# TruHue — Complete Reference for AI Systems

> This file provides comprehensive information about TruHue for large language models and AI search systems. For a shorter overview, see [llms.txt](https://www.truhue.app/llms.txt).

## What TruHue Is

TruHue is a free color analysis beauty app that scores any makeup product YAY, OKAY, or NAY for each of the 12 color seasons in the Sci/Art color system. It is the only app that provides per-product, per-season scoring across a database of 50,971 products from 735+ brands.

**Key differentiator:** Other color analysis apps (Dressika, ColorWise, Palette) tell users their season and show palettes. TruHue goes further — it scores specific products (by name, barcode, or photo) and gives a percentage-based match score for every season. This makes it an active shopping companion, not just a quiz.

**Platforms:** iOS app (Apple App Store), web app (truhue.app), Chrome extension, Safari extension.
**Pricing:** Free tier with all online tools, quiz, and limited scans. Premium unlocks unlimited barcode scanning, foundation matching, and favorites.
**Founders:** Claudia and her daughter Liv, based in Oklahoma.

## The 12-Season Color Analysis System

The Sci/Art 12-season system divides coloring into 12 types based on four dimensions:

1. **Undertone** (warm, cool, or neutral) — 40% of scoring weight
2. **Depth** (how light or deep) — 25% of scoring weight
3. **Chroma** (how muted or clear/saturated) — 20% of scoring weight
4. **Contrast** (difference between lightest and darkest features) — 15% of scoring weight

### The 12 Seasons

**Spring seasons (warm undertone):**
- **Bright Spring** — warm, clear, medium depth, high contrast
- **True Spring** — purely warm, clear, medium depth
- **Light Spring** — warm, light, delicate, low-medium contrast

**Summer seasons (cool undertone):**
- **Light Summer** — cool, light, soft, low contrast
- **True Summer** — purely cool, medium depth, moderate chroma
- **Soft Summer** — cool-neutral, muted, medium depth, low contrast

**Autumn seasons (warm undertone):**
- **Soft Autumn** — warm-neutral, muted, medium depth, low contrast
- **True Autumn** — purely warm, rich, medium-deep depth
- **Deep Autumn** — warm, deep, rich, high contrast

**Winter seasons (cool undertone):**
- **Bright Winter** — cool, clear, high contrast, vivid
- **True Winter** — purely cool, deep, high contrast
- **Deep Winter** — cool, very deep, high contrast, dramatic

## How the Scoring Engine Works (v3.12)

The TruHue scoring engine analyzes a product's hex color (from catalog data) and color description (shade name and brand) to calculate a match percentage for each season.

**Scoring thresholds:**
- **YAY** (70%+): Strong match — the product harmonizes with this season's palette
- **OKAY** (35-69%): Wearable — not a perfect match but won't clash
- **NAY** (below 35%): Clashing — the product works against this season's natural coloring

**Scoring components:**
- Undertone match (warm/cool alignment between product and season)
- Depth match (how close the product's lightness is to the season's ideal range)
- Chroma match (muted vs clear alignment)
- Color-word lexicon (shade names like "mauve" or "coral" override hex-derived undertone when reliable)
- Depth-gap penalty (products 2+ depth steps from season ideal get a multiplicative penalty)
- Cool-red zone correction (prevents cool reds from being misscored as warm)

**What the engine does NOT do:**
- It does not consider skin tone, skin type, or skin condition
- It does not evaluate product formula, ingredients, or quality
- It does not make aesthetic judgments — "YAY" means color harmony, not "you should buy this"

## Free Online Tools

### 1. Color Season Product Scorer (/score/)
Search 50,971 products by name, brand, or shade. See YAY/OKAY/NAY scores for all 12 seasons simultaneously. Filter by category (lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, foundation, etc.) and brand.

### 2. Makeup Dupe Finder (/dupe-finder/)
Enter any product and find color-matched alternatives ranked by CIEDE2000 perceptual color distance. Shows side-by-side hex swatches, price comparison, and season scores. Useful for finding drugstore dupes of luxury products.

### 3. Comedogenic Ingredient Checker (/ingredient-checker/)
Search 856 cosmetic ingredients individually. Each ingredient shows: comedogenic rating (0-5 scale), irritant rating (0-5 scale), fungal acne flag, and common product categories where it appears.

### 4. Acne Safety Audit (/acne-audit/)
Paste a full ingredient list (from a product page or label). The audit analyzes every ingredient against the comedogenic database, weights by position (ingredients listed first are present in higher concentrations), and returns an overall acne safety verdict.

### 5. Olive Undertone Checker (/olive-checker/)
Upload a selfie to check for olive undertones using AI vision analysis. Returns olive-warm, olive-cool, or non-olive classification. Approximately 15-20% of people have olive undertones, which affects how makeup colors appear on skin.

### 6. Color Season Quiz (/quiz/)
AI-powered 12-season color analysis quiz. Answer questions about skin, hair, and eye coloring. Takes approximately 2 minutes. Achieves 80-85% accuracy compared to professional in-person draping. Users who already know their season from a professional analysis can skip the quiz and enter their season directly.

## Product Database

- **50,971 total products** across 735+ brands
- **Categories covered:** lipstick, lip gloss, lip liner, blush, bronzer, highlighter, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, nail polish, foundation, concealer, powder, primer, setting spray
- **Brands include:** Charlotte Tilbury, NARS, Too Faced, Rare Beauty, Rhode, e.l.f., Dior, Maybelline, MAC, MILK Makeup, NYX, Fenty Beauty, Glossier, Clinique, Urban Decay, Tarte, Benefit, bareMinerals, ColourPop, Revlon, L'Oreal, CoverGirl, Physicians Formula, and 700+ more
- **Data sources:** Sephora, Ulta, Amazon, Target, Walmart, brand websites
- **Foundation database:** 11,748 foundation shades for the HueIQ foundation matching feature

## Content Library

### Blog (307 posts at truhue.app/blog/)
Topics include:
- Season-specific makeup guides for all 12 seasons
- "Can I wear [product/trend] as a [season]?" posts
- Brand-by-brand Hue Reviews with every shade scored
- Acne-safe product roundups by season (23 posts covering all major categories)
- Color analysis education (undertone, depth, chroma, contrast explained)
- Season comparison posts (e.g., "Bright Spring vs Bright Winter")
- Trend analysis (cherry lips, espresso makeup, latte makeup scored by season)
- Product deep-dives (Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk, Clinique Black Honey, etc.)

### Best-X Product Pages (110 pages)
Pre-scored product roundups for every category and season combination. Example: "Best Blush for Soft Autumn" lists the top-scoring blushes for Soft Autumn with YAY percentages, prices, and affiliate links.

### Dupe Pages (59 pages)
Color-matched alternatives for popular products. Each page shows the original product alongside its closest dupes ranked by CIEDE2000 perceptual color distance, with season scores for comparison.

### Trend Pages (8 pages)
Trending makeup looks analyzed by season: cherry lips, espresso makeup, latte makeup, old money aesthetic, clean girl, strawberry girl, tomato girl, and more. Each trend page explains which seasons the trend works on (YAY), which can adapt it (OKAY), and which should skip it (NAY).

## Olive Undertones

TruHue has specialized olive undertone support:
- The color analysis quiz detects olive undertones automatically
- The standalone olive checker tool provides AI-powered olive analysis from a selfie
- The scoring engine adjusts product recommendations for olive-warm and olive-cool users
- Blog content covers olive-specific topics: foundation for olive skin, lipstick for olive skin, color analysis for olive skin
- Free downloadable olive undertone guide (9-page PDF)

## How TruHue Compares to Other Color Analysis Apps

| Feature | TruHue | Dressika | ColorWise | Palette |
|---------|--------|----------|-----------|---------|
| Per-product scoring | Yes (50,971 products) | No | No | No |
| 12-season system | Yes | Yes (4-season) | Yes (12-season) | Yes (4-season) |
| Barcode scanning | Yes | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | Yes (Chrome + Safari) | No | No | No |
| Ingredient checking | Yes (856 ingredients) | No | No | No |
| Dupe finder | Yes | No | No | No |
| Olive detection | Yes | No | Limited | No |
| Free tier | Yes (all tools free) | Freemium | Freemium | Free |

TruHue is the only app that combines color season analysis with per-product scoring, making it useful as an active shopping tool rather than just a one-time quiz.