My Color Analysis Adventure at Colorbrity
Getting a look at my best colors, “mute autumn” shades
Personal color analysis, custom makeup shades, and style tips—here’s how Colorbrity helped my friend Katie and me find our most flattering looks.
Have you ever wondered what colors are most flattering on you according to color theory?
When my friend Katie told me she was getting her colors done to help determine what to wear for her new headshots, I asked if I could tag along and join her.
Why We Picked Colorbrity
Claire Choi, founder of Colorbrity, has a degree in Textiles and Clothing from UC Davis, as well as six professional certifications in the personal color analysis industry. (We blurred out the number on the door for privacy.)
Katie and I booked the two-people "Once in a Lifetime" consultation program at Colorbrity, an image consultation studio in Los Angeles. (Katie found the studio through an acquaintance who had her colors done there.)
Colorbrity was founded by Claire Choi to help people discover the shades that make them shine like celebrities. Claire has a degree in Textiles and Clothing from UC Davis, as well as six professional certifications in the personal color analysis industry. (Claire knows her stuff, and you can learn more about her background on the Colorbrity website.)
What the Session Included
Katie gets her skin analyzed.
The session we booked included a thorough combination of personal color analysis, skincare analysis, and body-type analysis. The goal is to help clients find the most flattering colors when it comes to clothing, hair color, makeup, jewelry, and more. The color analysis is even used to help determine what scents to wear. Body and head shape analysis help you find clothing fits, hairstyles, and eye-glasses with shapes that will look best on you. The full details about what the "Once and a Lifetime" session includes can be found at colorbrity.com.
Arriving and Getting Started
Getting my head shape analyzed. You show up to the session wearing no makeup or color contacts.
The Colorbrity studio is located in Koreatown, and we wanted to make sure we'd have enough time to park and find the studio, so we got to the area with plenty of time to spare. Luckily, Colorbrity is located in a building with a parking lot, and parking is included with the session.
Since there are several restaurants in the shopping center where Colorbrity is located, we arrived early and had lunch and milk tea at cafes in the building.
The Colorbrity session starts with an intro to personal color so that guests understand a little about the basics of color theory and what they are getting into. To help illustrate this and make it fun, Claire shows you a slideshow on her computer of different celebrities and their best and worst colors. Seeing what a difference color can make on the celebs, builds up the anticipation and excitement for the session.
You're instructed to arrive at your session wearing no makeup or color contacts. The reason for this is so that Claire can analyze your natural skin color, eye color, and hair color. She uses a device to analyze your skin tone and help determine whether you have warm or cool undertones. She takes your measurements to help analyze your body shape.
If you're self-conscious about any of this, try to let that go at the door. This is important for your best results and Claire is very welcoming, encouraging, and positive. The session is about embracing your true self. . . as you are, so that you can learn to present yourself in a way that makes you feel your best.
The Color Analysis
Claire drapes Katie in white for the color analysis session.
Claire uses fabric draping to determine your best colors. I knew that there were color seasons like spring, autumn, winter, and summer, but I didn't realize how specific each of those can get. There are several different categories for each season.
For this part of the session, you are draped in white to help limit influences like your hair color and clothing color on the accuracy of your color analysis. Claire has over 200 luxury fabric drapes that she uses to find your best colors.
It turns out my best colors are "mute autumn" shades. These are softer, warm autumn shades. I was surprised to learn – yes, I can wear pink, as long as it is a soft autumn shade of pink. Katie was almost my exact opposite. Her best colors were "light summer" shades which are cool tones. Claire also uses hair color swatches to help determine your most flattering hair color options.
If you like colors that aren't your best colors according to your results, Claire also shows you how to wear them so that they are more flattering. In fact, Claire was wearing a color that isn't technically one of her best colors, and she showed us why it worked based on how she wore it.
Skincare and Makeup
Colorbrity sessions include makeup consultations where you learn how to apply your most flattering colors.
After your color analysis, there's a skincare and makeup session. You get to play with makeup and skincare products! Claire analyzes your skin and helps you come up with a routine that you can use to address concerns. She has a selection of skincare samples, and she guides you through a routine, using the samples.
She also has makeup samples and shows you your best makeup colors based on what you learned about your most flattering shades. One thing that I particularly appreciated is that Claire can mix you a custom foundation shade to match your skin color. I always have a challenge finding the right foundation shade, and Claire's creation was spot on.
Claire created a custom foundation to match my skin tone.
I didn't feel like there was a lot of pressure to buy any skincare or makeup products, but I did buy the foundation and a few other products. (This speaks to Claire’s service because I have an endless closet of beauty products, and really don’t need any new products.) However, it's super convenient to be able to buy the colors that are just right for you while you are there. The prices were very reasonable. If Claire was selling clothing with my colors – I would have bought that too! You leave excited to apply what you learned.
After the session Claire sends you a PDF with all your results along with specific examples when it comes to makeup and style recommendations.
There's so much in the analysis that I didn't get to in this review. It's a long session with plenty of detail. Our session lasted from 2pm to 6pm, but it felt like it went by in a blink.
After our session, Katie and I ended our day with dinner at Kingyubu, a delicious budget-friendly yubu and handroll restaurant. We had lots to discuss when it came to our takeaways and color revelations.
Yubu and handrolls at Kingyubu.
If you're looking for a unique way to spend a few hours and learn some new things about yourself, a session at Colorbrity is a fun self-care treat. I recommend booking a session with a friend and making a day of it!
Katie and I snap a no makeup pre-Colorbrity selfie in Claire’s studio while we wait for our session to begin.
A University of Michigan graduate, Lizzy Sherman is an award-winning writer/editor. You can also find her work in publications including Healthline, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo!, MindBodyGreen, Men’s Journal, Bezzy, and more. She has been a featured guest speaker at Cal State University Northridge, Digital LA, and The National Association of Audience Marketing Professionals. When she's not writing, Lizzy enjoys yoga and playing guitar. Follow her on Instagram: @zillizy.