If you’ve ever spent money on a professional color analysis — or put it off because you haven’t gotten around to booking a color analysis, ChatGPT can now help you figure out your seasonal color palette, your most flattering hairstyles, and even your ideal makeup look! All you need is a good photo and the right prompts.
I have seen some people on Instagram use ChatGPT to do their color analysis, so I thought I would try it myself. Here’s exactly what I tried and the prompts you can use yourself!
Disclaimer: This is a fun way to try a DIY color analysis using the ChatGPT AI tool. I am no way affiliated with ChatGPT nor do I receive any compensation from ChatGPT. Use ChatGPT at your own discretion as it can make mistakes; check your results for mistakes.
What Is AI Color Analysis — and Can ChatGPT Actually Do It?
Color analysis (also called seasonal color analysis) is the process of determining which colors best complement your natural complexion, hair, and eye color. Traditionally, this is done by a trained image consultant using fabric swatches. Now, AI image tools like ChatGPT (using the GPT-4o model with image upload capabilities) can analyze a photo of your face and generate surprisingly detailed, visual results.
The key is knowing what to include in your prompt. A vague request gets a vague answer. A specific, well-structured prompt gets a gorgeous infographic with color swatches, comparisons, and styling tips.
Let’s get into it!
Get the Convenient 11-Page PDF Guide 👇
Before You Start: Tips for the Best Results
For any of these prompts to work well, you’ll need a great photo. Here’s what to look for:
- Natural lighting — avoid harsh flash or heavily filtered photos
- No heavy makeup (for color analysis especially) so your natural undertone reads clearly
- Face forward, neutral background works best
- High resolution — the clearer the photo, the more detailed the output
This is the photo I used. I stood in front of a window in my house and snapped this photo.
The ChatGPT Color Analysis Prompt
This prompt will produce a 6-page color analysis for your best colors to wear, makeup and hair guides. The pages may or may not look exactly the same as the ones ChatGPT gave me.
Instructions:
- Open a new chat window in ChatGPT
- Upload a clear, front-facing selfie photo, made in natural lighting (best if no or little makeup and no photo filters). Photo should show your face and hair. For best results, wear a solid white shirt in the photo.
- Copy and paste the first prompt. After it produces the first page, repeat the copy and paste process until it produces all 6 pages.
- Download the pages and copy them to your phone to take with you when you shop for clothes and makeup!
1st Prompt: Color Analysis Page
Here’s the prompt (COPY AND PASTE INTO CHATGPT):
Act as a professional personal color analyst, makeup artist, hairstylist, and image consultant. Please analyze the uploaded photo of myself of the following: my natural coloring, including my skin tone, undertone, contrast level, eye color, hair color, and overall coloring. Use the photo to create a personalized visual beauty guide for me. I want the final result to be image-first, not text-first. Important instructions: Use my actual face and features as the reference. Make every recommendation specific to my real coloring and features. Create clear charts, swatches, labels, side-by-side comparisons, and visual examples. Keep text short, readable, and practical. Do not give generic advice. Do not create one huge collage. Create separate sections. Show the recommendations actually on me whenever possible. Slide is in printable PDF format with the size of 8.5” x 11” (letter size): Title: “Color Analysis”. Determine my most likely seasonal color palette. Analyze whether I appear warm, cool, neutral, bright, muted, light, deep, high contrast, mediumcontrast, or low contrast. Create a clear visual chart showing: My color season, My best colors, My best neutrals, My best accent colors, Colors I should avoid, Why those colors work or do not work for me.
2nd Prompt: Visual Color Examples On Me
Here’s the prompt (COPY AND PASTE INTO CHATGPT):
Use the same instructions in the first prompt, make another page. Title: “Visual Color Examples on Me”. Use my uploaded photo as the reference and show examples of my best and worst colors actually near my Personal Beauty Analysis Prompt face. Create comparison panels that show: Colors that brighten me, Colors that soften me, Colors that wash me out, Colors that overpower me. Include clothing color swatches, neckline examples, or simple outfit-color mockups so I can visually understand the difference.
3rd Prompt: Makeup Color Guide
Here’s the prompt (COPY AND PASTE INTO CHATGPT):
Use the same instructions in the first prompt, make another page: Title: “Makeup Color Guide”. Use my uploaded photo as the reference and give me a personalized makeup color guide based on my coloring. Create a chart for: Foundation undertone guidance, Concealer tips, Blush colors, Bronzer or contour tones, Highlighter tones, Eyeshadow colors, Eyeliner colors, Mascara colors, Lipstick and lip liner colors, Makeup colors to avoid. Make the makeup colors specific, practical, and easy to shop for.
4th Prompt: Hair Color Guide
Here’s the prompt (COPY AND PASTE INTO CHATGPT):
Use the same instructions in the first prompt, make another page: Title: “Hair Color Guide”. Use my uploaded photo as the reference and recommend the most flattering hair colors for me based on my natural coloring. Create a hair color chart showing: Best brunette shades (if applicable), Best blonde shades (if applicable), Best red or copper shades (if applicable), Best highlight, lowlight, or balayage tones, Best dimensional color direction, Hair colors to avoid, Whether I should stay warm, cool, neutral, soft, bright, deep, or dimensional. Show examples on or beside my face so I can see how the colors would harmonize with my features.
5th Prompt: Hairstyle Guide
Here’s the prompt (COPY AND PASTE INTO CHATGPT):
Use the same instructions in the first prompt, make another page: Title: “Hairstyle Guide”. Use my uploaded photo as the reference and analyze my face shape, features, current hair length, and overall style. Create a hairstyle guide showing: Best haircut shapes, Best hair lengths, Best layers, Best bangs or face-framing pieces, Best styling direction, Hairstyles to avoid. Use visuals, labels, and examples while keeping my identity consistent. Do not make me look like a different person.
6th Prompt: Final Beauty Summary
Here’s the prompt (COPY AND PASTE INTO CHATGPT):
Use the same instructions in the first prompt, make another page: Title: “Final Beauty Summary”. End with a simple best look formula: My best clothing colors, My best makeup tones, My best hair color direction, My most flattering hairstyle direction, My overall beauty style direction. Format the answer like a polished custom beauty report with separate visual charts and sections. Prioritize clear images, swatches, labels, and mockups over long written explanations.
What to Expect from Your Results
- ChatGPT’s image generation has gotten remarkably good, but it’s worth knowing what you’re working with:
- Results will vary based on your photo quality and lighting
- The AI reads visual cues — contrast levels, apparent undertone, face shape — rather than analyzing your actual skin like a professional would
- You may want to run 2–3 variations with different photos to see if the recommendations are consistent
The results I received were genuinely useful! The color swatches it recommended aligned closely with what I’ve always gravitated toward, and the “avoid” list finally gave me language for why certain colors always feel off on me.
Final Thoughts: Is AI Color Analysis Worth It?
For a free, at-home option that gives you visual, actionable results? Absolutely yes. It won’t replace a session with a skilled image consultant if that’s something you want to invest in, but it’s a fantastic way to start understanding your palette — especially for busy women who don’t have time to book an appointment and sit through a long consult session.
Save these prompts, grab a good photo, and have fun with it! And if your results surprise you, try a few different photos before drawing any conclusions. The lighting really does make a difference.
Can’t wait to try this out. 35 years ago I got my colors done and it has been incredibly helpful. There was a reason I didn’t like certain colors next to my face. Now that I am in my 60’s I feel like my initial “winter” analysis might have morphed in to more “summer” tones staying in the cool range. As long as I stay in the cool end of colors I am alright. Thanks!
These detailed prompts are so helpful. I got pretty good results just asking for my season, but your in-depth analysis is fantastic! So fun! Thank you.
Love this! Thank you so much.
It is quite funny as I was playing around with Chat GP last night. I recently completed chemotherapy and had lost my hair which I had been coloring forever.my hair grew back a beautiful silver Grey and I live it short. As my looks are quite different now,I was interested on doing a color analysis to see how it reads. Like you,it read soft summer,so some of our results are quite similar.
Thank you for posting these prompts and I am looking forward to trying them out once I am able to access the free time.
When I did this, it did not give me the awesome pages that looked like the ones you got. Yours had so much more information and images that it created? Did you use Claude or Chatgpt?
I used ChatGPT and these are the exact ones it gave me.
Leanne 😀❤️
I have been working with ChatGPT for a while for clothes, makeup, and overall style. I definitely want to try your approach, especially for hairstyles, as I would love to find something new. Thank you for this well-formatted, planned, and easy-to-execute post.
Love this! Thank you very much! The prompts are extremely helpful and the results are realistic. I LOVE the hair color and hair style results to take to my next cut/color visit!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Doing this exercise was a great use of time and so useful! I have spent several years doing the hard work of hit and miss to get to only some of the many tips I got in a few minutes here! For the commenter that noted chatgpt did not immediately produce the pages with images, etc., I had the same experience for the first page, but then at the bottom chat gpt said it could not produce images with “standard document tools,” but explained exactly what it might be able to do, so I took its text description and created the following follow-up prompt and got the same amazing, image and descriptive pages: “Create personalized magazine-quality beauty guide based on my photos, including side-by-side draping of my face in my best and worst colors, personalized makeup palette (lipsticks, blush, eyeshadow) shown on my face, hair color recommendations illustrated on my photo, jewelry comparisons (gold vs. silver), wardrobe color swatches, and a polished multi-page visual guide.” Good luck, and thank you, Leanne, for this invaluable guide! I will be using this going forward together with the capsule wardrobe tips — the perfect combination to present the best me!
Stellar job, as always, Leanne! Great addition to your portfolio of styling work!
Just tried it and the results were interesting! I was analyzed as a Cool Summer before but ChatGPT labels me as a Soft Summer. I do think I’m not quite as muted and a little higher contrast than a true Soft Summer but the color suggestions it gave me seemed to be in line with what I naturally gravitate towards! I had to tweak the first prompt as it didn’t give me an image at first but otherwise I found these prompts super helpful. And the results were somewhat validating to me as I’ve been on a color analysis play for the last year or two as I tested out different Summer shades!
Awesome! I can’t wait to try this! I wonder how we can use ChatGPT for individual wardrobe style based on lifestyle and body shape. I’m a petite hourglass figure and often have the darndest type finding clothing that fits and flatters me well!
thank you so much. What a great idea. Thank you for organizing how to get this information from ChatGPT. I use ChatGPT all the time, but had not of using it for this purpose. The results are so helpful! I had to have ChatGPT revise a bit during the process, but I think it turned out 100% accurate.
I created an additional prompt, using yours as a start: Use the same instructions in the first prompt, make another page: Title: “Eyewear Guide”. Use my uploaded photo as the reference and analyze my face shape, features, and overall style. Create a eyewear guide showing: Best frame shapes, Best frame thickness, best colored frames, best metal colors for metal frames. Include best lens colors for sunglasses for my coloring. Frame shapes to avoid. Lens colors to avoid. Use visuals, labels, and examples while keeping my identity consistent. Do not make me look like a different person.
I did not wear my eyeglasses in my photos so that my eye color and shape were clear and my frames did not detract from any of the other analysis.
I was pretty impressed with the results. I also added a reference to the eyewear in the last Summary prompt so that it was included.
What a great idea you had, posting this!
I really enjoyed doing the process!
The results are pretty close to the colors I’ve been using all my life!
The photo I took is scary 😄 but it worked!
Thank you for the in depth analysis. I’ll use it as a guide to future AI consultations!
Wow. I am so grateful for this post Leanne. So excited to try this (I haven’t as I type this). Thanks for the prompt guides that generated such professional looking results. 4 years ago, when you did a professional color analysis and recommended it, I did it too. It was so expensive. I am feeling I might need an update now that I’m greyer and skin tone has changed. But don’t want to spend more money, so this post is very timely.
Thanks to the other ladies here who also kindly share tips on how to tweak the prompts if needed to get detailed results. And to Tammy who gave the prompt for eye glasses. I struggle to find a flattering pair of glasses since middle school. Optical shops aren’t of much help and I always ended up wearing plain metal frame glasses, to this day! Sooo boring. Thanks all. May your days be filled with light and smiles.