Color has three observable dimensions:

TEMPERATURE
Warm - Cool

Blue is generally considered a cool hue. Yellow will warm it. Warm colors have yellow undertones. Cool colors have blue undertones.

VALUE
Dark - Light

The dark blue above is quite close to black (low value). The addition of black to any color makes a "shaded" hue. The light blue is closer to white (high value). The addition of white makes a "tinted" hue.

CHROMA
​Soft - Bright

The blue on the right is quite intense, with high saturation. Colors are softened ("toned") by introducing gray. The blue on the left has a much lower chroma.

None of the above properties can be assessed without comparison. That first blue might be considered rather soft until you compare it to the fifth one, which might appear quite light until you compare it to the fourth.
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You might imagine, then, why it's nearly impossible to know your best colors without an objective way to observe them. An analysis with Uncommon Color will seek and find the appropriate temperature, value, and chroma that support your appearance.

The interactions of the above properties could be combined to create twelve categories, visually represented on a chart like this:

TRUE TONES

There are four "true" tones and they correlate rather beautifully with the four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Each True Tone has one property in common with every other True Tone:

TEMPERATURE

Winter and Summer are cool.

The icy chill of winter and ​the
mist of sea spray in the summertime.

VALUE

Winter and Autumn are dark.

The earth tilts away from the sun and darkness steals the late afternoon until morning.

CHROMA

Winter and Spring are bright.

Brightness comes in the form of winter's sparkling snowflakes and spring's brilliant sunshine.

Spring and Autumn are warm.

Heat brings spring gardens and
​autumn campfires to life.​

Spring and Summer are light.

Moving back toward the sun means plenty of light from morning till night.

Summer and Autumn are soft.

The greying sky before a summer storm and the dulling of leaves before the autumn fall.

NEUTRAL TONES

As one True Tone flows into the next (cool to warm or warm to cool), their interactions create Neutral Tones. Neutral Tones are not truly warm or cool, but they do lean one way or another, creating cool-neutrals (CN) and warm-neutrals (WN). Neutral Tones are named after the shared property of the two seasons that influence them:

Winter + Spring = Bright Winter (CN) and Bright Spring (WN).

Winter + Autumn = Dark Winter (CN) and Dark Autumn (WN).

Summer + Spring = Light Summer (CN) and Light Spring (WN).
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Summer + Autumn = Soft Summer (CN) and Soft Autumn (WN).

Interested in the visual expression of color theory and how it relates to your own coloring? I would love to show you.