Are you a soft autumn or a true spring? If you’ve been hearing these terms pop up everywhere lately, it’s likely because color analysis has taken over your social media feeds.
The idea is that certain shades can enhance your natural features based on your undertone, contrast, and depth. It’s something that has felt both intuitive and impossibly elusive: Decoding your “season” often meant sifting through TikToks, paying a steep price for an IRL consult, or trying to self-diagnose with questionable online quizzes. But now, one of styling’s most viral concepts is finally getting the accessible, user-friendly treatment it deserves.
Meet color e.l.f.nalysis, a free, selfie-powered experience from e.l.f. Cosmetics that lives directly within Pinterest. The tool analyzes your hue, value, and chroma to determine your color season, then matches you with a custom board of shoppable products tailored to your personal palette.
“A tool like color e.l.f.nalysis is a game-changer for everyday users because it takes the guesswork out of finding makeup that truly complements their skin tone and undertone — something that professionals like myself have spent years mastering,” says celebrity makeup artist Vincent Oquendo. “By analyzing each user’s unique features, the tool helps identify shades that naturally harmonize with their coloring so consumers can just focus on mastering makeup application.”
Read on for everything you need to know about the new online tool.
How Color e.l.f.nalysis Works
After uploading a photo of yourself (or choosing one from your camera roll), the tool analyzes three key elements: your hue (warm or cool), value (light or deep contrast), and chroma (bright or muted) to determine your color season.
Based on that analysis, it then identifies which shades are most likely to complement your skin tone, undertone, and natural features, taking the mystery out of color matching. It’s like having a professional color consultant in your pocket, minus the jargon and guesswork.
Once your season is revealed, you’re matched with a curated Pinterest board filled with shoppable e.l.f. products tailored to your palette. The best part? The mood board offers more than just a product list — it’s also loaded with photos that provide a visual guide to help you see how different shades can work together on your face, eyes, and lips.
“People have been baffled for so many years about their undertones, so having a tool like this to pinpoint what is recommended for their coloring takes the legwork out of shopping,” says Oquendo. “Color e.l.f.nalysis is almost like the beauty version of Cher’s computerized outfit selector from Clueless — something I’ve always wanted.”
Shopping Your Color Season
Where your products come in is where the real fun starts. Once you’ve learned your color season — my results say I’m a deep autumn, for the record — it’s time to reevaluate what’s actually serving you in your makeup bag.
“Do a spring cleaning and get rid of the clutter and what does not work for your color season, so you can then supplement your makeup wardrobe with colors that are recommended to be flattering and confidence-boosting,” suggests Oquendo.
My recommended products include the e.l.f. No Budge Matte Shadow Stick, Rare Emerald Smoky Kohl Eyeliner, and Bite-Size Eyeshadow palette in Truffles.
With your curated Pinterest board as your guide, it’s way easier to spot which products are worth keeping, which to swap, and where to fill in the gaps with shades that actually do something for you.
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