§ · Terms of the trade
A short glossary.
The language used in a colour consultation — defined, pronounced, and illustrated in a sentence each. Written to be quotable.
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Armocromia
/armoˈkrɔːmja/
The Italian term for personal colour analysis. The dominant name for the practice in Italy and increasingly across continental Europe; the method is identical to British and American colour analysis.
Armocromia and personal colour analysis describe the same draping work in different languages.
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Personal Color
/ˈpɜːsənəl ˈkʌlər/
The American and East Asian term for personal colour analysis, written without the British "u". The standard label in South Korean and Japanese diagnostic salons.
Korean personal color salons offer the same drape-based analysis used in London.
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Undertone
/ˈʌndətəʊn/
The underlying hue of the skin — warm (yellow, gold, peach) or cool (blue, pink, silver). One of the three axes used in the 12-season system, and the first one determined in a consultation.
Your undertone is warm; your skin reads golden rather than rosy.
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Value
/ˈvaljuː/
How light or deep your overall colouring is — a weighted reading across skin, hair, and eyes. The second axis assessed in a consultation.
A Deep Winter has a low value; a Light Summer has a high value.
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Chroma
/ˈkrəʊmə/
The saturation of your colouring — whether it is clear and bright or muted and soft. The third axis, and the one that most often surprises clients.
A Soft Autumn has low chroma; a Bright Spring has high.
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Draping
/ˈdreɪpɪŋ/
The method of holding fabric against a client's face in neutral daylight to observe its effect on skin, hair, and eyes. The working tool of colour analysis.
The drape work takes about ninety minutes of the appointment.
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Season
/ˈsiːzən/
One of the four classical families (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter), each defined by a characteristic combination of undertone, value, and chroma.
Every client is placed first in a season, then in a sub-season.
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Sub-season
/sʌbˈsiːzən/
One of twelve more specific classifications, obtained by dividing each of the four seasons into three along the value or chroma axis.
“True Summer” and “Soft Summer” are sub-seasons of Summer.
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12-season system
/twɛlv ˈsiːzən ˈsɪstəm/
The contemporary system of personal colour analysis that classifies clients across three axes — undertone, value, chroma — producing twelve sub-seasons.
The 12-season system replaces the older 4-season system.
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Palette
/ˈpælət/
The set of colours determined to suit a particular client. A full profile typically contains around thirty colours.
Your palette includes ivory, warm camel, and clear coral.