Do you feel great in your clothes?
I’m not talking about fit or fabric, I’m talking about color. Do you walk out of the house in your clothes and feel like you glow? Or do you disappear?
Thanks to one Jade green dress my little sister forced me to try on in Express one day, everything changed for me. I thought it would be hideous, but it was perhaps the most perfect color I have ever worn.
This is a Clear Winter look if there ever was one.
It was at that point that I understood the power of my personal colors, and since then, I can’t stop exploring my personal world of color, and that of the people around me. I see people on the bus, and I’m figuring out their season. Perhaps thanks to my Seasonal Color Analysis Pinterest boards here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, I have also been getting lots of questions from readers about seasonal color.
So to answer some of those questions in more detail, here is your 12 Season Color Analysis primer. Read on.
12 Season Color is based on the original four-season Color Me Beautiful system by Carole Jackson. Although Color Me Beautiful was a breakthrough, it only takes into your account your lightness or depth and warmth or coolness. But there is more to your coloring than just those characteristics.
Seasonal Color Wheel
These days we know that there are 6 main qualities that you might have in your coloring: Light, Deep, Warm, Cool, Clear and Soft. Once you find your dominant characteristic, you are well on your way to finding your best colors. Depending on the time of year and your level of tan, you may flow between the seasons of your dominant characteristic.
Let’s figure out your season!
Light
There are two light seasons, Spring and Summer. While Spring is warm and bright, Summer is cool and muted. The light characteristic means that your coloring appears light, fresh and delicate with a complete lack of dark features. Light Springs will appear more rich and dewy while Light Summers have a more soft and neutral look. If you are a Light, steer clear of dark and saturated colors in your clothing.
Light Spring
Your best colors are light and warm, including light, warm pink, orange, yellow, green, ivory, khaki and camel. Check out more of your palette.
Kate Hudson ~ Light Spring
Light Summer
Your best colors are light and cool, including dusty blues and purples, taupe, grey and eggshell. Check out more of your palette.
Naomi Watts ~ Light Summer
Deep
There are two deep seasons, Autumn and Winter. While Autumn is warm and soft, Winter is cool and bright. People with the Deep characteristic have a deep, dark rich coloring with absolutely no light features. Your coloring appears rich and bold. Deep Winters have more cool, crisp saturation in their coloring (but may have light skin), while Deep Autumns have more warmth and softness to all of their features. If you are a Deep, stay away from light and delicate colors in your clothing.
Deep Winter
Your best colors are deep and cool, including ruby, emerald, royal purple and blue, navy, black and charcoal. Check out more of your palette.
Anne Hathaway ~ Deep Winter
Deep Autumn
Your best colors are deep and warm, including earthy reds and browns, deep terracotta, mustard, warm olive, gold and camel. Check out more of your palette.
Natalie Portman ~ Deep Autumn
Clear
There are two clear seasons, Spring and Winter. While Spring is warm and light, Winter is cool and deep. Those with Clear or Bright coloring tend to have a striking, vivid look. Skin has a translucent quality to it, and eyes are clear, sparkly and bright. Their overall look has a lot of saturation and contrast. For those with the Clear characteristic, the first thing you will usually notice about them are their eyes. If you are a Clear, wearing darks and lights together will emphasize your high contrast even more.
Clear Winter
Your best colors are cool and bright, including super-saturated jewel tones, navy, black, white and silver. Check out more of your palette.
Megan Fox ~ Clear Winter
Clear Spring
Your best colors are warm and bright, including bright yellow, turquoise, hot pink, spring and lime green, black, white and gold. Check out more of your palette.
Emilie de Ravin ~ Clear Spring
Soft
There are two soft seasons, Summer and Autumn. While Summer is light and cool, Autumn is deep and warm. If you have Soft coloring, you tend to have a low level of saturation and contrast between your hair, eyes and skin, and may appear somewhat neutral. Your overall look is serene and down-to-earth. If you are a Soft, keeping your clothing colors within a few levels or shades of each other will make you glow.
Soft Summer
Your best colors are cool and muted, including mint, deep rose, periwinkle, lavender, slate, and soft grey. Check out more of your palette.
Sarah Jessica Parker ~ Soft Summer
Soft Autumn
Your best colors are warm and muted, including mahogany, coral, terracotta, buttermilk, eggplant, brown and camel. Check out more of your palette.
Gisele Bundchen ~ Soft Autumn
Warm
There are two warm seasons, Spring and Autumn. While Spring is light and bright, Autumn is deep and muted. As a warm, your coloring gives you an earthy glow.
Warm Spring
Your best colors are warm, light and bright, including warm pink, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, ivory, khaki, camel and gold. Check out more of your palette.
Amy Adams ~ Warm Spring
Warm Autumn
Your best colors are warm, deep and muted, including earthy reds and browns, deep terracotta, mustard, warm olive, mahogany, coral, terracotta, buttermilk, eggplant, copper, brown and camel. Check out more of your palette.
Marcia Cross ~ Warm Autumn
Cool
There are two cool seasons, Summer and Winter. While Summer is light and muted, Winter is deep and bright. As a cool, you will have grayish, ashy undertones to your features, and may have a calm and regal appearance.
Cool Winter
Your best colors are cool and deep, including ruby, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, navy, black, charcoal, white and silver. Check out more of your palette.
Kristen Stewart ~ Cool Winter
Cool Summer
Your best colors are cool and light, including dusty blues and purples, deep rose, periwinkle, lavender, taupe, grey, eggshell , slate, and soft grey. Check out more of your palette.
Sarah Chalke ~ Cool Summer
When you know the fundamentals behind your color palette, you begin to notice even more acutely how surrounding yourself with your colors changes how you feel. With that in mind, why limit yourself? Now choosing your clothes, makeup, and even wall colors and room decor gives you an opportunity to help yourself feel your best, all the time.
I have no idea what season I am. For the longest time I thought I was an autumn like my mom and sister, but they both have green eyes and mine are blue. When I wore colors that looked flattering on them, they didn’t do the same for me. I started trying to figure it out with http://www.prettyyourworld.com/colortheory.html and was convinced I’m a soft summer, however I wouldn’t define my hair as “mousy”. I feel like a bit of a mutt lol. I don’t really fit into any one season perfectly. What season do you think I am?
You are a Light Spring all the way (anyone besides Andrea reading, I cannot tell your season through words alone, I know what she looks like). A lot like Lauren Ambrose http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0024404/mediaindex, she get misclassified all the time. Your skin is really light with pink undertones that could swing between spring and summer, and your eyes are light blue, but the red hair pushes you more into Spring. Either way, because of your low level of contrast, Light is the area to focus on – your coloring is too crisp to be a Soft. Hope that helps!
I have no idea!! At first I thought I was a deep winter, then I thought I was a clear spring, then I thought I was a cool winter!! can you see a pattern with the running order I went with? There’s a chance I may just have picked the most freshly read description, just maybe! I have really pale skin with pink undertones (i think!), blue eyes and dark brown hair…I may just have to read through these again…
You’re on the right track, Lauren! In perusing the photos on your blog, your eyes seem to be deep blue, yes? To tell you with more certainty I would have to see a nice clear picture in indirect but bright sunlight, but I would say you’re a Deep Winter. Deep Winters can have blue eyes, but they are a deep blue, but yes, it does verge on the Clear characteristic. The pink undertones, along with the fact that you’re so close to Clear, definitely put you in Winter. You don’t have enough warmth or lightness for Clear Spring, but you don’t have the cool softness of a Cool Winter. Deep Winter’s colors, blue-based reds, jewel tones and such would likely look great on you, whereas those lighter dustier colors likely wash you (like me) out completely. Let me know if that sounds right, and shoot me an email if you want to share a photo to take a closer look!
Thanks Nat! Very helpful
You’re spot on, my eyes are a deep blue, and when I read the ‘colours that suit’ I resonated the most with Deep Winter, so I think that’s me 
Really appreciate you going to the effort to help me out, I’m definitely going to be more wary of this when picking the colours I’m going to wear! Yay!
Hi, I’m having trouble finding where I fit into the seasons, I thought I was deep autumn, then deep winter, now i think I’m maybe clear spring.. I have quite neutral skin I think, I probably tip to the warm side a little more.. I tan very well in summer, I was blonde as a child but now I’m brunette, I have hazel eyes and ever since I’ve lightened my hair to a light brown my eyes look more green and appear to have lightened.. can you maybe narrow it down with what I’ve told you? Or share any tips to help me find out what season I am? Thanks
x
Loved reading this!! I think I’m a clear spring. I have warm yellow based skintone, green veins and I have medium brown hair with golden tones through it. My eyes are green. I look good in hot pink, royal blue and black and true red. I look terrible in camel, khaki and dark gothic purple. I would love your opinion.
Feel free to send me a few photos and I can point you in the right direction Sandra!
I’ve tried so hard to determine my season and I just can’t!
I love how I look in blue (pretty much any blue, but especially bright royal blue and navy blue) and I absolutely dread orange and peach. However, my veins appear green and my eyes are a very warm hazel brown. My hair is at its absolute best when it’s in my natural color, which is black. I can get very pale (for my race), but I can also get quite dark. I burn before I get dark. I’ve tried to take pictures of myself but it seems like inside, with some daylight coming in from the windows, I look very cool. When I take a picture in my car, I’m caramel brown. So confused, please help!
Hello Johanna! Feel free to send me a few pictures, I may be able to point you in the right direction! It’s so hard to tell from just a description.
I”ve tried hard to figure out my season but I get different results each time. I look good in chinese blue, blue red, and black
My veins are green, I look better in gold jewellery(I think), I tan easily. My hair is black, eyes are darkest brown in light(almost black)….however I am unable to describe my skin. I am an Asian, wheatish and pale but I don’t think I am too yellow…Please could you help me out discover my color…
Sure can Kajol! I actually just introduced a new service for just that! http://www.leavemetomyprojects.com/rainbow-your-world-service/
Ma’am I am willing to try the analysis. I wanted to know whether it will be confidential or will my photos be uploaded on the website.
Any photos submitted for analysis will only be seen by me, our kitties (they are so good with color theory, and hang out on my desk a lot) and possibly Baby Bear, because she always wants to be on my lap when I am on the computer. If a submission would make a particularly good case study, I may contact the person who submitted them to see if they would be interested in being featured in a post, but only with their express written permission!
I love your post!! But it made me even more confused about my own colors hahaha! I thought I was a clear winter but now I think I might be a deep autumn… My eyes are blue/grey/green my (naturall) hair is dark brown with little to no red in it… My skin is the problem, it’s medium to light and/but I am beginning to suspect I have a warm undertone… Ooh god XD
It’s always difficult to tell from just a description, but have you checked out my color analysis service? I can definitely help you find your way a little further! http://www.leavemetomyprojects.com/rainbow-your-world-service/
I wanted to know what’s the season if someone is between warm and cool?
Aww, thanks Julie! Passion is everything in anything we do, right?
It could technically be any of them. Most of the coloring characteristics that are not Warm or Cool (so, Deep, Light, Soft and Clear) straddle two seasons, and many if not most of the people in those categories straddle the line. I certainly do. That means you want to find the colors that, for example, Clear Spring and Clear Winter have in common and focus on those. Keep in mind that you may flow between seasons during real life seasons as you are more tan or pale.
Really helpful article!
I think I’m a clear winter…but I’m a total newb in terms of understanding color theory and its applications. I know my skin’s undertone is definitely cool, but my hair is more warm dark brown. And I have quite pale skin with freckles…do they even make a difference? Is it possible to have hazel eyes (dominantly green with some brown/blue) and be a clear winter?
Very unlikely. Feel free to check out the color analysis service and I can point you to your season though! http://www.leavemetomyprojects.com/rainbow-your-world-service/
Hello! I’ve been struggling to figure out my season for months now. I’ve seen hints of me being in Deep Winter, but… I absolutely destest 99% of Deep Winter colours!
The colours I am drawn to are from different palletes; a lot of which seem to be in Clear Winter. I’m convinced that I may be a Winter ‘for sure’, but the one that matches most is Deep Winter, and… Just yeah. I also seem to match with Clear Winter, only… I don’t have the eyes. At all.
I have black hair((or ‘black-brown’ as some would say)), VERY dark brown eyes, and tan/olive skin. My skin… I can’t figure out if it has warm or cool undertones or if it’s neutral((although I doubt it)) or ANYTHING. I never got the chance to take a picture in optimal lighting/with a white background, so the lighting could throw it off, but when I look at my skin myself it seems to be pale/cool… But then against something else it might seem warmer, or in sunlight… I’m really confused! I just want to get this settled.
My personality tied with Winter and… Summer, I think? It’s been a while since I did the tally. I just remember tying between Winter and something else. I’m pretty sure it was Summer, though.
Oh yeah, I should say, in sunlight my skin can still look ‘cool’ to my own eyes, but if I take a picture, it usually doesn’t look so cool anymore. And I’ve taken a photo in bright sunlight as well, and it made my skin look really warm… http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/546909_546404945373224_1963214225_n.jpg
Here are a few under different lighting: http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/40259_154505517896504_4668709_n.jpg http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/37736_144197078927348_2096810_n.jpg http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/11861_106241509389572_7803414_n.jpg
You do look to me like a Deep, but you seem to have both warm and cool tones in your skin. I would suggest that you might flow between Deep Autumn and Deep Winter, but remember that Deep Winter is right next to Clear Winter and can wear some of the more saturated colors – you just don’t use them in as high contrast situations as would actual Clear Winter. Hope that helps!
I see, thank you so much for your help! I’ll keep those in mind.
Keep up the great work!
If you have the coolness there, you may be a summer, but it’s possible you are misjudging your colors. We have such a hard time seeing ourselves as we are sometimes. I would get to a Home Depot and raid the pain chips if I were you, or of course try my color analysis service! The paint chips can show you true warm and cool and help you get a better handle on it.