Last week I talked about the fact that, though all of your palette colors are gorgeous on you somewhere, they don't all look natural on your lips. 

Now I want to describe a good way to figure out which of your palette colors are best on your lips. 

In a nutshell, the colors that will look most natural on your lips are
 - your MLBB,
- darker versions of your MLBB, and
- a handful of colors very close in hue and value to these

Your MLBB is your "my lip but better" lip color. You may already have a lippy in your stash that you know is your MLBB. If you don't, stand in front of a mirror with your palette and locate the peach, pink, red, or violet that is precisely as dark as your lip and the closest to it in warmth or coolness. (Your natural lip color will be less saturated than any  of these palettte colors; you're basically finding the more saturated version of your natural lip.) 

A lippy that's an  MLBB will always look natural on you. Additionally, colors that are the same hue as your MLBB but darker will also look natural on you. Going very dark within your MLBB hue might be your evening lip, but it won't look unnatural.

In general, avoid opaque colors that are lighter than than your MLBB. This usually looks unnaatural. 

The other colors that will look most natural on your lips will be the colors closest in hue to your MLBB, and as dark or darker.  So if you're a Bright Spring whose MLBB is on your fuchsia strip, you may indeed be able to wear one of Bright Spring's violets as a lippy; the violets are close in hue to the fuchsias. You will find less luck with one of BSp's orange lippies, because orange is pretty far  from fuchsia. 

My MLBB is a neutral Soft Autumn pink that's medium-dark.  I'll wear other pinks and reds that are very close to this color in hue, but I won't go all the way to a Soft Autumn brown -- even though those lippies exist.

If I feel like it, I''ll go somewhat warmer or somewhat cooler within my palette. But I won't stray super-far from this central MLBB hue, and I won't go lighter in value, unless it's a gloss.

And this is what I recommend you do as well:
Find the hue that looks most natural on your lips, and choose lippies that stay relatively close to that hue.

For example, if your MLBB is an orange, experiment with your reds -- but don't stray all the way to a violet, unless you  want to make a statement.  :-) 

And if your MLBB is a violet, experiment with your reds and purples -- but don't stray all the way to orange.

When you know your  MLBB, use your seasonal makeup list and a computer to find the lippies from the list that will look the most natural on your face.

(Computer images aren't completely color-accurate, but you don't need them to be if you have the seasonal makeup list; if it's on the list, it's a color from your season.)

Just check the computer image to make sure the hue and value of the lippy seem right for your lips. Then buy it! 




​
This post was originally published in March of 2017. 

In seasonal discussion groups, women spend a lot of time working out which palettte-matching lipsticks and glosses are their best colors.

Why should they have to spend time answering this question? Aren't all of the peaches, pinks, reds and violets in your palette automatically good lip colors for you?

Not exactly.

Every color in your palette is a color that harmonizes with your natural coloring somehow. 

But not every color will actually look good on your lips. 
​
Your right colors look right because they look natural. So if you wear them in an unnatural way, they won't look right.

​Consider my Soft Autumn palette:

Not all of the colors in your correct seasonal palette will be your absolute favorites.

Depending on your depth of coloring, your level of contrast, and the specific colors of  your body, some will be more useful to you than others, and in different ways.

A dark-skinned Winter, for example, might use black as an accent, while a fair-skinned Winter might wear it in large blocks.

But no color in your palette will be awful on you.  The colors in your palette are all harmonious with each other, and if it's your proper palette, they'll all be harmonious with you too.

So for those of you still searching for your season, I give you colors that are seasonal deal-breakers.

If the given color absolutely doesn't work for you, the deal's off. Move this season to the end of the list.

You can't use this list to identify your single best season. But you can use it to rule seasons out.


If you can't rock hot pink, rule out Bright Spring.

Bright Spring has a handful of pinks in this general vicinity.  You may not associate pink with Spring. But moving Spring reds toward Winter means making them both darker and brighter. Reds that are both deep and very bright are purple-reds. So in Bright Spring, we find hot pinks.

If you think you're a Spring but hot pink is no good for you, True Spring may be your home.

If you're not fabulous in lime green, rule out Bright Winter.

Taking True Winter's greens lighter and brighter, all the way into Bright Winter, moves them toward yellow. One of the results is a sort of fluorescent lime. On Bright Winters, this color is amazing. It contrasts beautifully with both very dark and very light skin.

If this color's not right for you, but you think you're a Winter, try Dark Winter next.

A handful of the seasons have some sort of mint. True Summer's is not a pure, saturated mint that's close to aqua. Instead it's a delicate and slightly hazy mint. It's lovely with a delicate fuchsia lip.

If this feels all wrong to you, perhaps vivid mint is beter? You might be a Winter.

Dark Winter yellows are tricky. They're not clear and pure like True Winter's. They're not blindingly bright. They're just slightly warmed, a little rich - but not Autumn rich. Penelope Cruz is lovely here in what looks like one of Dark Winter's elusive yellows.

If you need your yellows purer, try one of the other Winters. And if you need a more delicate yellow, try one of the Summers.

This Dark Autumn color always surprises me. Call it orchid or begonia perhaps. It's not a color I would label Dark Autumn if I saw it in a pile of a hundred other colors. Yet it's gorgeous with the intense dark olives and vivid teals of the season.

Dark Autumn Natalie Portman's been photographed in three or four dresses in something like this color. They're all great on her. If it's not great on you, perhaps try True Autumn or Bright Spring.

Was it Christine Scaman who said Light Spring colors are popsicle colors? It's true. But every season has neutrals, of course. This unusual Light Spring color is like your usual khaki, but with a suggestion of green and gold. On a Light Spring, it may pick up tones in the eye or hair.

If this color's a no-go on you, perhaps look at Light Summer instead.

Light Summer doesn't get very warm, but in the pinks it does go as far as a pinky coral. It's a bit pinker than what you see here, but still warmish. On a Light Summer it picks up healthy color in the face.

If you think you're a Summer but can't wear this light, delicate, warm tone, look at True Summer.

True Spring's colors are Crayola colors. You can see them in this picture of Nicole Kidman: blue dress, yellow hair, red-orange lips.  In these simple primaries, True Spring is gorgeous.

If you struggle to articulate the names of your best colors, they're not True Spring's. You might consider Summer or Autumn. 

True Autumn has a few beautiful burgundies that go beautifully with the rich greens and oranges of the season. You can see all those colors here, in Noa Tishby's face.
Those burgundies make good lippies too.

If this burgundy overwhelms you, try something from Soft Autumn.

This is not a warm golden brown or a milk chocolate brown. If you're a Summer, none of those browns will work for you. Browns are generally bad for Summers, as a rule. But if you're a Soft Summer, you will be lovely in cocoa brown. It's a brown that looks both slightly greyed and slightly purpled. It may pick up tones in your hair.

If this color just isn't right for you, try True Summer next.

This blue feels both rich and muted, and quite medium - neiher purpley nor greenish. I's similar to the color you get if you Google "French blue."

Though it's a subtle color, on Soft Autumn skin it's just as powerful as it needs to be. Notice how rich it looks on Natascha McElhone.

If you need a blue that's much richer than this, you might try a Winter or a Spring.

   *             *              *
For any of these seasons, Google the season's name in quotes to see images of the palette. Images that say "Sci/Art" are usually quite accurate. Or order sheets of color from all 12 seasons to try the seasons out in person.

As always, I hope this helps you find your correct season.  :-)


This post first ran in April of 2013. 

Wow, brown is important for True Spring, right?  

​It makes sense if you think about the fact that we rely on our darker neutrals for eyeliner, eyeshadow and mascara. Which dark neutrals does each season get?  A lot of seasons get brown *and* charcoal, or brown *and* black, or charcoal *and* black. But True Spring, being purely warm, doesn’t have black, or even charcoal. Its darkest neutrals are basically versions of brown:

True Spring colors, and makeup, are warm, warm, warm. (Brown is just dark orange, and orange is arguably the warmest color.)
​​
If you compare this word cloud to Light Spring’s, you’ll notice that the True Spring cloud features “red” much more prominently. That reflects True Spring’s turn to more vivid primaries, from Light Spring's comparatively pastel-y hues.

Compared to Bright Spring’s word cloud, “pink” is de-emphasized here. True Spring doesn’t have any real pinks to speak of; they’re all quite orangey and coraly:

​If you think you’re a True Spring but you don’t yet own the makeup list, try googling cosmetics with words from the True Spring word cloud in the name. (For example, lipstick apricot, or blush coral, or eyeliner cocoa.)

And if you’re not sure what your season is, try the at-home draping cards. They're the most affordable option for accurate color draping. 

Actually, that's not how it works! Don't pay too much attention to systems that try to tell you otherwise. 


Your hair color doesn't make a darn bit of difference in determining your season.  A person with red hair might be found in any season, depending on her skin tone.

Here's a redheaded Light Spring:
http://www.truth-is-beauty.com/uploads/4/7/6/0/4760820/7761500.jpg

A redheaded True Spring:
http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2005/specials/emmys05/bestworsthair/mcross.jpg


A redheaded True Autumn:
http://images.totalbeauty.com/content/photos/20-totalbeauty-logo-red-hair.jpg


And I personally know a redheaded True Summer.

Redheads tend to have warm-toned skin, which puts them into Spring and Autumn categories. But it's theoretically possible that a person with genetically red hair could have Winter or Summer skin. 


​Unsure of your season? Try at-home draping cards. 

Because I have two young children and a job, I have very little time to watch TV. But my husband has gotten me into watching 30 Rock on Netflix. I catch it a couple of times a week, after the kids are asleep. I have mixed feelings about the show  (very good points made here and here),  but I enjoy trying to figure out these characters' seasons and noticing whether, and when, the characters are in their best colors.

Kenneth is obviously a Spring. His beloved NBC page jacket is totally not his color  -  too cool, too faded, too dark  -  but here's a shot of him with a great Springy purple on underneath it.

Isolate the two colors and the purple's far superior. Fresh skin that's golden,
not shadowed and haggard.

In my very first blog post, I observed that TV costumers use correct color to show characters as good/strong/dignified and incorrect color to show characters as evil/weak/silly. 

Perhaps the page jacket is that awful-for Kennth navy because that's actually what NBC pages wear?

Kenneth is a sympathetic character who's often presented as the moral center of the show. So it makes sense that his customary rainbow-colored tie features many  great Spring colors. It brings some life and health to his face.

This was a tough one for me, but I'm going to go with True Spring over Light Spring for Kenneth. In this post, I identify some of the factors that distinguish Light Spring from True Spring. In Kenneth's (or rather, actor Jack McBrayer's) case, I notice that pale, delicate colors can seem a bit underwhelming on him, while stronger, deeper shades seem more balanced.

I find this light green not enough for him. His skin is more intensely colored than this shirt. (True Springs can seem to have "high color" that's tamed by their proper palette.) Next to this very light color, the skin looks much darker, but in an unnaturally uniform way that's unflattering - almost as if he's made of clay.

This much deeper, saturated blue is more balancing to him. The skin looks lighter and brighter but in an alive way, not in a washed-out way. We see some natural variation in the skin tone that signifies health.

True Spring's colors are the closest of any season to the Crayola 8-pack. They are the stereotypical rainbow. Perhaps the NBC bikini Kenneth knitted is better for him than for his Nana. 

All the lippies on the list are recommendations from the women of the 12 Blueprints Facebook Page, Christine Scaman of 12 Blueprints, Mary Steele of Luminosity, or my own swatching. 

• If you're a True (a.k.a. Warm) Spring, most of these colors will work on your lips  -  and your cheeks too, if you use them as blush.
  
  
• Some may be a touch too warm, too cool, too light or dark. This is normal, because the variation of human coloring within a season means that not all women in a season wear the same colors on the face equally well. 
  
  
• Some of these are discontinued. Check eBay.
  
  
• It's always a good idea to try before you buy. Having said that, I've bought many recs for my own season sight unseen from eBay and been happy with most. 
  
  
• Please do share feedback on the recs, or additional recs, in the Comments section.  
  

  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  

Bobbi Brown Coral Pink Creamy Lipcolor

Bobbi Brown Canary High Shimmer Lipgloss

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine no. 44 Sari D’Eau and 

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine no. 68 Monte Carlo

Clinique Different Lipstick in Ripe Raisin 

Clinique Golden Brandy Long Last Lipstick (may be too cool)

Clinique Buttershine Lipstick in Ambrosia

Clinique Lipsticks in Peach Pop

Clinique Lipsticks in Poppy Love

Cover Girl LipPerfection no. 405 Fairytale 

Cover Girl LipPerfection no. 400 Temptress

Cover Girl LipPerfection no. 300 Flame

Dior Addict New Look 

Estee Lauder Stay Coral Doublewear Lipstick; 

Estee Lauder Pure Color Sensuous Rouge in Nectar 

Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss Stick in Honey Pink 

Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss Stick in Orange Poppy

L'Oreal Charismatic Coral

L’Oreal – HIP Shine Struck Liquid Lipcolor in Precarious

Laura Mercier Gloss Stick in Poppy

MAC Crosswires

MAC Prolongwear in Clingpeach

MAC Sheen Supreme Full Speed

MAC Ravishing Lipstick

MAC Instant Gold Lustreglass

MAC Lady Bug (?)

Maybelline Color Sensational Coral Lustre

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Siren

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick Peach

Revlon Superlustrous in Ravish Me Red

Revlon Colorburst Coral

Revlon Super Lustrous Peach Me

Revlon Super Lustrous Siren?

Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss in All Day Seduction, 

Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss Dare to Say

Rimmel Stay Glossy Lip Gloss Non-Stop Glamour

Smashbox  Photo Finish Lipstick in Legendary 

Smashbox Photo Finish Lipstick in Splendid

Stila - Convertible Color in Petunia

Stila Long Wear Lipcolor in Adorable

YSL's Le Orange lipstick

The idea for this post came from a message I wrote to a woman trying to locate herself within Spring. Thanks, T.  :-)

When considering the sub-seasons, it can often be difficult to identify colors that clearly distinguish between them.

In the case of Light Spring vs. True (Warm) Spring, though, there are a few differences between the palettes that are relatively easy to articulate.

If you've narrowed yourself down to these two seasons, you might use the following examples to help determine where you fit. Which colors can you (or can't you) wear?

Pink

True Spring has no pinks to speak of. The closest it comes to pink is bright, fairly deep coral.

Light Spring, on the other hand, has several lovely, warmish, light-to-medium pinks and pinky-corals.

Yellow

Light Spring's lightest yellows are bright, but light and delicate.

True Spring's yellows, even the lightest ones, are much more rich and buttery.

Light Spring, meanwhile, is ever delicate. Their greens don't go much deeper than this:

And don't forget: your hair and eye color do not rule you out of either of these seasons. To my knowledge (and I research this stuff), only one woman mentioned in this post is a natural blonde. And it's dark blonde.  :-)

These women have two things in common.

1. They're all famous Springs.

2. They're all brunettes.

Their Springiness may help these particular women be convincing blondes. But like most adult American women with blonde hair, their natural hair color is actually brown.

I bring this up because  we deceive ourselves about blondeness, and in doing so we deceive ourselves about seasonal color.

We want to believe in blondeness. So we smile and nod when celebs claim they're "natural blondes" and we ignore the evidence in front of our eyes.

(I think celebs have all agreed to privately define "naturally blonde" as "blonde at birth" or "blonde during some period of my childhood." One's childhood hair color is not one's natural color if one is no longer a child.)

Articles like this one perpetuate this peculiar, false faith in the supposed natural blondeness of brown-haired celebs. It doesn't take a lot of research to determine that Angelina, Brittany,  Gwyneth, etc. have been natural brunettes at least since adolescence, if not longer.

OK, so what? Why do I care?

Well, partly because belief in the myth of widespread natural blondeness perpetuates an idealization of light coloring  that's hurtful to darker women, especially because the context is a society that already privileges Whiteness in so many ways.

Partly because of my nature: I'm an Enneagram 4. I want to reveal the truth.

And partly - and most pertinently, for this blog - because seeing all these supposedly blonde Spring and Summer celebs leads us to incorrectly believe that Springs and Summers  - especially Light Springs and Summers, and Warm Springs - are typically blonde.

I personally know many brunettes whose path to discovering their true colors was made longer and more difficult because of a shared, mistaken belief that certain Spring and Summer seasons are blonde seasons.

There is no blonde season. Every season's average or typical representative is a natural brunette.

Statistically, it's inevitable that this be the case; with the vast majority of all human beings having naturally brown or black hair, a majority of even the most delicately-colored people will be brunette as well.

It's true that natural blondeness is not found infrequently in the seasons with lighter palettes, in particular Light Summer and Light Spring.

Might a quarter, or even a third,  of adult Light Summers or Light Springs have blonde hair growing naturally from their heads?  Perhaps. You can think of dozens of Light-season people as easily as I can. What proportion of them are blonde at age 30?

Surely not the majority of them. Probably not even half of them.

Let's revise our mental image of what these seasons look like. The caricatures just get in the way of seeing what's real. We know it's not about hair color anyway, so let's picture what it's really about. Look at the Light and Warm Springs and Light Summers that you know: what do you really see?

P.S. Blonde sisters, I hope it doesn't sound like I'm hating on you. You're beautiful and I love you. I just like to keep it real.

P.P.S. Scandinavians, I realize what I've written here might not reflect your reality. I know there is an unusual proportion of natural blondes in your little corner of the world.  :-)

*******************************************************************
Postscript, 3/30/11:

Here is a hair color scale I originally intended to use in the post above, to help make clear how I'm personally defining "blonde" and "brown."
In the end, it felt pedantic to include it  -  but now I think the failure to attempt to define terms just added to the general chaos. So for the record, this graphic reflects how I was conceptualizing these hair colors when I wrote the post. For me, it was essentially a question of hue: more yellow than brown = blonde, more brown than yellow = brunette.

    Since I blogged only about Autumns and Winters at the Golden Globes (working and mothering cut into my computer time, alas), I think it's fair to focus on the Summers and Springs at this year's Academy Awards.

    I'll start with the adorable Reese Witherspoon.

    Despite how cute she is, it's hard to find pics of Reese in flattering colors; I get the feeling she's a Light Summer who's not comfortable with the perceived girliness and insubstantiality of the Light Summer palette.

    Here's one of the only pics I could find showing her in a color that's Light Summery:

    So sweet. I'd love to see her looking like this more often.

    The gown she wore to the 2006 Oscars was also a natural color:

    In both of the pics above, our eyes go to Reese's face. The colors look as if they're lifted right from her skin. Her naturally low level of contrast is not overwhelmed.

    For most big events, unfortunately, Reese chooses colors more appropriate for a Winter. This year's Oscars was no exception.

    (I won't nitpick right now about her artificially blonde hair. Though I oppose it on principle, she is, as a Light Summer, one of the few seasons who can convincingly fake blondisme.) 

Anyway -

    Things from the neck up are pretty harmonious, I think.

    Apart from the silly but inevitable black liner, the overall look is Reese, only better. She has a beautifully light and neutral-cool cheek, and a beautifully  light and neutral-cool lip. The hair is a natural-looking combination of golden, neutral and ash tones. Reese presents a beautiful Light Summer visage.
   
    It's when we zoom out that things become less sweet.

    To her credit, she's showing a lot of bare skin next to her face, which will always neutralize the effects of a bad color somewhat. (Your skin acts as a harmonious color.) Also, the band of white at the top of the dress isn't bad for her. 

    But the huge block of black, and the contrast between the black and the white, keep dragging the eyes down to the dress and away from her face.
   
    And when you look back up at her face, what you see first is black eyeliner and white teeth. Your brain is connecting them to the black and white of the dress.
   
    The result is that the black-circled eyes and the grinning mouth seem to leap out at us, detached from the rest of her face. Weird. Not lovely.

    Gwyneth Paltrow, another Light Summer, came very close to completely embodying her season's beauty. I believe she missed the mark by just a hair - or maybe I should say by an eye. Let's look first at those eyes:

    There is something peculiar and not Light Summery happening around Gwyneth's eye here. The liner and mascara are too dark, and the shadow reads as muddy.

    (The hair is also too one-dimensionally yellow for Light Summer, IMHO... but it's not a deal-killer. )

    I think it's the eyes alone that prevent Gwyneth from achieving full Light Summer radiance. See her in the gown, which should flatter a Light Summer.  You want to like it, but something's a tiny bit off.

   Now look at the picture again, and mentally fill in a more natural-looking eye:

    Way better, don't you think? The eye makeup was creating the interference.

    On to yet another Light Summer: Cate Blanchett.

    I almost always find that Cate Blanchett beautifully presents her true colors. Her Oscars look this year, though, was widely criticized. What was right and what wasn't?

    The face was perfect, I thought.

    Very light, very natural, more cool than warm as befits a Light Summer, and in the earring a tiny touch of golden glow. Just lovely.

(And she declined the too-dark liner that's de rigeur on red carpets. Strong woman!)
   
    So why all the criticism? I believe it was nothing more than the peculiar design of the dress.

    The big circle is just weird. And those crusty bits look uncomfortable.
   
    The colors in the gown are actually darn good for her. The white is cool and a touch greyish; the darker areas of the crusty bits read as greyish-pink and greyish-purple; and the tiny bit of bright yellow is a nice Light Summer accent.

    Wouldn't it have been wonderful to see her in a gown of these colors but with a more pleasing design? Oh well.

    Now for a few Springs.

    I suppose I'd better address Scarlett Johansson first and get it over with.

    When I look at this all I can think is, "Oh, Lord."

    She's so very, very beautiful. Yet most of us looked better at our high school prom than Scarlett does here. Why, Scarlett? Why the weirdly orange eye?  Why the violet lace? (And P.S. - Why the messy hair?)

    Well, Scarlett J. frequently picks colors that don't flatter her. (Google images of her and you'll see.) She's young and gorgeous, so we forgive her. She has time yet to discover the truth of her beauty. Here are a few examples of occasions when she has done better:

    Let's look at Scarlett again in that violet, alongside a lovely Deep Autumn who deserves the color:

    Like night and day. Or like Autumn and Spring. ;-)

    Another dress everyone was talking about was Amy Adam's deep blue gown. I saved a picture of the gown in a file called "OK, not great."  

    Before we look at it, though, let's see Warm Spring Amy in a really good color, at the 2008 Oscars:

    Oh, wow. Fantastic.

    Notice that she can handle a fair bit of depth. Some Warm Spring colors do go that deep. Notice also that she needs vivid (highly saturated) color.

    Now, to the dress in question. This blue is very close to one of  Warm Spring's deep blues. And it's nice and vivid. So why isn't the effect here as magical? Why do we see the dress before we see Amy?

    I think it's mainly an issue of balance.

    This is a very deep blue - as deep as Warm Spring's colors go. It's in the palette because it's the complement to one of Warm Springs beautiful oranges, but blue is a cool color. Coming right up to Amy's neck, it creates an effect of too much cool and deep. Yes, Warm Springs are flattered by contrast, but in this case the deep blue is more dominating than contrasting.
   
    See how much more flattering a similar blue is when Amy balances it with a larger expanse of very light skin:

    Here, the blue and the orange balance each other. The warmer lip helps as well. 

    Let's look at a Spring who, in spite of artificially lightened hair and a too-dark eye, reads as very natural: Jennifer Lawrence.

    The right color can make up for a lot.

    Honestly, I'm not sure what Jennifer's exact season is. I never noticed her before the Oscars. I only know she's a Spring because she looks so perfectly balanced in this very warm, highly saturated color, and because the blonde hair doesn't look totally wrong on her. (Again,  I won't nitpick, though I'm sure her true color would be more glorious.)

    Is she Bright, maybe? I think not... Imagine this outrageous color going all the way up to her chin, like Amy Adams' gown. I don't think it would work. I think there's a limit to how much color this girl can take.
 
    What other Springs and Summers got it right - or wrong?