Winter vs Autumn
No selfie. No photo. Your season comes from your answers, so lighting and filters can’t move it.
Undertone. Winter is cool, Autumn is warm. This is the cleanest split of the four. Metal test. Silver against gold, daylight, nothing else near your face. Silver lifting you is Winter; gold lifting you is Autumn.
Side by side
| Winter | Autumn | |
|---|---|---|
| Undertone and depth | silver, icy blue and true red. Camel and rust make you look sallow. | gold, rust and olive. Icy pastels and pure white drain you. |
| Best colors | Navy #1F2F5C · Berry #8B1E4B · Emerald #1F7A55 · Ice blue #A8D8F0 · True red #C8102E · Charcoal #36393F · Pure white #FFFFFF · Royal purple #5B2A86 | Rust #B5522B · Olive #708238 · Camel #C19A6B · Honey #E0A526 · Teal #2A7F7F · Espresso #4A2C20 · Terracotta #C8674A · Cream #F3E5C8 |
| Colors to avoid | Camel #C19A6B · Oat #E8DCCB · Mustard #D1A520 · Rust #B5522B | Pure white #FFFFFF · Icy pink #F5D6E6 · Hot pink #FF3E9A · Powder blue #BCD4EF |
Three tests to tell them apart
- Metal test. Silver against gold, daylight, nothing else near your face. Silver lifting you is Winter; gold lifting you is Autumn.
- Red test. A blue-based true red against a rust-orange red. Winter takes the blue-red and looks ill in the rust; Autumn does the reverse.
- Neutral test. Pure white against cream. Winter can wear pure white; on an Autumn it looks stark and cream looks right.
Winter colors
- Navy
- Berry
- Emerald
- Ice blue
- True red
- Charcoal
- Pure white
- Royal purple
Autumn colors
- Rust
- Olive
- Camel
- Honey
- Teal
- Espresso
- Terracotta
- Cream
Still not sure?
Ten quick picks between two colors decide it for you. No photo, no sign-in.
Other pairs people get stuck on
Winter vs Summer
Depth and clarity. Both are cool; Winter is deep and clear, Summer is light and soft.Winter vs Spring
Undertone. Both are clear and bright; Winter is cool and Spring is warm.Summer vs Autumn
Undertone, at similar softness. Both can look muted; Summer is cool-muted and Autumn is warm-muted.Summer vs Spring
Undertone, at similar lightness. Both are light; Summer is cool and Spring is warm.Autumn vs Spring
Depth and clarity. Both are warm; Autumn is deep and muted, Spring is light and clear.Soft Summer vs Soft Autumn
Undertone, at identical softness. This is the hardest pair in the system: both are muted and mid-depth.Deep Winter vs Deep Autumn
Undertone, at identical depth. Both are dark; one is cold, one is warm.Light Spring vs Light Summer
Undertone, at identical lightness. Both are pale and low-contrast.Bright Spring vs Bright Winter
Undertone, at identical brightness. Both wear saturated colors most people cannot.Winter vs Bright Winter
Clarity, at the same cool undertone. Winter is deep and clear; Bright Winter is lighter overall but more saturated.
Depth and clarity. Both are cool; Winter is deep and clear, Summer is light and soft.Winter vs Spring
Undertone. Both are clear and bright; Winter is cool and Spring is warm.Summer vs Autumn
Undertone, at similar softness. Both can look muted; Summer is cool-muted and Autumn is warm-muted.Summer vs Spring
Undertone, at similar lightness. Both are light; Summer is cool and Spring is warm.Autumn vs Spring
Depth and clarity. Both are warm; Autumn is deep and muted, Spring is light and clear.Soft Summer vs Soft Autumn
Undertone, at identical softness. This is the hardest pair in the system: both are muted and mid-depth.Deep Winter vs Deep Autumn
Undertone, at identical depth. Both are dark; one is cold, one is warm.Light Spring vs Light Summer
Undertone, at identical lightness. Both are pale and low-contrast.Bright Spring vs Bright Winter
Undertone, at identical brightness. Both wear saturated colors most people cannot.Winter vs Bright Winter
Clarity, at the same cool undertone. Winter is deep and clear; Bright Winter is lighter overall but more saturated.