used everyday makeup products (especially foundations and lipsticks). Once we discover your true palette, we can look through them together to see which ones are already your perfect match!
Consider Your Eyewear: If you wear glasses, we may occasionally ask you to slip them off for brief moments during the draping so I can fully see your eye area. If you wear coloured contact lenses, please swap them out for clear lenses or your everyday glasses for the appointment.
