How to find your color season
- Use natural daylight. Sit near a window with no makeup and your hair visible. Warm bulbs make everyone look more golden.
- Add a selfie if you like. The quiz reads your skin depth and the contrast with your hair and pre answers two questions. The photo stays on your device.
- Answer eight quick questions. Check your wrist veins, which jewelry flatters you, your natural hair and eye color, your contrast and how your skin reacts to sun.
- Read your season. See which of the 12 seasons you are, your palette, hair colors to try, makeup that suits you and the colors to skip.
What is seasonal color analysis?
Seasonal color analysis sorts your natural coloring into one of four seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, and then into 12 more precise seasons. Each season has a palette of shades that harmonize with your skin, hair and eyes. Wear them near your face and you look brighter and more rested. Wear the opposite and you can look tired or washed out, even with perfect makeup.
The idea goes back to the color theory of the Bauhaus era and became mainstream in the 1980s. It has had a huge comeback on social media, where people share their draping results and debate whether they are a Soft Autumn or a True Summer.
How the quiz works: three dimensions of color
Every season is defined by three qualities. The quiz scores each one from your answers, then finds the season that fits best.
| Dimension | The question | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Is your coloring warm or cool? | Golden and peachy points to Spring and Autumn, pink and blue points to Summer and Winter |
| Value | Is it light or deep? | Light coloring points to Spring and Summer, deep coloring to Autumn and Winter |
| Chroma | Is it bright and clear, or soft and muted? | High contrast, clear features suit bright seasons, blended features suit soft ones |
Your strongest dimension decides your sub season. If your answers lean hardest toward light, you land in Light Spring or Light Summer. If contrast and clarity dominate, you are a Bright season. If temperature leads, you are a True season.
The 12 seasons at a glance
| Season | Sub seasons | Signature colors |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Light, True, Bright | Peach, coral, golden yellow, turquoise |
| Summer | Light, True, Soft | Powder blue, lavender, rose, soft teal |
| Autumn | Soft, True, Deep | Rust, olive, mustard, chocolate |
| Winter | Deep, True, Bright | Black, crisp white, cobalt, true red |
Can a selfie find my season?
A photo helps with two questions that are hard to judge in a mirror: how light or deep your skin is, and how much contrast there is between your skin and hair. The tool finds your face, samples your cheeks and forehead, then samples just above your hairline and compares the two. You will see small circles on the photo showing exactly where it looked. Everything happens in your browser, so the photo is never uploaded.
Undertone and eye clarity are much harder for a camera, because phone cameras and indoor lights shift colors. That is why the remaining questions stay in your hands.
Worked example: a Soft Autumn result
Here is one real run of the quiz. Wrist veins look green or olive, yellow gold jewelry is more flattering, skin is light medium to medium, natural hair is medium or mousy brown, eyes are soft gray green or hazel, contrast is low, coral or peach lips look best and the skin burns a little, then tans.
The quiz scores that as warm 3.0, light 1.0, soft 3.5. Softness is the strongest trait and warmth comes second, so the result is Soft Autumn: earthy, gently muted colors such as olive, camel and dusty rose, hair colors like auburn and chocolate brown balayage, and nude peach or warm rose lips. Black, icy pastels and neon brights are the colors to skip.
Soft Autumn or Soft Summer?
These two are the seasons people mix up most, because both are muted and low contrast. The difference is temperature.
| Soft Autumn | Soft Summer | |
|---|---|---|
| Undertone | Warm leaning | Cool leaning |
| Best jewelry | Gold, brass, rose gold | Silver, pewter, white gold |
| Best colors | Olive, camel, terracotta, warm teal | Dusty blue, mauve, sage, soft plum |
| Hair colors | Soft auburn, golden brown, caramel | Ash brown, ash blonde, mushroom brown |
| Skip | Black, icy pastels, neon | Black, orange, bright gold |
Using your season for hair color
Hair frames your face all day, so it is one of the easiest ways to use your season. Springs glow in honey and strawberry blonde, Summers suit ash and cool beige tones, Autumns come alive in copper, auburn and rich chocolate, and Winters look striking in jet black, burgundy or icy platinum. Pair your result with our skin undertone quiz and the face shape finder to plan the whole look, and browse the complete guide to hair color for inspiration.
