What Season Palette Am I? The 12 Seasons, Explained

“What season palette am I?” If you are asking this, you have probably already tried a quiz or two. Maybe one said Autumn and the next said Summer.

That is very normal. Here is how the seasons really work, how you can get a first idea at home, and why the answer is often a little different from what you expect.

Four seasons are not enough

Most quizzes give you one of four answers: Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter. It is a good start, but four groups are too wide. Two women can both be “Autumn” and still look their best in very different colours.

In my method there are twelve seasons, three inside each of the four. What makes them different is your main feature: the one quality that matters most in your colouring.

The three qualities behind every season

Every colour, and every person, has three qualities:

• Temperature: warm or cool. More yellow is warmer, more blue is cooler.
• Depth: light or dark.
• Intensity: soft or bright. A bright colour is clean and pure. A soft colour has a little grey or brown in it.

Your season is the mix of the three. And in each season, one of them leads.

The twelve seasons, by main feature

• Spring is warm and light, with clear colours.
  • Light Spring: lightness leads. The most delicate Spring.
  • Warm Spring: warmth leads. Coral, salmon and yellow, not pink.
  • Bright Spring: brightness leads. The deepest Spring, and black and white are part of its palette.
• Summer is cool and soft.
  • Light Summer: lightness leads. The most cheerful Summer, it can take a little brightness.
  • Cool Summer: coolness leads. Soft, cool blues love it.
  • Soft Summer: softness leads. The deepest Summer, and greys look beautiful on it.
• Autumn is warm, deep and soft.
  • Soft Autumn: softness leads. The lightest Autumn, and black is too strong for it.
  • Warm Autumn: warmth leads. It has no black, but its dark browns and greens do the same job.
  • Dark Autumn: depth leads. The most intense Autumn, and it can wear black.
• Winter is cool, deep and bright.
  • Bright Winter: brightness leads. The lightest Winter.
  • Cool Winter: coolness leads. Mustard and terracotta are hard for it.
  • Dark Winter: depth leads. The most serious Winter, and very bright colours are not always its best.

You can see that the seasons next to each other share something. A Soft Summer and a Soft Autumn are both soft. A Bright Spring and a Bright Winter are both bright. This is why so many women feel “in between” two seasons.

A first idea, at home

You can start to find your direction with three questions. Stand near a window, with no makeup, and look at your face, not your clothes.

1. Light or dark? Do very dark colours near your face look strong and right, or heavy?
2. Soft or bright? Does a clean, bright colour make your eyes shine, or does it take over and you disappear behind it?
3. Warm or cool? This is the hardest one, and the quick tests often get it wrong. (I wrote about it here: Am I warm or cool toned?)

Also look at your contrast: the difference between your skin, your hair and your brows. Fair skin with very dark hair is high contrast, and it points to Winter, Dark or Warm Autumn, or Bright Spring. Soft, close tones point more to Spring, Summer or Soft Autumn.

These questions give you a direction, not an answer. Your own eye is used to your face, and the light in your home changes the colours. A tan, olive skin, or hair you have dyed for years can all send you the wrong way.

Why the answer is often a surprise

Many women arrive at a session sure of their season, and leave with a different one. Not because they were wrong to notice things, but because they were looking at one sign alone.

In a session, nothing is decided by one sign. I look at your contrast first, then depth, intensity and temperature, always by comparison: one fabric against another, under natural daylight or my calibrated mirror light. Your season is the one that keeps winning, step by step. (More about this here: Why online colour tests don’t work.)

And knowing your season changes more than your clothes. It also helps with your makeup and your hair. (If you are thinking of going blonde: Which shade of blonde is right for me?)

Find your season for sure

If you are tired of quizzes that disagree, you can find out once and for all. You will see each colour on your own face, and you will leave knowing your season and your palette.

The sessions are here: Colour analysis in Perth. Sessions are at my home studio in Stirling, or I can come to you anywhere in Perth.

Let’s glow! ✨