Personal color analysis. Discover your true colors.
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
John Keats, "Ode on a Grecian Urn"
Kristin Kreuk, Dark Autumn
Start by understanding that every part of your natural coloring is in harmony with every other part. Believe this; it's true.
Your eyes, skin and true hair color all complement each other perfectly, exactly as they are.
To look your most beautiful, you don't need to color your hair. You don't need to wear expensive makeup or expensive clothes. Truly.
You only need to identify the palette of colors that harmonizes perfectly with the colors that are already in you.
The natural palette of your body harmonizes with one of 12 palettes that differ in warmth, brightness and lightness. We call these different palettes seasons.
What are the 12 seasons of color?
Your eyes, skin and true hair color all complement each other perfectly, exactly as they are.
To look your most beautiful, you don't need to color your hair. You don't need to wear expensive makeup or expensive clothes. Truly.
You only need to identify the palette of colors that harmonizes perfectly with the colors that are already in you.
The natural palette of your body harmonizes with one of 12 palettes that differ in warmth, brightness and lightness. We call these different palettes seasons.
What are the 12 seasons of color?
The first dimension: WARM or COOL
We can divide everyone in the world into two groups.
WARM undertones
In the first group is everyone with skin undertones that are more warm than cool. The natural colors of their body tend to the warm side, and they look their best in colors that are similarly warm.
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COOL undertones
In the second group is everyone with skin undertones that are more cool than warm. The natural colors of their body tend to the cool side, and they look their best in colors that are similarly cool.
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Some people seem purely cool and some people seem purely warm, but most people seem to be a mix of cool and warm.
It's never a perfect split, though; everyone's natural palette leans either slightly or sharply in just one temperature direction.
It's never a perfect split, though; everyone's natural palette leans either slightly or sharply in just one temperature direction.
The other dimensions of personal color: lightness/darkness and brightness/softness
We can take our two groups - cool(ish) people and warm(ish) people - and further subdivide them.
When we look at the cool folks, we notice that some of them have natural coloring that's also rather dark and rather bright (vivid). Colors are deep but pure.
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We call these people WINTERS.
WINTER coloring = cool, deep, vivid
WINTER coloring = cool, deep, vivid
Other cool folks have natural coloring that's lighter and softer. Their natural colors are not very dark or very bright.
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We call these people SUMMERS.
SUMMER coloring = cool, light, soft
SUMMER coloring = cool, light, soft
As for the warm folks, we notice that some of them have natural coloring that's also fairly dark, and muted or rich rather than bright.
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We call these people AUTUMNS.
AUTUMN coloring = warm, dark, soft
AUTUMN coloring = warm, dark, soft
Other warm folks have natural coloring that looks lighter and brighter.
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We call these people SPRINGS.
SPRING coloring = warm, light, bright
SPRING coloring = warm, light, bright
So now we have four seasons. This is probably what you remember from the 1980s. How do we get from four to 12?
Not all Springs
(or Summers, Autumns, or Winters)
Are Created Equal
If you were typed in the original four-season system but never felt comfortable with the verdict, you probably already figured this out: Within each of the four main seasons, there are subtypes.
Recall that color has three traits: warmth/coolness, lightness, and brightness.
Recall also that each of the four main seasons is characterized by a distinctive permutation of these three traits.
Each season has three subtypes.
In each of the three subtypes, one of the dimensions of color is dominant and extreme, while the other two are moderated somewhat.
For example, consider Autumn. It's soft, dark, and warm.
Some Autumns are OBVIOUSLY soft, but may appear only somewhat dark and only somewhat warm:
Some Autumns are OBVIOUSLY soft, but may appear only somewhat dark and only somewhat warm:
These are Soft Autumns.
Some Autumns are OBVIOUSLY dark, but may appear only somewhat soft and warm;
Some Autumns are OBVIOUSLY dark, but may appear only somewhat soft and warm;
These are Dark Autumns.
Finally, some Autumns are OBVIOUSLY warm, but may appear only somewhat dark and somewhat soft.
Finally, some Autumns are OBVIOUSLY warm, but may appear only somewhat dark and somewhat soft.
These are True (or Warm) Autumns.
4 main seasons x 3 possible dominant traits within each season
= 12 seasons
= 12 seasons
Spring
Bright Spring
Very bright.
(Neutral-warm, somewhat light.) 
Very warm.
(Fairly bright, fairly light.) 
Very light.
(Neutral-warm, somewhat bright.) 
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Summer
Light Summer
Very light.
(Neutral-cool, somewhat soft.) 
Very cool.
(Fairly light, fairly soft.) 
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Autumn
Soft Autumn
Very soft.
(Neutral-warm, somewhat dark.) 
Very warm.
(Fairly dark, Fairly soft.) 
Very dark.
(Neutral-warm, somewhat soft.) 
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Winter
Dark Winter
Very dark.
(Medium-cool, somewhat bright.) 
Very cool.
(Fairly bright, fairly dark.) 
Very bright.
(Neutral-cool, somewhat dark.) 
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