[Happy July 4th holiday, American readers! I'm re-running one of my most popular posts from several years ago. I welcome your opinions and insights in the comments section!] This Indian model and actress is both incredibly beautiful and (to me) incredibly difficult to type. There's no agreement on the 'net, that's for sure. But after much study, I think I've figured it out. Here, I'll walk you through the process I used and share my conclusion. Aishwarya is Indian. If I believed that non-White women are always Autumns and Winters, I'd have it narrowed down to six seasons based on that alone. If I was a particularly rigid thinker, I might have already decided Deep Autumn or Deep Winter. But ethnicity doesn't determine season; it's based on how the skin reacts to color. So I'll keep the Autumns and Winters in mind, but not limit myself to them. Let's look more closely at her. Aishwarya is probably most famous for her beautiful and unusual eyes. If you believe that eyes determine season - or at least point to it - you're probably thinking Summer. You might even have narrowed it down to Soft Summer based only on these amazing eyes. I'm going to make a mental note that the eyes suggest Summer, but I know that any season can have any eye color. So I'm moving on to the next step: finding well-lit pics of Aishwarya in a variety of colors, and noticing what the colors that look most - and least - harmonious on her have in common. I find it easiest to start with makeup. When does Aishwarya's face look natural and balanced, and when does it seem that color is just sitting on her face? This face looks pretty natural. In the eye shadow, blush, and lip, I see warmth, and I see mutedness - as opposed to clarity. Most seasons have warmth or softness or both in them. But I’m tentatively ruling out Bright Winter. Very tentatively ruling out Cool (True) Winter and Bright Spring. And maybe penciling a star next to the Autumns (soft & warm) and Soft Summer (soft with a smidge of warmth). Nothing’s certain yet; let’s keep looking: A well-lit pic, though not a flattering one: this lip and cheek look a little too bright and too pink to me. The color seems to be sitting on her face in a way that it doesn’t in the previous pics. (And those silvery, icy jewels seem to have nothing in common with her.) The most obvious thing I'm noticing at this point is that coolness and Aishwarya don’t mix. So, again, several seasons could be indicated, but I’m leaning farther away from the Winters, and starting to lean away from the Summers as well. Despite those eyes. Ouch. That lip is too, too purple. Further confirms my growing sense that coolness is not for Aishwarya. I'm feeling pretty sure she's a warm season. So the scientist in me says I must try to prove the null hypothesis: Can I find her in makeup that looks both cool and natural? Here, I’ve certainly found coolness – at least around the eye - but it looks all wrong: too sparkly, too blue. The lip and cheek here aren’t bad. But they’re more warm than cool. This isn’t disproving my theory; it’s confirming it. Let's try more pics. My first thought: nice, natural face, and a pinkish lip. OK, maybe we're on to something. I'm looking closer at the makeup. The eyes look quite harmonious to me, and, well, I see warmth in the colors there. I see warmth in that nice, natural cheek too. I start to notice that something's bugging me about that lip. I ask my gut: what’s wrong? My gut tells me: warm it up and darken it a smidge. Yeah - I step back and look at the whole face again, and that lip is just too light and too pink for the rest of the face. (Warm it, darken it… could Aishwarya be an Autumn? Hmm... maybe. Maybe. Nothing's impossible, despite the eyes.) Let’s look at some more pics. Here's the pic from the top of the post. Apart from the requisite but totally silly super-black liner, this face looks natural as well. And again, I see warmth in every part of the makeup. At this point I think I’m prepared to commit myself to the idea that Aishwarya is a season known for warmth: Autumn or Spring. Because I’ve also been noticing softness, I’m going farther now, and asking: do I see Autumn warmth specifically? Well, maybe. Are the flattering makeup colors that I’ve seen so far Autumn’s, and not Spring’s? That is, are they relatively muted and deep, rather than bright and light? I think so. Now I’m looking back at every picture I’ve seen so far, and asking this question: does anything in any pic rule out Autumn? Have I seen her looking natural in a super-cool, super-light or super-bright color that no Autumn could possibly wear? Nope. Well, I’m going to proceed with a tentative theory that she’s an Autumn, while staying open to evidence that might suggest any other season. So here's another picture with natural-looking makeup. Are these colors consistent with Autumn? Yes - they're warm, soft, and deeper rather than lighter. Are they completely inconsistent with another season? Hard to say… I can imagine a Soft Summer or a Deep Winter possibly photographing this way, if the light was right. I think I've exhausted the usefulness of makeup analysis. I have some ideas. Now I'm moving on to clothing colors, and noticing what doesn't look right. Oh, certainly not. My brain tells me she looks pale and harsh. My gut doesn’t tell me anything – it just cringes. Beautiful Aishwarya, where are you? So this is a deep, cool color, and it’s not doing her any favors. Duly noted. Moving on… Hmm… This just seems so, well, weird. As in strange, foreign. Unconnected to her. I see Aishwarya. And I see the light, cool colors. But I don’t see anything joining them together. Still thinking Autumn is likely. More colors: My gut has a mixed reaction to this very un-Autumny pink. Something’s working, something’s not. I pick apart my reaction:
If yes, I can probably rule out Soft Autumn. But Deep Autumn and Warm (True) Autumn are still in the running. Their colors are muted in the context of the full 12-season spectrum, but considered in themselves, they can read as rather bright. Now that I think I'm closing in on an answer, I'm ready to look at this problem from another angle: What are Aishwarya's best colors? What pics show her in glorious, fantastically harmonious colors? This one. This one. This one. This one. This one. This one. And, oh my gosh, yes, this one, absolutely. I can’t stop staring. Incredible. Glorious golden goddess. So... whose colors are these? Warm (True) Autumn’s. ?? But she has those Summery eyes… Yeah, I know. But she’s Indian… So?
44 Comments
Nana
2/19/2011 11:09:26 pm
Very meticulous, and a surprising result. She never really looked warm to me, but Ive never seen these last pictures. And she turns out to be my mothers season :)) Darker TAs can pull off so many different looks and make it look sort of ok.
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assja
7/27/2014 11:12:23 am
Hi,
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Ashley
2/28/2011 03:35:19 pm
I've just read this post, and I love it! I'm enjoying the other posts, too. It's amazing how even the celebrities look sorry when they miss it color-wise and absolutely amazing when they nail it.
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Rachel
2/28/2011 06:39:13 pm
:-)
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Divalicious
3/9/2011 01:45:23 am
Interesting! With big sparkling eyes like hers, I always thought that Aishwarya has enough clarity/brightness to her coloring. I was almost sure that she was a clear winter. But then again, I also see some warmth in her skin thus making her a believe she could probably be a warm season as well.
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6/22/2011 04:04:08 pm
As an African-American with light skin, medium dark/mousy(?) brown hair and medium/hazelish brown eyes, I am having trouble deciding which type I am.
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gaga
9/28/2011 12:37:42 am
have you think to the darker soft summer ? because there is a darker soft summer (like katie holmes, and maybe angelina jolie...) who wear true autumn colors well, but darker velvety summer colors very well too... I think that warm colors like yellow or orange are not good at all for her (a true autum can a minimum support these colors, no?) I think she's a darker mix of summer & autumn (could you answer me by mail please ?!)
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Agnes
2/25/2013 09:12:55 am
Great website!
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Michelle
4/17/2013 09:42:34 am
The problem here is that isn't her real eye color. She wear contact lenses. Take a look at her childhood pictures and early modeling pictures. Her natural eye color is hazel/light brown (very common in Autumns). In the pictures you posted, her eyes appear to be a very muted green. A green with lots of grey in it making them appear very "Summery"
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Sara
7/28/2023 03:28:08 am
Her real eye color is sea green. It looks blue-grey in some settings and greener in others. Literally no one would reach that height of fame alone on contact lenses, everyone can spot that a mile away.
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Kate
7/14/2013 01:10:48 am
I think you're right and I also think her eyes are quite autumn-y.
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Mylene
12/4/2013 05:52:04 am
I think the answer to her season is neither True Autumn nor Warm Autumn. Do you heard of the 16 seasons system? They have a Deep Soft Autumn for this kind of coloring.
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There are many Indian and also Middle Eastern beauties with natural light eye color (just some examples: Anabella Hilal, Nancy Ajram, etc.), so the comment by Michelle above is absolutely ignorant. I am a southeastern european woman with gray eyes and a pale skin with warm skin undertone and I have trouble deciding whether I'm spring or autumn.. even some cool colors like blue suit me because of my eye color
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Rachel
8/22/2016 03:21:00 pm
Hi!
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Melina
11/9/2016 09:33:57 am
Great decoding, and convinced me at least :) In this beautiful clip from one of her Bollywood films she's wearing bronze/copper lipstick, and it looks so right on her, although a bit on the light side: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfnr27tN5pE
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Dana
11/13/2016 11:44:19 am
Aishwarya's best colors are red-orange,yellow or golden yellow,orange and green turquoise.Pink is not very suitable for her.By the way,the real color of her eyes was described at the Miss World competition in 1994 and they are naturally green-grey not light brown as someone said here.Her childhood pictures are way too blurred to notice their real color.She weared brown contacts in some of her movies but their real color is green.There are Indians who naturally have such a color of their eyes.Not many but they are!I think her eyes reflect the Autumn sky in October.
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Danielle
11/10/2017 12:10:58 pm
Couldn't she be an Indian summer, in fact,due to her eyes?
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Rosetta
11/12/2017 06:18:18 am
If you've looked at the photos above, Danielle, Summer is clearly very likely... Eyes (or hair colour) do not always predict the season, actually very seldom.
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Dana
7/2/2018 06:04:45 pm
She doesn't seem cool in her skin tone.On the contrary,golden dresses are her best match.Silver makes her face look yellowish.
Leslie
12/16/2017 12:31:38 pm
Rachel, what do you think her style id blend is? R seems clear, but what about her 2nd and 3rd essence?
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Cheryl
7/7/2018 03:18:00 am
I see Ethereal as the 2nd essence. 3rd am not too sure, could be Ingenue or Classic? (i don't see any Dramatic, Gamine or Natural)
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Dee
1/18/2018 06:14:47 pm
Thank You, this helped me so much!
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Dana
4/19/2018 02:11:46 pm
I would rather think she is the brightest of Autumns,that is Dark Autumn.And her blue eyes fully reflect the teal blues of that color palette.I think her eyes are rather bright than soft.Has anybody seen her in that medium violet or orchid that suits Dark Autumns so well?
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Rosetta
4/20/2018 02:20:48 am
It's actually True Autumn that is the brightest of Autumns...! Dark Autumn is so much darker, not bright.
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Dana
7/2/2018 06:02:18 pm
I agree with you but I read somewhere that Dark Autumn has the most saturated colors among all autumn color palettes. I also think that Dark Autumn is "bright" since it's too dark and has less light in its colors. Warm/True Autumn is the most luminous and vibrant among all and it flows into spring. In this case,yes,Aishwarya is a True Autumn because she is rich and vibrant in coloring and she is not that dark as real Dark Autumns are.
Rosetta
7/3/2018 04:47:00 am
Dana, maybe, but as for Autumn flowing into Spring, e.g. 12blueprints doesn't acknowledge that - how could a season flow into another that's on the opposite side of the seasonal color wheel..? Yes, TA and TSp are both fully warm, but their warmth is of quite a different kind (muted vs bright).
Rosetta
4/24/2018 10:47:37 am
Although on second thought, I get what you mean - I guess both DA and TA are vibrant in their own way! (Though maybe not exactly bright, in the way Bright seasons are.)
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Rochelle
7/2/2018 10:19:11 pm
I wish someone could tell me what I am. I am so very confused.
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Gabriella
7/3/2018 03:02:46 am
What is this?! An old post and old comments? If you already know her season, why not try to guess her style- ID this time? By the way, Im not so sure True Autumn is her season. She could be a Toasted Soft Autumn. Doesn't she look a little too muted for a TA or a DA? I think her coloring is too deep for a TA and too warm for a DA.
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Rosetta
7/3/2018 04:44:00 am
It's weird (not to mention rude) that some people just keep on bringing into discussion seasons from another system that this site does not adhere to ("Toasted", "Smokey" etc.etc. ones), even when they know this... Surely you can find another site to discuss those extra (and pointless) seasons, if you really so wish!
Cheryl
7/5/2018 10:24:18 am
I maybe wrong, but i think i see a little Ethereal in her too? She looks totally gorgeous with that wide eyed, dreamy, staring into space look (if that makes sense lol). And she also looks beautiful in floaty clothes like chiffon saris. Check her out in the movie Mohabbatein :D
Gabriella
7/3/2018 11:42:24 am
Rosetta, surely you can find another site to poison with your mean comments! They are not welcome here.
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Rosetta
7/4/2018 03:46:54 am
Haha, how funny, Gabriella, when YOU are the one poisoning this site with your mean comments! (Or one of those - will not name names but everyone here knows who they are.) You should not be welcome to do so anymore, and with any justice, you will be banned from here.
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Rosetta
7/4/2018 03:49:51 am
It really is a pity that spiteful people like Gabriella are allowed to stay here! You and those few people like you have banished most sensible commenters from here, and soon all (including me), I fear.
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Lena
7/6/2018 11:44:06 am
Cheryl, you may be right. Aishwaraya could have Ethereal. I also see a lot of Romantic in her. What more?
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Cheryl
7/7/2018 03:15:02 am
Hmm i can't seem to figure out, Lena...except that she has almost purely feminine beauty with hardly anything masculine? I would think Dramatic, Gamine and Natural are out...maybe she has a bit of Classic or Ingenue. But overwhelmingly Romantic and Ethereal is what i see!
Cheryl
7/5/2018 10:28:34 am
Hi Rachel, i do adore your blog, but as a South Asian woman myself this post feels even closer to my heart :) would love to see some detailed analysis of Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone! And, while i'd love a post on the gorgeous Bollywood megastar - the late, great Sridevi - i fear the fact that she isn't known in the west would mean that's wishful thinking on my part :(
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Nancy
7/5/2018 01:30:14 pm
Cheryl, Deepika Padukone is type as a Romantic-Dramatic-Ethereal-Ingenue.
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Nancy
7/6/2018 11:47:47 am
I think Priyanka Chopra has Dramatic, Romantic and Ingenue. Maybe Natural too. Any ideas, you guys?
Megan
7/6/2018 03:12:59 pm
I largely agree with these typings--I would say Priyanka probably doesn't have Natural, though. Or if so, it's very slight--the few pictures I see of her in casual clothes, her face doesn't seem to harmonize with them at all.
Megan
7/6/2018 03:17:19 pm
Side note--I would love to see a post on tips for dressing more casual/work appropriate when you have an inherently "sexy" style ID--I'm thinking of Romantic blends, particualrly Romantic-Dramatic, though there may be other blends that have this challenge. I understand that an RD should look authentic in RD clothes, but I'm wondering if there is any way to look authentic and not look quite so sexy/intimidating for every day...
Cheryl
7/7/2018 03:07:39 am
I don't see much Romantic, Ethereal or Ingenue in Deepika (i am no expert though). I see a lot of Natural in both her figure and face (looks good in the very natural makeup and casual clothes)...she does need some structure too though, and am thinking that could come from Classic (or Dramatic? Not sure!) but i think she looks much better as the approachable, girl next door type rather than the sultry seductress type...and the less "fuss" around her face, the better she looks.
ruby
7/7/2018 02:29:35 am
The original posting of this was one of the things that helped me determine that I am probably true autumn. Not that I look anything like Aishwarya (ha! I wish)! but the colours seem to give a similar overall impression on me as on her, which is of physical strength. It's a quality I think you only get in TA, even DA isn't as physical in quite the same way (I would say DA's quality is more 'weight' in a metaphorical sense, like tradition or luxury). In the royal blue especially she looks weak whereas goddess is a good description in the gold, she looks powerful in a moving mountains sense.
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Maria Al-Masani
2/20/2020 11:31:51 pm
Thank you so much. I am half Arab and half Russian, and have a similar look. I have lighter skin than her in the winter - in the middle east its the same tone under the sun but its a very yellow skin tone. I was misdiagnosed as a winter. Silver is not bad on me as I am pale like audrey hepburn in the winter in Canada but still have a light yellow tone, like a french vanilla icecream skin tone. I feel that autumn works but me and muted colours are not friends. So I borrow sometimes from the winter palette a brighter version of an autumn color, but I can't wear any colour that is cool and not on the autumn palette
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