It seems like just yesterday we figured out our skin’s undertone (did you know that olive undertones exist?), and now, social media is encouraging us to find out our colour season too.
But where do we even begin? And how can we determine what shades truly look good on us?
Well, what if we told you there’s an app that helps determine your colour season and even recommends cosmetics for your skin tone?
Read on for all the deets!
What are colour seasons?
Photo source: @all_things_grace/TikTok and @cocotte_beauty/Instagram
Popular among Japanese beauty junkies, colour seasons are shades that look best against your skin tone and undertone. These colours are then grouped based on the season that represents them.
Many beauty enthusiasts will indicate their seasonal palette in their social media profiles (shown above) so that followers with the same colour season can get the best recommendations.
The colours in each season are:
- Spring: warm and light colours (pastel pink, rosy pink)
- Summer: cool and light colours (lilac, bright pink)
- Autumn: warm and dark colours (orange, burnt red)
- Winter: cool and dark colours (wine red, berry)
To make things a little easier for you, we recommend downloading the Japanese app LIPS.
How to determine your colour season
LIPS is an app that can be downloaded on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Not only can it help you determine your colour season, but it will also suggest posts from other users and products with shades that belong to your season.
Unfortunately, the app’s settings are all in Japanese and the language can’t be modified. But don’t worry, even if Japanese is not a language you’re familiar with, we’re here to break everything down for you so that you can enjoy this app too.
Step 1: Press accept and begin
Once you download and open the app, press the button shown in the image above to accept the terms and conditions.
Step 2: Select your age range
Here are the options:
- 10 to 15 years old (10 代前半)
- 16 to 19 years old (10 代後半)
- 20 to 25 years old (20 代前半)
- 26 to 29 years old (20 代後半)
- 30 to 35 years old (30 代前半)
- 36 to 39 years old (30 代後半)
- 40 to 45 years old (40 代前半)
- 46 to 49 years old (40 代後半)
- 50 to 55 years old (50 代前半)
- 56 years old and above (50 代後半)
If you’d rather not share your age on your profile, feel free to check the box at the bottom of the options.
Step 3: Select your skin type
Indicate your skin type:
- Normal skin (普通肌)
- Oily skin (脂性肌)
- Dry skin (乾燥肌)
- Combination skin (混合肌)
- Sensitive skin (敏感肌)
- Eczema (アトピー肌)
Remember to check the box at the bottom if you’d like to keep your skin type anonymous from other users on the app.
Step 4: Select your colour season
Here’s when we’ll need to say we’re unsure what season colour group we’re under!
- Spring (イエベ 春)
- Summer (イエベ 夏)
- Autumn (イエベ 秋)
- Winter (イエベ 冬)
- I don’t know (その他 · わからない)
Check the box below to hide your colour season from other users if that’s what you’d prefer.
Step 5: Pick brands that you’d like to see when using the app
To give the algorithm a little nudge in the right direction, select some brands you’re fond of. This will help the app determine what type of posts and products would make your experience more enjoyable.
Go ahead and select the options they’ve already suggested on the first screen or search in the bar at the top if you have any particular brands in mind. Feel free to type in English!
Step 6: Enter the colour season page
After entering the home page, look to the top left corner and click the icon that has a smiley face with a bracket surrounding it.
This will take you to the colour season page.
Step 7. Press start and allow camera access
Press the button right below the arrow that says start and wait for the next page to load.
While the new page loads, there will be an option that pops up on your screen. This is the app’s request to access your camera as the colour season page uses an AR filter to help determine which shades suit you best.
Click accept (許可) and the next page will load.
Step 8: Pick the lipstick shades you think suit you best
A series of lipstick shades will be projected onto your lips via an AR filter. Simply pick the shades that you think complement your skin tone.
Keep picking between two choices until the app brings you to the final page.
Step 9: Explore your colour season
Based on your choices, your colour season would be calculated for you. Here’s what your page says about your colour.
The first option you see on your screen will indicate your first season colour while the one below it will be your second season colour.
Some people are able to pull off more than one seasonal palette depending on the shades picked.
Here is how you can tell which season you got as your colour:
- Spring (イエベ 春)
- Summer (イエベ 夏)
- Autumn (イエベ 秋)
- Winter (イエベ 冬)
Check out the recommended beauty products
Afterwards, the app will recommend beauty products with the same shades as your colour season group.
From blush to lippies and even nail polish, there are lots of products that are sure to bring out the best in your complexion.
You can even decide what coloured face masks and hair dye you should opt for to brighten or complement your overall complexion.
Download LIPS on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
Featured image credits: @all_things_grace/TikTok and LIPS
