Can AI Find Your Colors? My Honest Take
AI color analysis is everywhere right now. Upload a selfie, and within seconds you're told you're a Soft Autumn or a Bright Winter. I understand the appeal. It's quick, it's easy, and it's fun to play with.
But as someone who analyzes color in person for a living, I'll be direct. AI is not a serious way to find your colors.
What AI actually sees
AI looks at the surface of your skin. That's your overtone, the color people notice at first glance. Fair, olive, rosy, tan, deep.
Your undertone is something else entirely. It sits beneath the surface, and it's what decides whether warm or cool, soft or clear colors work in your favor. Overtone and undertone don't always line up, and that gap is exactly where AI gets it wrong. It reads the surface and guesses the rest.
Color analysis is about how your skin reacts
When I place a drape under a client's face, I'm not looking at the fabric. I'm watching the skin respond to it.
The right color evens out the complexion and brings the face forward. The wrong one can deepen shadows, pull up redness, or leave skin looking sallow or gray. These shifts are subtle, and they happen right in front of you as each color goes up. That reaction is what tells me someone's undertone. An algorithm reading a single photo isn't seeing it.
Why a trained eye matters
Seeing undertone takes training and a lot of practice. I trained with the Italian Image Institute as well as Colour Analysis Studio, and every client I've draped since has sharpened my eye. After hundreds of real sessions with real faces, I notice things that don't show up on the surface. That kind of judgment doesn't come from an app. It comes from experience.
In my opinion, a trained human eye is the only reliable way to determine a person's undertone.
So is AI useless?
Not entirely. It's an interesting place to start. If an AI result gets you curious about color, that's great. Just don't rebuild your wardrobe or your makeup bag around it. Treat it as a conversation starter, not an answer.
What about online color analysis?
This is a fair question, especially since I'll be offering online sessions starting in late 2026. The difference is who is doing the looking. With my online sessions, I personally review your photos and assess the skin nuances that AI can't catch. Years of experience and many in-person sessions are what make that possible. It's still a human eye, just from a distance.
Find your colors the right way
If you're in the Nashville, Brentwood, or Franklin area, book an in-person session and let's see how your skin responds to color firsthand. If you're farther away, stay in touch for online color analysis in the near future.