Personal Color is a fun, no-nonsense guide to figuring out which colors actually flatter you—and why. Anuschka Rees makes color theory feel approachable and empowering, with practical tools, inclusive examples, and just the right amount of depth to help you build a wardrobe (and makeup bag) that really works for you.

I though I was an autumn, but this book, in its very clear layout, and detailed descriptions, helped me understand that I'm a Soft Summer. Personal color theory can be contentious given the era in which it was created and applied, including a closeness to the era of Darwinian eugenics and deeply embedded racisms in cultural imaginations. Rees updates color theory for modern readers and avails it of its historical trappings, to show readers that bodies, complexions, and natural hair are aspects of us. The author demonstrates how color is a method of adornment and appreciation of our bodies in cultivation of confidence or expressions of esteem, rather than a quick trip down the rows of this year's fashions. There is a sense of perennial usefulness in the book's contents, where it avoids body shape and size conversations, focusing on clothing color as complementary to create an aura about oneself, or at the very least, a way to help readers understand why some colors may or may not work for them. The nuances that Rees considers in the delineation of color theory make this book one for the fashion-forward, or if you're like me, those who dress well and are looking for ideas to get a few key pieces every now and again for their wardrobe to make it pop. Thank you to the publisher for the e-book advance reader copy of this book!

This book was so informative but I think its purpose is lessened through an ebook and would be much better as print media. Despite the fact that it is gorgeous, it is very informative but colors can get warped on ebook and kindles often have no colors or very limited options, so I would reconsider publishing it in that way

Everything old is new again, and that rings true for the idea of people finding their "seasons" as it relates to color and what compliments you the best. This is a great and comprehensive book for anyone interested in the idea of finding their colors without having to shell out the big bucks for an in person consultation.

The author did a great job of describing the finer details and explaining the why behind color matching in a very straighforward but engaging manner. I also appreciated the diverse group of individuals that the author highlighted while illustrating different concepts.

Overall a great resource for anyone interested in learning more about your personal colors.

If you’ve ever fallen down the endless YouTube rabbit hole of color analysis videos, you know how addictive they can be. There tend to be two main types: (1) recordings of color analysis sessions with “experts,” where viewers are mesmerized by how refreshed someone looks in certain colors and (2) tutorials that promise to help you determine your own season at home but often leave you about 60% confident in your results.

In Personal Color, Rees provides a thorough and approachable guide to figuring out which of the twelve color seasons you belong to. Compared to your average YouTube tutorial, I found her explanations of undertone, chroma, and value especially clear and helpful, particularly when it came to understanding often confusing terms like “olive skin tone.” She also includes a practical section on how to decide between two likely seasons, which I found especially useful. Beyond the standard seasonal color palettes, she adds “worst” colors and recommended lipstick shades for each season.

As for potential improvements, while I appreciated the introduction’s stated aim to bring a modern perspective to color analysis, the disclaimer felt a bit tacked on, as the main text largely sticks to more dated language. The comparison photos would benefit from standardized poses and facial expressions, which would make evaluating the effects of different colors easier. And, much like the first type of YouTube video mentioned above, it would be deeply satisfying to see each model in a full range of drapes to illustrate the effects of the different colors. Rees touches on the effects of aging throughout the book, and it would be great to see visual examples, such as the same model photographed over time or family members of different ages with similar coloring.

Still, thanks to this book, I’m now about 70% confident I’ve correctly identified my season.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for providing an advance reading copy.

It was really interesting to learn the different seasons and what will work for my skin tone. I tabbed so many pages to go back to and see what colors work best for me. I love how much it went into detail about to the colors and how to pick which one is for you because it can be scary to just google it with all the different information out there. It was nice to have a handbook about it and now I'm more mindful when I go shopping for myself.

This book is a lot of information and color and color theory. I think this is a very trendy topic right now and I know that people are going to want to check it out and learn their own personal colors.

The ebook formatting was a little strange, but I imagine that having the physical book would make more sense.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a very insightful guide on understanding personal color and how to use it to your advantage.

I felt like the diversity in the photos and color swatches were very helpful, and it pooled a lot of information into one book, so instead of people waiting for the information to be fed via a youtube or tiktok video, you could look over all of the information and make a decision about what seasons works best for you.

This is the book I wanted to read when I was younger. Ok I really wanted to read it now too even though I know a lot about the seasons, and I really feel like this was missing in the seasonal coloring industry (is that even a thing? 🤣). I’m gonna do fancy bulletpoints to point out why.

1. Diversity. The author truly includes information and pictures of all skin tones, not just the white ones. Finally, a book about your color type for EVERYONE.
2. There is lots of information about the why’s. You get color theory and why and how it works to understand the mechanics behind the different types. This helps immensely if you’re trying to figure out your own type.
3. While figuring out your own season is very hard, this book makes it slightly less hard. I can now confidently type myself als true winter. There is also a lot of troubleshouting which helps you get close to your type, and I love that. Yay for diagrams! However, if you’re a bit more difficult it’s still very hard and we still can’t type my mom who is in between true summer and true winter with her cool undertone, medium coloring and medium contrast, and I feel like this was the only thing that wasn’t discussed in the book 🤣 But tbh in real life the color analyst couldn’t figure it out either so that’s not the fault of the book. But I feel a lot of people fall into margins and that makes it a little difficult.
4. Everything is written very clearly, but not in a boring way. The pictures are very clear and you get a confidence boost and help to figure it out.
5. I really recommend getting this book and reading it to figure our your type. For me, it’s been such a help to know which colors look best on me! And it’s a low cost option compared to an average consultation, and for me it feels like you get way more background info than in real life when it’s just the draping.
6. The only thing that might bother me is that there is no after. This book is primarily for finding and understanding your type with a few tips on how to wear colors that are less flattering (thank goodness the author empahises that it’s merely an advice and you can wear any color you want and look awesome). However, I would have liked a bit more info on how to integrate it in your wardrobe, how prints work etc. The chapter on make up and hair color is very appreciated but I would’ve liked a “I know my type, what’s next?” chapter. But that’s seriously the only downside I can think of in this otherwise thorough book, and for me it’s not even that important enough to give it one less star, so 5 stars it is 😉

I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my review, this has not influenced my opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book walks you through how to figure out your colour palette step by step, using your undertone, hair, and eyes. And using this information, helps you figure out which colours look best on you.

This book was very informative and very helpful for me to figure out my colour palette. I felt the author made the information very accessible and easy to understand even though this is a new topic for me. Colour harmony was something I was interested in but didn’t know much about and I appreciate that this book made it easy for me to understand how to figure out my colour palette and what colours for clothes, hair, makeup, and jewelry are best for me based on that colour palette.

I appreciated the inclusion of photos as they helped me to figure out what my colour palette is, and it was cool to see all my best colours together and it acts as a good reference for me.

I truly enjoyed this book! The explanations were clear and helpful and I appreciated new information about high and low contrast. There are tons of pictures to illuminate the author's points, and step by step instructions to find your color season. Will purchase this for myself!

Great and insightful book! I learned so much about what colors would look best and worst on me and the reasons why! I love how the book talks about everything from clothes to hair and makeup and even jewelry! This book really helped me a lot and I will consult it many times to make sure I perfect my looks! Thank you so much for a wonderful and easy to read book on color theory!

The most informative and helpful book I have read on the subject. Much like everyone in the last few years I have fallen down the internet rabbit hole of trying to self-diagnose my personal colors. It was confusing and there wasn’t much helpful information. Mostly people trying to sell you something and then providing you with a very generic color analysis. No more!

Not only does this book explain the relevance of color theory in relation to your personal colors the author does so in a way that is easily understood. I learned so much and feel I know exactly what my colors are now. No more TikTok filters for me! An absolute must read if you are interested in personal style.

I chose this book because I remember reading another color book back in the 1990's and I never could figure out what season I was, though I wanted to be an Autumn.
This book is far more open to different skin colors and includes many people of color. I thought it had a lot of detail and information on color theory.
Sadly, I still am not sure what season I am. Though from trial and error I know that people compliment me when I wear certain colors so I can guess.
There are a lot of pictures of hair colors, skin colors and eye colors, what I really wanted was a lot more pictures of colors of clothes and what color goes with what for specific seasons.
This is an interesting read, but unless you have a good eye for discerning skin tones you may have difficulty figuring out your season.

I appreciate the care that went into finding such a diverse group of models to show the range of different skin tones and hair colors. I still feel a little out of my depth for figuring out my own personal color palette, but this book is a great place to start and try figuring color palettes out for yourself.

**** 4/20/25 **** Just finished Anuschka Rees' upcoming color how-to guide book, Personal Color. This is a gorgeous book with a fabulous cover that many people will be attracted to. It has a wide range of models and feels very inclusive for readers from all cultural walks of life. I'm of an age that recalls the original 4-season color typing like Rees's mother - I never dove into it too much, but was always curious.

As background, I am a STEM person by profession and degree, and like to think of myself as a creative person also, so I was surprised at just how *technical* the book is in educating on color theory, including color fluency, hue, undertones (cool to warm), chroma (soft to clear), value (deep to light). Rees then describes color genres that combine all of those elements, and also color harmony , which are when palettes go together based on undertone, chroma and value. Then Rees walks readers through an evaluation of our own contrast level based on skin, hair and eyes. She provides a simple process of taking photographs to assist readers in determining their color type. There is further guidance on color changes as you age (skin and hair changes).

I love the book concept, but honestly was challenged in evaluating my own contrast. I think I got close, and think I'm a version of Summer, but really struggled to compare the super granular differences in the examples provided. But maybe I don't have the eye of an artist to differentiate these things well enough, and maybe that's why I wear a lot of charcoal and black lol.

I do think many people, particularly women, are very into color theory for clothing and make up, and think this is a great time to refresh the concept of seasons. I wish there was almost a shorthand, simple version included for people like me who may not be as invested or adept at the nuanced differences between different seasons. Then once we have that, we can go deeper if we want.

I wish Rees the best of luck on her new book, and caution readers that this is a pretty intensive dive into color theory and analysis, so as long as you go into it with that in mind, you'll do great.


*** 3/19/25 *** Thank you NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for an advance reader copy of Anuschka Rees's new book due for publication July 8th. I read Rees's first book, "The Curated Closet," and really liked it, so am excited to see what she has to say in this one. I have never had my colors done for wardrobe, make up, or hair color purposes, and I hope I don't learn that I'm picking all the wrong things! I was not able to download this to my kindle, only to my phone or laptop to read digitally. Will review soon.

This book is so incredibly helpful for figuring out how to elevate your style and choose colors that work best for your clothes, hair, and makeup. I had tried an AI color matching filter and I wasn't confident in the results. This book is so thorough, this is a book I see myself coming back to time and time again to reference for myself and my friends!

Personal Color is a beautifully designed, practical guide that takes the guesswork out of choosing flattering colors for your wardrobe. Anuschka Rees combines expert advice with an inclusive, empowering tone that makes personal style feel accessible to everyone.

Personal Color is a super fun & very practical guide to figuring out which colors actually work for you. As someone who's always been a little confused & easily overwhelmed by the concept of color theory, this is exactly the kind of resource I needed. Anuschka Rees breaks everything down in a way that’s easy to understand, approachable, and actually useful. Lots of helpful tools & visual references to help you build a wardrobe that feels more like you! A new favorite!

Thank you to Net Galley and Ten Speed Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you so much to Ten Speed Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the ‘Personal color guide book’. The following review is my honest opinion.

This guide can help you to find the color season and subtype that suites you the best. Knowing this is very helpful for choosing clothes, jewelry, hair colors and make up.

I have been looking for this kind of book for a few months now and I have to say Anuschka Rees did not disappoint. She managed to go into every detail there is, from the history and background of colors to every step needed to find your own color season and subtype.

I believe that with this guide anyone can find their most suitable colors!
The author made sure to include examples for a wide variety of skin colors and for different age groups. It is fun and easy to follow. I loved this experience and appreciate the authors dedication and research it took to create this book.

I want to recommend this book to anyone who is interested in color theory and the fashion world!