Remix's digital assistant, Beth, got her colours done and never looked back
Colour analysis has completely transformed Beth's life, and it serves as a powerful reminder of just how deeply colour shapes the way we live, dress, and see ourselves every single day.
You know that feeling when your friend puts on a top you own and somehow looks way better in it — and you're standing there wondering why it never quite looked like that on you? Turns out, it wasn't the top. It was the colour.
Colour analysis is the process of identifying which tones, shades, and hues work best for you. Your skin and hair all carry a natural undertone — and even the unique patterns in your eyes play a part.
In 2024, I got my colours done by Georgette Pollock-Johnston of Styled by Georgette, and honestly? It changed everything.
Like every other teenage girl from school through to university, blonde highlights were basically a rite of passage. Once I started, I genuinely could not stop. A little blonder, I would tell my hairdresser at each appointment, going imperceptibly lighter until I was technically blonde but still convincing myself I was a brunette. I would buy clothes that the internet told me would look good: a warm red dress that, despite looking incredible on the model, had me feeling off all night, or the beige Lioness strapless top that I loved online and then promptly never wore for reasons I couldn’t quite explain. I wish I could go back and tell young Beth it had nothing to do with her — the colours were just made for someone else entirely.
This continued for years. Despite an interest in fashion and a love for clothes, I could never quite figure out my personal style. My wardrobe filled up with pieces I wouldn't wear or didn’t love, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on what did and didn’t work. That is, until I met Georgette. Draping me in a white cape and holding fabric swatches against my face in the light, she informed me I was a Cool Winter — and suddenly it all made sense. My colours are cool and high contrast. Think icy blues, deep navy, emerald, burgundy and fuchsia, with black, charcoal and white as my go-to neutrals.
Since embracing my new colour palette, the compliments have gone from that colour is nice to that colour looks so good on you. My answer is always the same: thanks, it's in my colours! Which, until about two years ago, would have meant nothing to me.
The 1980s saw women across the world getting their colours done. Back then, the system was simple — you were one of four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter, and that was that. The trend faded for a while, but its revival is a fascinating one — sparked largely by Korea, where colour analysis went viral on TikTok, became a cultural phenomenon, and people began making special trips to Seoul just to have it done. Today, the system has expanded well beyond the original four seasons, with flows that explore what happens when those palettes blend and overlap, giving far more precision around where exactly you sit within your colouring.
Image via @styledbygeorgette
Like so many New Zealanders, Georgette spent years defaulting to black, keeping her hair dark and playing it safe with her wardrobe without ever really knowing why nothing felt quite right. That all changed when she discovered she was a True Spring — what she lovingly calls a carnival palette — a world of warm, bright, joyful colour that felt about as far from her all-black wardrobe as you could get. Her first reaction? How on earth am I supposed to wear those colours? But once she did, everything shifted. It was that personal transformation that inspired her to train as a colour analyst, and in 2024, she launched Styled by Georgette — helping others have the same lightbulb moment she did. For Georgette, it is simple. She is in the business of making women look and feel good, and it is a very rewarding one at that.
The first thing Georgette addressed was my hair. She told me to go to my hairdresser and ask them to remove any hints of red that were pulling through. I hadn't consciously registered the red before she said it — but the moment she pointed it out I couldn't look at my hair the same way again. Cool, ashy brown was the answer. Away with anything warm and anything that was working against my skin tone.
I'd always been drawn to blue, but this was the first time I actually understood why. So I started making small shifts — leaning into cooler, icier tones and quietly phasing out anything warm or muddy. Burgundy became a wardrobe staple almost immediately. And look, I won't lie — finding out black was still in my palette was a genuine relief. Though Georgette did suggest bringing in more charcoal to keep things from feeling too heavy. Charcoal carries all the depth and sophistication of black, but without the starkness — it sits against cool skin in a way that feels polished rather than heavy.
One of the most surprising things I took away from my session was a completely new understanding of red. The distinction she draws between an orange-based red and a blue-based red was something I had never once considered. To me, red had always just been red. But the difference on the skin is striking, and understanding it changes everything. A warm, orange-based red can pull colour from your face in the wrong way — draining rather than energising. A cool, blue-based red on the right palette? Entirely different story. 'If you need to convince someone of something,' Georgette tells me, 'wear your red.' And she means it. For a Cool Winter, a blue-based red is sharp, confident and commanding. On the days I need to walk into a room and feel completely unignorable, I know exactly what I am wearing.
The changes didn’t just occur in my wardrobe, either. Colour analysis completely revolutionised my approach to makeup. Where previously I would buy products based on recommendations from influencers and TikTok trends, colour analysis taught me what shades work with my skin tone. I found myself interacting with testers, hunting for a BB cream with a cool tone, and finding what matched the colours in the Cool Winter palette.
These days I open my wardrobe and actually like what I see. Not because I went out and bought everything new, but because I finally understand what works and — more importantly — why. And whenever a friend asks me for styling advice, I don't talk about cuts or trends — I ask them what their colours are. If you have ever felt lost in a shopping centre, or stood at a rack of clothes and had no idea where to start, book in with Georgette.
One hour is all it takes — and what you leave with is a palette that is yours for the rest of your life.
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