How much does colour analysis cost in the UK?

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What happens in the session

Studios differ in the details, but most in-person sessions follow the same shape.

1. A chat first. What you wear now, what you avoid, what you want from the session. Some consultants add a short personality or "temperament" quiz.^7,8
2. Neutral start. You sit bare-faced, usually with your hair and clothes covered by a neutral cape or wrap, facing a mirror in daylight. One UK reviewer described arriving with no make-up, no self-tan and contact lenses in place of glasses, and avoiding a high neckline.¹¹
3. Drapes in pairs. The consultant holds two fabrics under your face at a time and you look together at what each does to your skin, eyes and the shadows around your face. The early pairs usually test one thing at a time, such as warm against cool or light against deep. Later pairs compare neighbouring seasons.
4. A shortlist, then a decision. The final comparisons are between close neighbours, for example Soft Autumn against Cool (True) Summer. This is the part people pay for: a trained eye explaining why one wins.
5. Your colours, applied. Most sessions finish with how to wear the palette: which colours to put near your face, metals, and often make-up shades. Some include a make-up review or a check of your make-up bag.^1,8
6. Something to take home. Usually a fabric swatch fan or wallet (one lists 42 colours), sometimes a booklet, photos of you in your best shades or a digital guide.^1,5,7

The system matters too. One London studio offers 12 or 18 seasons depending on which stylist you book,² and Colour Me Beautiful describes finding your "dominant" colouring.⁹ Others still use the original four. A finer system isn't automatically better. More seasons help if you're between two, but they also mean more neighbours to choose between. Seasonal colour analysis, explained covers where these systems came from.

How to prepare

• Bare skin. No foundation or self-tan, and skip strong perfume if you're sharing a room. Consultants want to see your own colouring.¹¹
• Glasses off if you can. Coloured frames sit right next to your face. Wear contact lenses if you have them.
• A low, plain neckline. Avoid high necks and strong colours near your face.
• Book a daylight slot. Many studios rely on natural light. Ask what happens on a dark winter afternoon, because daylight changes through the day and with the weather.¹² Why light is the whole game explains why that matters.
• Bring your make-up bag and a few clothes you love but never wear. Several consultants will check them for you.⁸

What it costs in the UK

We checked published prices on UK studio and consultant pages on 25 October 2026. These are list prices for a full colour analysis (not style days or wardrobe packages), and every source is linked below. Treat it as a snapshot, not an average: it's a small sample, prices are set by each consultant and they change.

What changes the price

• Where you book. London and the better-known names charged most. Regional consultants outside London often charged £150–£185 for a full session.^5–7
• Who you book. One London studio charged £260 with a senior stylist and £325 with its head stylist.²
• How long, and how many seasons. Sessions ran from about an hour to a half-day, using anything from 4 to 18 seasons.^2,4,5
• What you take home. A fabric fan or wallet is often included in person. Online, it can be an extra (one consultant charged £28–£38).⁸
• Alone or with friends. Group bookings cost less per person but take longer.¹
• When. Saturday slots sometimes cost a little more.¹

So prices that look similar can buy quite different things. Compare what's included, not just the headline price.

Colour is often sold inside bigger packages too. "Colour and style" days at House of Colour were listed at £630–£660,¹ and some London wardrobe packages run into thousands, but those are mostly paying for wardrobe edits and shopping time rather than the colour analysis itself.

Online or in person?

Online sessions cost less (from £80–£90 in our check) and are shorter, usually 45–60 minutes.^8,9 The consultant works from photos you send and the clothes you hold up on camera, so the result depends on your light and your camera as much as on their eye. In person, they hold real fabric against your face in one controlled light, and you usually leave with a fan. If you're choosing between two close seasons, that side-by-side comparison is the main thing an in-person session adds.

What you're paying for

When people explain afterwards why they paid, the colours themselves are rarely the point. Their answers come back to four things.

Is it worth it?

There's no research we could find that measures how often trained analysts agree with each other, so nobody can tell you how reliable a session is in numbers. What we can do is say when it's most likely to help.

It helps to go in with realistic expectations. A session is one trained person's judgement, in one room, in one day's light. Daylight changes with the time of day and the weather, which is one reason a US colour company says it stopped draping in person.¹² And reviewers who've had more than one analysis sometimes come away with more than one answer.¹⁰ A result between two neighbouring seasons isn't a failure. It usually means you can wear the colours both have in common.

How to choose a consultant

These questions are worth asking before you book:

• Which system do you use? 4, 12, 16 or more seasons, or a "dominant characteristic" approach.
• What light do you work in? Daylight, daylight lamps, or both. What happens on a dull day?
• How long is the session, and is it just me? Group sessions are cheaper per person but you get less time.
• What do I take home? A fabric fan or wallet, how many colours, a booklet, photos, a digital guide.
• Is make-up included? And is there a re-rate price if your colouring changes, for example with grey hair?
• What's the travel charge if they come to you?

To find someone near you, the big networks (House of Colour, Colour Me Beautiful) list consultants by area, and independent directories such as Find Colour Analysis list independents by town.¹⁸ Check each consultant's own page for current prices.

If you'd rather not pay yet

You can do a lot of the groundwork first, and it makes any later session more useful because you arrive with a shortlist. Free colour analysis at home sets up the light and a 20-minute routine. What season am I? walks through the four decisions in order. Warm, cool or neutral? covers the hardest one.

Quick answers

How much does colour analysis cost in the UK?

In our October 2026 check, most full one-to-one sessions in person cost £150–£375, group sessions £235–£265 a person, and online sessions from £80–£90. An express session can start at £45.^1–9

How much does a Colour Me Beautiful consultation cost?

Colour Me Beautiful lists Full Colour Analysis from £185, Express Colour from £45, online sessions from £90 and a Colour Review from £95. Prices vary by consultant and location.^5,9,13

Where can I get colour analysis for free?

You can do much of it yourself in good daylight with a mirror and some coloured fabric or clothes. Free colour analysis at home is a step-by-step method that deals with lighting first.

Can ChatGPT or an app do my colour analysis?

Any tool that works from a photo inherits the photo's problems. Research has found that the distance and angle of a phone camera change the skin colour it records, and that camera performance varies across skin tones.^16,17 Treat any photo-based result, DayDrape's included, as a shortlist to check in good daylight rather than a final answer.

Do I ever need to redo it?

Some people do, when their colouring changes, for example as hair greys. That's why consultants offer cheaper re-rates or colour reviews, from £95 to £190 in our check.^1,13,14

How much does a personal stylist cost?

We only checked colour analysis prices, not stylist day rates. Colour is often sold inside bigger packages, though: House of Colour colour-and-style days were listed at £630–£660.¹

Where DayDrape fits

DayDrape is not an appointment, and it isn't trying to be one. There's no stylist, no fabric and no room full of daylight. It's an AI reading from three photos of you. Before it reads your colours it checks your light, then it measures lightness, contrast, chroma and warmth, and shows your season with the runner-up and the measurements behind both, so you can see why. It's still in development. At launch, the reading will be free. Pro, which adds the rest of your palette and the colour checks, is planned at £6.99 a month (renews monthly) or £44.99 a year, about £3.75 a month (renews yearly), and you can cancel any time.

Sources

This article is general styling information. Your season is a styling shortcut, not a fixed or medical fact about you. Prices are a dated snapshot from the linked pages; check with the consultant before you book. We link every source we rely on; if you spot an error, tell us and we'll correct it.