Winter vs Summer
No selfie. No photo. Your season comes from your answers, so lighting and filters can’t move it.
Depth and clarity. Both are cool; Winter is deep and clear, Summer is light and soft. White test. Hold a pure white shirt and a soft oat-white one against your face in daylight. Pure white sharpening you means Winter; oat-white looking gentler means Summer.
Side by side
| Winter | Summer | |
|---|---|---|
| Undertone and depth | black and pure white work on you, and the strongest colors you own are the ones people compliment. | your best colors look slightly faded, and black reads heavy next to your face. |
| Best colors | Navy #1F2F5C · Berry #8B1E4B · Emerald #1F7A55 · Ice blue #A8D8F0 · True red #C8102E · Charcoal #36393F · Pure white #FFFFFF · Royal purple #5B2A86 | Powder #BCD4EF · Lilac #C7B3E5 · Rose pink #E58FB1 · Soft blush #F6C9CF · Sea glass #9FD3C7 · Dove gray #B8B8C2 · Cornflower #6F8FD9 · Soft white #F4F4F0 |
| Colors to avoid | Camel #C19A6B · Oat #E8DCCB · Mustard #D1A520 · Rust #B5522B | Burnt orange #CC5500 · Mustard #D1A520 · Espresso #4A2C20 · Tomato #F25C54 |
Three tests to tell them apart
- White test. Hold a pure white shirt and a soft oat-white one against your face in daylight. Pure white sharpening you means Winter; oat-white looking gentler means Summer.
- Black test. Put black next to your face with no makeup on. On a Winter it looks intentional; on a Summer it puts shadows under the eyes and jaw.
- Contrast test. Photograph yourself in daylight and turn the picture greyscale. A clear gap between hair and skin is Winter; everything sitting at a similar grey is Summer.
Winter colors
- Navy
- Berry
- Emerald
- Ice blue
- True red
- Charcoal
- Pure white
- Royal purple
Summer colors
- Powder
- Lilac
- Rose pink
- Soft blush
- Sea glass
- Dove gray
- Cornflower
- Soft white
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 Autumn
Undertone. Winter is cool, Autumn is warm. This is the cleanest split of the four.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.
Undertone. Winter is cool, Autumn is warm. This is the cleanest split of the four.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.