Seasonal Color Palette: Step by Step

Seasonal color analysis is a method built on color harmony—matching your natural tones with groups of colors inspired by nature’s changing seasons. This isn’t about pinning you into a box, but about revealing the colors that work in sync with your skin, hair, and eyes. The four iconic groups—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—feature distinctive hues, but the real magic comes from how the right palette flatters every feature, balancing contrast, undertone, and brightness.

To identify your color palette, please choose (1) answer for the following:

• Undertone Warm, Neutral, Cool
• Hair & Eyes Light or Dark
• Overtone Fair, Light, Medium, Dark
• Contrast (Value) Light, Dark (Deep)
• Chroma Bright, Muted
• Season Winter, Summer, Spring, Autumn
• Tonal Direction Light, Deep/Dark, Warm, Cool, Bright/Clear, Soft

Identify Your Undertone (are you warm, cool, or neutral?)

One of the most important steps is determining if your skin has a warm or cool undertone. It can be tricky to determine without practice, but here are 3 (maybe 4) exercises to help you.

Check your Tan

The way that your skin tone changes colors with sun exposure is a great way to tell your undertone. If your skin burns quickly, or tans to rosy, deep cinnamon, or reddish shades (as opposed to golden or peach), then you likely have a cool overtone. If your skin tans to peach, golden, caramel, or olive undertones (instead of rosy or reddish), you likely have a warm undertone. Finally, if your skin doesn’t seem to have a predominant shade and burns or tans equally often, you may have a neutral undertone.

Jewelry Test

Grab some gold and silver jewelry (1 of each) and hold it against your skin. One will make you look more radiant and healthier, while the other will drain you or make your skin look uneven.

• If silver is better, you’re likely cool.
• If gold is better, you’re likely warm.

If you can’t tell which looks better, that could indicate that your skin tone is neutral.

White vs. Cream

Using a bright white piece of fabric or paper and a cream piece of cloth (or paper), hold each one under your face, one at a time, and look for differences in your skin tone and complexion.

• If the cream side looks better, you lean warm.
• If the pure white side looks better, you lean cool.
• If it’s not obvious which is better, you may have a neutral skin tone.

Look at the skin on the inside of your forearm

The skin inside your forearm tends to be less tanned or pigmented by sun exposure, which can help you see your natural coloring more clearly.

• If your skin has a slight blueness, pinkness, or coolness, your undertone is likely cool.
• If your skin has a little yellowness or warmth, your undertone is likely warm.
• If you can’t tell, or your skin has a neutralness, your skin tone may be neutral.

The vein test – (less reliable)

Not my favorite way to identify skin tone but another method you’ll likely have seen talked about is the vein test.

To try this method, turn your palm up to the ceiling and look at the veins on your wrist:

• blue veins = cool skin tone,
• green viens = warm skin tone,
• a mix of both = neutral

It’s a good idea to try each of the methods listed above to get the most accurate picture of your skin’s underlying warmth or coolness. But, like I said, it can be tricky to identify without practice!

Assess Your Contrast Level (Are you Deep, Medium, or Light)

 To do this, you need to look at the whole picture: your hair color, eye color, and skin tone.   You want to look for differences in contrast between your features: 

Deep (High Contrast) a distinct difference in shade between your hair, skin, and/or eyes, your features are in high contrast.

Medium (Medium/Moderate Contrast) there will be some noticeable differences between your hair, skin, and eyes, but it’s not dramatic.

Light (Low Contrast) they will be similar in depth; there’ll be no stark jump from light to dark.

Clothing or fabric swatches in different colors: Are You Light or Deep?

Now let’s look at value—how light or dark your most flattering colors should be. Getting this right can make your skin look clear and healthy, while getting it wrong can make you look washed out or tired.

Here’s a simple way to check:

1. Drape a light scarf or shirt (like icy pink or pale blue) under your face. Notice if your features pop or if you fade into the color.
2. Switch to a deep, rich color (like navy, black, or burgundy). Watch if your skin glows or if the color overpowers your features.

Some signs to watch for:

• You suit light colors if: Your face looks fresh in pastels, soft whites, or light shades, and darks seem harsh.
• You suit deep colors if: Dark, rich colors make your eyes stand out and your skin even, while light shades seem to drain you.

This step points you to “Light” or “Deep” versions of the main color seasons.

Assessing Chroma: Bright vs. Muted Preferences

Chroma tells you if clearer, brighter colors or soft, muted shades work better on you. This difference can transform how alive you look.

Try this hands-on test:

• Pick one bright color (like clear red or cobalt blue) and one soft, muted one (like dusty rose or sage).
• Hold each color near your face, one at a time, in natural light.
• Look for how your skin reacts. Do you look lit up and focused with the bright, crisp color? Or do soft, hazy tones bring a gentle glow?

Watch for these clues:

• Bright colors work if: Your features pop, your eyes look clearer, and your skin looks smooth with rich, clean shades.
• Muted colors work if: Soft, “grayed” tones make your skin look even and subtle, while brights overpower you.

This test points you toward a “Bright” (sometimes called “Clear”) or “Soft” (muted) seasonal direction.

Identifying Your Dominant Seasonal Palette

Now, pull together all your clues: undertone, value, and chroma.

• Cool vs. Warm gives you a starting point (Winter/Summer are cool, Spring/Autumn are warm).
• Light vs. Deep helps decide the depth—do you go for Light Spring/Summer or Deep Autumn/Winter?
• Bright vs. Muted refines things further—are you Soft Autumn or Clear Spring?

Here’s a quick chart to help you match your traits with the main seasons:

Many people fit into a mix (like Soft Autumn or Light Summer). If you’re unsure between two, test those palettes with scarves or fabrics. The right season should make you look healthy, rested, and put-together—even without a stitch of makeup.

By building step by step, you zero in on the color family that works uniquely for you. Keep your notes and trust your gut reactions; your best shades will quickly become clear.

Categorize yourself – Identify your Color Season and/or Tonal Direction:

Once you’ve determined your undertone (warm or cool) and your contrast level, you can figure out which category best aligns with you:

The Four Seasonal Palettes

Autumn: Warm undertones, rich and deep coloring, golden brown or red hair, hazel or green eyes. Earthy shades rule here—rust, olive, mustard, and teal.

Spring: Warm undertones, lots of golden or peachy warmth, low contrast, crystal-clear eyes, strawberry or golden hair. Picture buttery yellows, coral, clear aqua, and leafy green.

Summer: Cool undertones, light and soft coloring, dusty or ashy hair, soft blue or gray eyes. Go for powder blue, lavender, rose, and misty teal.

Winter: Cool undertones, high contrast, dark hair and eyes, clear skin. Opt for jewel tones like emerald, sapphire, royal blue, and pops of true white or black.

The Role of Skin Undertone, Eyes, and Hair in Color Analysis

Everything starts with undertone. Warm skin leans peachy, golden, or olive; cool skin looks pink, blue, or rosy. Vein color, gold or silver jewelry preference, and natural blush all drop hints. Hair adds depth: honey blond, ash brown, fiery red tell different stories. Eyes too—are they icy blue, soft hazel, or deep brown? These clues combine to steer you toward a season that feels like home.

Identifying your Tonal Directions:

Light color palette:

• Key Trait: Overall lightness. Hair, skin, and eyes may range from fair to mid-tone, but generally, you appear “delicate” or lighter in contrast.
• Best Colors: Lighter, softer shades that don’t overwhelm your natural features; gentle pastels and lighter neutrals.

Deep color palette:

• Key Trait: Overall darkness. Hair, eyes, and possibly skin tone are deeper or more intense.
• Best Colors: Rich, deep hues (burgundy, navy, forest green, charcoal), which balance and mirror your deeper coloring.

Warm color palette:

• Key Trait: A golden or peachy undertone. Skin often appears more radiant in gold than silver, and hair/eyes may have a warm cast.
• Best Colors: Any color family that skews toward yellow/golden undertones—think earth tones, corals, warm greens, rust, and gold.

Cool color palette:

• Key Trait: A pink, bluish, or rose undertone. Skin looks more radiant in silver; hair and eyes can appear ashy or neutral rather than golden.
• Best Colors: Blue-based or cool-based colors—like icy pastels, true blues, pinks, purples, and cool grays.

Clear (Bright) color palette:

• Key Trait: High contrast in features. Perhaps bright eyes with darker hair or a complexion that pops with vivid colors.
• Best Colors: Clean, vivid hues and “jewel tones” (sapphire, emerald, ruby) or bright pastels with minimal gray undertones.

Soft (Muted) color palette:

• Key Trait: Gentle, blended coloring where nothing is sharply contrasted. Hair, eyes, and skin all flow together in a more subdued way.
• Best Colors: Muted, dusty, or toned-down shades (sage green, mauve, smoky blues, grayish neutrals) that echo your softer contrast level.

What happens if you can’t identify your skin tone? What do you do if you think you might be neutral?

If you’ve got to this point and you’re unsure whether you’re cool or warm or think you might be able to wear both, you might be neutral.

While this can make it a little trickier to categorize your colors, it can give you more flexibility when choosing colors.

What is a Neutral skin undertone?

A neutral skin tone is one in which neither warm nor cool undertones dominate. Your skin will appear balanced between pinkish (cool) and yellowish (warm). You may lean slightly warm or cool but don’t have a dominant undertone overall.

How Neutral Undertones React to Color – how to test your color on a neutral skin tone

Since neutral undertones balance warm and cool, you will have more flexibility in wearing different hues. However, there are a few guidelines you might want to consider:

• Pure neutral colors (like true red, teal, soft white, and charcoal gray) are most flattering.
• Colors that are too warm for you (mustard, warm oranges, tomato red) may look slightly off.
• Colors that are too cool for you (icy blues, stark black & white, neon pinks) can also appear harsh.
• Soft, muted tones (like taupe, dusty rose, and moss green) work particularly well.
• Universal colors that flatter both warm and cool undertones (e.g., teal, plum, pewter, soft rose)

The more you experiment and practice, the easier it becomes to see how your skin tone reacts to colors and to identify your most harmonious hues.