diff --git a/src/ol/style/expressions.js b/src/ol/style/expressions.js
index f66162cbe1..ff29c14dfd 100644
--- a/src/ol/style/expressions.js
+++ b/src/ol/style/expressions.js
@@ -606,11 +606,9 @@ function getEqualOperator(operator) {
         );
       }
 
-      if (type === (ValueTypes.COLOR | ValueTypes.STRING)) {
-        // It's not possible to compare attributes with color values
-        // So force it to be treated as a string
-        type = ValueTypes.STRING;
-      }
+      // Since it's not possible to have color types here, we can leave it out
+      // This fixes issues in case the value type is ambiguously detected as a color (e.g. the string 'red')
+      type = type ^ ValueTypes.COLOR;
 
       return `(${expressionToGlsl(
         context,