What all Summers have in common
Summer colors are cool and slightly softened, as if seen through a light haze. They lean blue or pink rather than yellow. On a Summer they make the skin look even and calm. Warm, golden colors — mustard, orange, rust — tend to make Summer skin look sallow, and very high-contrast combinations like black with snow white can look severe.
Most Summers prefer silver or white gold, off-white instead of bright white, and navy, graphite or taupe instead of black. What separates the three Summers is how light the colors should be and how much clarity they can handle.
Light, Cool or Soft Summer: how to tell them apart
Dominant quality
- Light Summer
- value (light)
- Cool Summer
- temperature (cool)
- Soft Summer
- chroma (soft)
Typical coloring
- Light Summer
- light ash or platinum hair, light skin
- Cool Summer
- ash-brown hair, cool skin, medium contrast
- Soft Summer
- ash or “mousy” hair, low contrast
Best colors
- Light Summer
- powder pink, lavender, light blue, mint
- Cool Summer
- navy, raspberry, cool gray, sea green
- Soft Summer
- taupe, powder pink, sea green, plum
Neutrals
- Light Summer
- off-white, cool gray, taupe
- Cool Summer
- navy, cool gray, off-white
- Soft Summer
- taupe, graphite, off-white
Watch out for
- Light Summer
- black and very deep colors
- Cool Summer
- orange, mustard, camel
- Soft Summer
- black, snow white, bright fuchsia
| Light Summer | Cool Summer | Soft Summer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dominant quality | value (light) | temperature (cool) | chroma (soft) |
| Typical coloring | light ash or platinum hair, light skin | ash-brown hair, cool skin, medium contrast | ash or “mousy” hair, low contrast |
| Best colors | powder pink, lavender, light blue, mint | navy, raspberry, cool gray, sea green | taupe, powder pink, sea green, plum |
| Neutrals | off-white, cool gray, taupe | navy, cool gray, off-white | taupe, graphite, off-white |
| Watch out for | black and very deep colors | orange, mustard, camel | black, snow white, bright fuchsia |
A quick test: compare raspberry with dusty rose under your chin. If raspberry looks great, lean toward Cool Summer. If dusty rose looks better and raspberry looks loud, lean toward Soft Summer. If both feel heavy and powder pink wins, try Light Summer.
Summer neutrals
- Instead of black: navy, graphite or ink navy.
- Instead of snow white: off-white or a soft optic white.
- Instead of camel: cool taupe or mocha.
- Denim: mid-blue and gray-blue washes work best.
Common Summer mistakes
- Black as the safe choice. It’s rarely safe for a Summer near the face. Navy and graphite look just as polished.
- Warm camel coats. A cool taupe or gray coat does the same job without the yellow cast.
- Confusing Soft Summer with Soft Autumn. Both are muted, but Summer is cool. Silver vs gold near the face usually settles it.
Not sure which Summer you are? Take the free color analysis quiz.
