I’ve always gravitated toward blues, greens, and pastels. Cool, calm tones. If you looked at my wardrobe before this trip, that’s what you’d find, with maybe some occasional autumn shades, but never with real confidence. Red? Never. Gold jewellery? I always reached for silver.

Then one day in Seoul, I sat in a small studio and a very knowledgeable woman quietly, kindly, and definitively told me I’d probably been choosing colours that weren’t fully working for me for years. Not entirely wrong, but enough that seeing the right colours against my skin was genuinely eye-opening.

The Colour Analysis Craze in Seoul

If you haven’t come across personal colour analysis on your social media feed yet, you probably will. It has exploded out of Korea, with hundreds of millions of views online, and for good reason. What started as a niche beauty and styling tool has become one of the most sought-after experiences for visitors to Seoul. Studios are everywhere, waitlists fill quickly, and people genuinely fly in just to have it done. (That wasn’t me, I only booked it because I already wanted to visit Seoul.)

The concept itself isn’t new. Its roots go back to the four-season colour theory developed by Swiss theorist Johannes Itten, where colours were grouped into seasonal palettes and divided into warm and cool tones. Spring and Autumn correspond with warmth, while Summer and Winter lean cool.

What Korea has done is build something incredibly precise on top of that foundation.

Korean colour analysis goes far beyond simply deciding whether you look good in red or blue. The four main seasons are broken down into highly specific sub-tones. You might be a “Summer Cool Light,” an “Autumn Warm Deep,” or a “Winter Clear.” That level of detail is part of why Korean colour analysis has become so globally popular.

You’re assessed using several metrics, including brightness, saturation, and temperature. In other words, whether your features lean light or dark, muted or bright, warm or cool. The goal, as the analysts explain it, is simple: the right colours can make your skin look brighter, soften shadows, bring out your eyes, and create a more balanced overall appearance.

The wrong colours can do the opposite. They can make dark circles look harsher, flatten the complexion, or make you look more tired than you actually are. Honestly? Once you see it in real time, it’s hard to unsee.

Vic’s Lab: The Experience

I found Vic’s Lab in the area closest to where we were staying in Seoul. There are so many studios across the city that choosing one can feel overwhelming. I’m really glad I found this one.

From the moment I walked in, I felt taken care of. The team was warm, professional, and incredibly knowledgeable, the kind of people who clearly love what they do. They explain everything as they go, walking you through each colour, each drape, each shift in tone. Nothing felt rushed.

Here’s how it works: they place you under neutral lighting with a white cape to remove outside colour influence, then slowly compare different fabric drapes against your face while your eyes adjust, and the difference, once you know what to look for, is genuinely visible.

Some colours made my skin look clearer and more alive. Others made me look flat, tired, or slightly grey. It’s subtle until it isn’t.

They photographed and video-recorded the important parts of the session for me to take home, which I loved. When you’re in the moment, it’s hard to absorb everything, so having that record to revisit later feels incredibly valuable.

The session lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes. Afterwards, another consultant did my makeup using shades that matched my palette, foundation, blush, lipstick, all adjusted to suit my undertones. They also showed me some hair colours and told me which ones suited me more. There was no pressure to buy anything afterwards, which I appreciated.

I left with colour swatches in my bag and a completely different understanding of what actually works on me.

Warm Autumn: The Colours I Never Thought Were Mine

My result: Warm Autumn.

Autumn palettes are rich, warm, earthy, and deep. Olive green. Mustard. Terracotta. Camel. Burnt orange. Rust. Gold. The colours of forests in October. And yes, red.

I would never have picked red for myself. Usually I don’t. I’ve spent years reaching for cool blues and soft pastels, colours I genuinely love and still do. And here’s the thing: I don’t suddenly have to throw them all away. Warm Autumns can still wear certain muted blues and softer greens. However, the icy pastels, stark whites, cool greys, and silver jewellery I’d naturally been drawn to? Those were quietly working against me, creating a slight dullness I had never noticed before.

Even within the same colour family, the differences matter. For example, they explained that certain browns actually drained me completely, while others, warmer, earthier, slightly muted browns, worked beautifully. It wasn’t simply “brown suits you” or “brown doesn’t.” It was about the exact undertone, depth, and softness of the shade itself. That level of specificity is what makes the process feel so much more precise than the generic seasonal charts you often see online.

The jewellery part was the hardest to accept.

I’ve always loved silver. Always. But seeing silver beside gold against my skin in natural light was one of those immediate, undeniable moments. Gold and rose gold simply looked better on me. Warmer. Softer. More harmonious. I genuinely couldn’t unsee it afterwards.

It will take time to integrate this. I’m not about to overhaul my entire wardrobe overnight,  but I keep finding myself noticing now. Reaching for something and pausing. Thinking about undertone and warmth in a way I never did before. That change alone feels significant.

A Note on the Studios and the Tourists Who Find Them

One thing the team mentioned stayed with me. In Seoul, personal colour analysis has become heavily driven by tourism. Many of the clients coming into these studios are international visitors who discovered it through TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram and added it to their Seoul itinerary.

Which also means there’s a surprising amount of competition between studios, especially in the more tourist-heavy neighbourhoods. It made me appreciate the experience even more. These are skilled professionals doing something genuinely specialized, and supporting them felt good.

If you’re travelling to Seoul and considering it, I honestly recommend trying it. Whichever place you choose, make sure you book ahead though. The good studios fill quickly.

Simply Salt & Soul

The Salt (The Science): The interesting thing about colour analysis is that the core idea is actually grounded in real principles of colour theory and visual perception.

Research in psychology and visual perception has long shown that colour affects how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. Certain colours can influence first impressions, perceived confidence, approachability, and even how healthy or energetic someone appears.

Seasonal colour analysis builds on the idea that certain tones visually harmonize better with different skin undertones. Warm undertones, like golden or peach tones in the skin, are often complemented by warmer colours because they create visual harmony rather than contrast. Cooler tones can sometimes make warm skin appear flatter or more shadowed. Makeup artists, photographers, and stylists have used versions of this principle for decades.

What Korea has added is precision and personalization. The analysts aren’t just asking whether you suit blue or red. They’re looking at brightness, softness, contrast levels, saturation, and how all of those interact with your natural colouring in real time.

Is it a perfect science? No. There is still subjectivity involved, and results can vary between analysts. But seeing certain colours brighten your complexion instantly while others visibly dull it is surprisingly convincing when it’s happening to your own face under natural lighting. There’s also something worth saying about the mental side of it. Knowing what works for you removes a layer of daily second-guessing. Less decision fatigue. More ease. More confidence in getting dressed without feeling like something is slightly off. That has value too.

The Soul (The Wellness): I’ve been thinking a lot about why this experience stayed with me so deeply, beyond the colours themselves. I think it’s because someone sat with me, paid close attention, and helped me see myself a little more clearly. Not as I assumed I was. Not through old habits or preferences. But as I actually am.

My real undertones. The colours that brighten me. The colours that quietly drain me. There’s something strangely emotional about that. We spend so much time looking at ourselves without really seeing ourselves. We build identities around small habits. I wear blue. I don’t wear red. I’m a silver jewellery person. And eventually those habits stop feeling like choices and start feeling like facts.

Apparently, I’m an Autumn. Warm, earthy, rich. The colours of things that are changing but still beautiful. I haven’t fully made peace with the red yet. But maybe that’s part of the point. Not to immediately reinvent yourself overnight, but to hold new information gently and let it slowly shift the way you see yourself.

Seoul gave me a lot. But this might be the thing I carry home the longest.

More soon.

Visited Vic’s Lab, Seoul. Sessions include colour draping, makeup consultation, and personalized colour swatches. Book ahead. Studios fill up, especially in peak travel season.