How TruHue scores products

Every YAY, OKAY, or NAY you see on TruHue is computed by the same color-science algorithm. The math is the math — it doesn't change because a brand pays us, sponsors us, or partners with us. It can't. Here's exactly how it works.

The promise, in one sentence

If a product is right for your color season, we'll say so. If it's not, we'll say so — whether it's a $4 drugstore lipstick or a $48 Charlotte Tilbury. The verdict is determined by color science, not by who's paying who.

What we actually do when you scan or search a product

The scoring engine is a sequence of math steps. Here's the whole pipeline, in plain language:

Step 1 — We pull the product's actual color. Every shade in our 50,000+ product catalog has a hex code (like #B05858 for Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk). That hex represents the real pigment of the swatch. It's a fact about the product, not an opinion.

Step 2 — We measure the color distance from your palette. Your color season has a palette of harmonious shades. We use a published color-science formula called CIEDE2000 to measure how far the product's color sits from your palette's "center." Closer = better match.

Step 3 — We adjust for depth, chroma, and undertone. Color isn't just hue. It's also how light or deep, how soft or vivid, how warm or cool. Each gets its own weight in the score. The weights are different per category — lip color is judged differently than a mascara.

Step 4 — The output is a percentage match. We translate that percentage into a verdict:

YAY — 70% match or higher. This shade harmonizes with your palette.
OKAY — 35-69%. Wearable, but not a love letter. You can pull it off if you want to.
NAY — under 35%. The color is fighting your palette. It might still be a beautiful product. It's just not the right color for you.

Why this is verifiable

CIEDE2000 isn't a TruHue invention. It's the international standard for color-difference measurement, used by Pantone, the cosmetics industry, paint companies, and color scientists worldwide. Anyone with the formula and a calculator can run the math themselves and get the same result we do.

That's the point. The score isn't an opinion. It isn't a vibe. It isn't editorial taste. It's a number that comes out of an equation, the same way 2 + 2 = 4 every time.

A brand can't pay us to change a product's hex value. The pigment in the bottle is what it is. The math says what it says.

About affiliate commissions — the honest version

When you click a "shop" button on TruHue and buy something, the retailer (Amazon, Walmart, ColourPop, ILIA, Sephora, and others) sends us a small commission — usually 3-10% of the purchase price. It costs you nothing extra. It's how shopping links work everywhere on the internet.

That commission helps keep TruHue's core engine free. The quiz, the scoring, the catalog, the browser extension — all free for you, partly because brands pay us when their customers buy from links we send.

Here's what affiliate commissions never do at TruHue:

They don't change a product's score. The math runs first. The "shop" button comes after.
They don't change which products appear in your recommendations. We rank YAYs by color-match strength, not by commission rate.
They don't change what we say is YAY vs. NAY. A drugstore product with a 4% commission gets the same honest reading as a prestige product with a 12% commission.
They don't influence which brands get into the catalog. We catalog the products people are actually shopping for, regardless of whether they have an affiliate program.

If a $48 Charlotte Tilbury blush is a NAY for your season, we'll tell you. If a $6 e.l.f. blush is a YAY, we'll tell you that too. The commission rate doesn't sway the verdict.

What this means for you

You get an honest reading whether you're shopping luxury, mid-tier, or drugstore. The algorithm doesn't know what the product costs. It only knows the color.

You can verify our math. You can look at the swatch. You can check the hex against our published thresholds. You can run CIEDE2000 yourself if you want to.

And if you ever see something that feels off, tell us. We've made the methodology public so you can challenge it. truhue@truhue.app.

What we don't do

We don't take money to score a product as YAY when the math says it isn't.
We don't sell shelf space to brands.
We don't run paid product placements in our recommendation feeds.
We don't sell your data.
We don't show ads inside the app or webapp.

We make money two ways: affiliate commissions on shopping clicks (this page), and digital products / app subscriptions we sell directly to you.

What we promise

The science is open. The math is verifiable. The verdict is honest. The commission is disclosed.

"Discover the Hue for You" — that's the promise. We won't compromise the verdict to make a sale.

— Claudia and Liv
Co-founders, TruHue
Built at a kitchen table in Oklahoma.

Questions about how the scoring works? Email truhue@truhue.app. We answer every one.

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