Autumn family, deep and warm

Deep Autumn (dark autumn, deep fall) color palette

Dark colors with warmth still in them.

Updated October 2026 · By the Hue & Shape team

Not sure you are a Deep Autumn?

The free color test reads your season from a photo and seven quick questions. The photo stays on your device. If you want it, your personal color report is $12.99 once, with no subscription.

Take the free color test Or test your undertone first

Deep autumn, also called dark autumn or deep fall, is warm coloring at its darkest. Hair is dark brown, deep chestnut or brown black, often with a red or bronze sheen in the sun. Eyes are dark brown, deep hazel, deep olive or dark topaz. Skin ranges from light to very deep, but it carries a warm, golden or bronze base rather than a pink one.

Depth is the first trait here and warmth is the second. The face can hold a lot of visual weight, so dark, rich colors look natural and pale ones look like a wash over the skin. The warmth means the darks need to be brown based, red based or olive based: espresso instead of black, mahogany instead of burgundy, deep teal instead of navy.

Contrast is medium to high, which lets a deep autumn wear stronger combinations than other autumns, such as cream with espresso or gold with forest green.

Palette at a glance

Autumn family · Antique gold, bronze and copper.

Also called dark autumn, deep fall.

The palette

Deep Autumn color palette: 36 colors with hex codes

36 colors in six groups. Hex codes are for screens; fabric and print will vary.

Neutrals

Cream#EFE3CD
Espresso#3C2A22
Cognac#7A4A24
Deep Olive#3F4226
Dark Chocolate#4A3024
Warm Charcoal#3D3631

Lights

Bisque#D9C09A
Antique Gold#C79F4E
Caramel#A8743F
Camel Tan#B48A5A
Golden Wheat#C9AA6C
Apricot Brown#C08454

Mid-tones

Bronze#8A6A2F
Olive#55592C
Moss Green#5E6A33
Copper#9A5A2C
Ochre#A77C26
Tobacco#7D5A32

Deeps

Forest#2F4A35
Deep Teal#27504F
Aubergine#4D2B3A
Mahogany#6B2F28
Dark Spruce#233B33
Black Coffee#2B201A

Accents

Gold#B98A2E
Paprika#A34A27
Burnt Pumpkin#A8501E
Mustard Bronze#A3801F
Petrol#1F4F55
Emerald Pine#1F5A40

Reds and pinks

Deep Rust#8F3A26
Oxblood#5C1F1C
Brick Red#8A2E22
Garnet#6E2A2E
Burgundy Brown#5A2522
Terracotta Brown#94462E

On the map

Where deep autumn sits among the 12 seasons

Deep autumn sits at the bottom right of the map: warmth 0.6, depth 0.9 and clarity 0.5. Its depth ties with deep winter for the darkest point of all twelve anchors, but the two sit on opposite sides of the warmth line, more than a full unit apart. Its nearest anchors are soft autumn and warm autumn, almost equally close, then bright spring. That makes deep autumn the meeting point of the autumn family: as dark as it gets, a little less golden than warm autumn, and clearer than soft autumn.

Plotted from the anchors the free color test matches against. Larger dots are clearer, brighter seasons; smaller dots are softer. How the anchors are used

Recognize it

How to tell if you are a deep autumn

Your natural hair is dark brown, deep chestnut or brown black, with red or bronze glints in sunlight.
Your eyes are dark brown, deep hazel, deep olive or dark topaz.
Pale pastels make you look washed out, while dark rich colors make your features look sharper.
Antique gold and bronze look better on you than bright silver.
Espresso brown flatters you as much as black does, or more, and cream looks better than optic white.
There is clear contrast between your hair and skin, but it reads warm rather than icy.

A three-step drape check at home

1
In daylight, hold Espresso under your chin, then a true black. If the espresso softens the shadows and the black looks slightly hard or ashy, you have warm depth.
2
Next compare Mahogany with a cool wine or plum. The mahogany should make the skin glow, while the wine pulls the warmth out.
3
Last, hold Cream and then a pale pastel such as baby blue. A deep autumn holds the cream easily and looks faded beside the pastel.

Not sure? The free test reads your season from a photo and seven questions, and the photo never leaves your device.

Find my season

Side by side

Deep autumn vs deep winter

Both seasons are dark, and both look good in deep colors near the face, so the depth test alone cannot separate them. Undertone does. Deep autumn needs its darks to lean warm: espresso, mahogany, forest, petrol and deep olive. Deep winter needs them cool and clear: true black, burgundy, emerald and sapphire.

On a dark autumn, a jet black top looks a little flat and gray around the mouth, and icy whites look stark. Bronze, antique gold and cream bring the skin forward instead. Hair is another clue: a deep autumn's hair usually shows red or bronze in direct sun, where a deep winter's hair looks cool, blue black or neutral dark brown.

The Deep Winter palette

Deep Autumn

Black Coffee #2b201a
Mahogany #6b2f28
Forest #2f4a35
Gold #b98a2e
Deep Teal #27504f
Cream #efe3cd

Black Coffee, Mahogany, Forest, Gold, Deep Teal, Cream

Deep Winter

Black #141414
Burgundy #5a1f2e
Sapphire #1f3f7a
Emerald #0f5a45
Plum #4a2440
Icy White #f4f5f6

Black, Burgundy, Sapphire, Emerald, Plum, Icy White

The test that separates them

Warm black against true black: hold Black Coffee, then a jet black, under your chin. If the brown based black looks richer and the jet black looks harsh, you are deep autumn.

Side by side

Deep autumn vs warm autumn

Warm autumn is the brighter, more golden sibling. Its colors sit at medium depth, like pumpkin, mustard and goldenrod. Deep autumn shares the warmth but needs more weight: mahogany, espresso and dark spruce, with gold and paprika as accents.

If your hair is dark brown to brown black and your eyes are dark, the medium warm autumn shades can look a step too light, as if the outfit has less presence than the face. A warm autumn, with lighter copper or chestnut hair, can look heavy in the deepest colors of this page.

The Warm Autumn palette

Deep Autumn

Espresso #3c2a22
Burnt Pumpkin #a8501e
Olive #55592c
Brick Red #8a2e22
Cognac #7a4a24
Dark Spruce #233b33

Espresso, Burnt Pumpkin, Olive, Brick Red, Cognac, Dark Spruce

Warm Autumn

Butterscotch #e3b467
Mustard #c9a227
Burnt Orange #b4551f
Forest #3f5b3a
Caramel #b9783d
Brick #8f3b2c

Butterscotch, Mustard, Burnt Orange, Forest, Caramel, Brick

The test that separates them

Compare Burnt Pumpkin with Espresso near the face. If the espresso looks just as good or better than the pumpkin, the depth reading is deep autumn.

Leave out

Deep Autumn colors to avoid

Each one with the reason it fights this coloring and a color from the palette that does the same job.

Pastel Lilac
Too pale and too cool; it sits on deep coloring like a faded wash.
Wear instead: Bisque
Baby Blue
Light and cold at once, the opposite of what this palette asks for.
Wear instead: Petrol
Bright Pink
It competes with dark features and pulls attention to the clothes.
Wear instead: Garnet
Optic White
The stark white exaggerates contrast in a way that looks cold rather than rich.
Wear instead: Cream
Jet Black
Wearable, but next to the face it often looks flatter and grayer than a warm dark.
Wear instead: Black Coffee
Icy Gray
A cool light gray drains the bronze base of the skin.
Wear instead: Camel Tan
Cool Burgundy
A blue based wine reads as a winter red and makes warm skin look ruddy.
Wear instead: Oxblood
Neon Lime
Its acid brightness overwhelms the earthy depth of the palette.
Wear instead: Moss Green

Wearing it

Deep autumn clothing: six outfits

Work
Espresso, Cream, Gold
An espresso suit with a cream shirt and gold jewelry; the strong light and dark contrast suits this coloring.
Evening
Emerald Pine, Antique Gold
An emerald pine velvet or satin dress with antique gold accessories; one deep jewel color does the work.
Casual
Olive, Camel Tan, Dark Chocolate
An olive field jacket over a camel tan sweater, with dark chocolate jeans or boots.
Summer
Terracotta Brown, Bisque
A terracotta brown linen dress or shirt with bisque trousers keeps the depth without heavy layers.
Winter
Mahogany, Deep Teal, Cognac
A mahogany coat over a deep teal knit, finished with cognac boots and gloves.
Accessories
Cognac, Bronze
Cognac leather, bronze and antique gold metal, and tortoiseshell frames.

Keep the depth, keep the warmth

Espresso, mahogany and forest give the strength a deep autumn needs. Black is strong too, but it loses the warmth that makes this palette work.

Cream is the light

Use cream rather than white for shirts, knitwear and anything close to the face. It keeps the contrast high without the glare.

Saturated, not neon

Paprika and deep teal are the bright end of this palette. Neon colors are a different season entirely.

Hair

Deep Autumn hair color

Shades that suit

Dark chocolate brown. A rich warm brown keeps the natural depth and warmth in balance.
Deep auburn. A dark red brown adds warmth and shine without lightening too far.
Mahogany. A brown with red violet warmth suits this season when it stays brown rather than purple.
Espresso with caramel lowlights. Subtle caramel ribbons add movement while the base stays dark.
Warm brown black. For the darkest deep autumns, a soft black with brown in it looks natural.

Shades that fight it

Platinum or icy blonde. Far too light and cool, it erases the depth that defines the coloring.
Blue black. A cold, inky black reads as winter and flattens the warmth of the skin.
Ash brown. The gray green cast dulls the bronze undertone and makes the skin look tired.

Makeup

Deep Autumn makeup: base, cheek, eyes and lips

Base and foundation

Choose a warm or golden foundation at your depth, often labeled W or described as golden, caramel, chestnut or warm bronze. Test on the jaw in daylight; the right shade disappears, while one that is too cool leaves the jaw looking ashy or gray.

Warm caramel base #A8764D
Golden bronze base #7F5536

Cheek

Warm brick, terracotta and deep apricot blushes, or a warm bronzer. On deeper skin, a richer terracotta or brick shows better than a pale peach.

Terracotta blush #A8553A
Deep brick blush #8C3E2C

Eyes

Bronze, copper, olive, deep plum brown and gold. A dark brown liner or a deep forest green liner is softer than black and just as defined.

Bronze shadow #8A6230
Deep olive shadow #4E5228
Forest liner #2A3B2C

Lips

Brick red, mahogany, deep rust and warm brown nudes. For a statement lip, an oxblood with brown in it is the deep autumn answer to a classic red.

Mahogany lip #6E2E26
Deep rust lip #8C3B25
Warm brown nude #8A5A44

The base

Metals, jewelry and wardrobe neutrals

Antique gold, bronze and copper. Bright silver can look thin against deep warm coloring.

Antique gold, bronze, copper and brass are the main metals. Dark finishes such as oxidized brass or brushed bronze suit deep coloring better than thin, bright gold.

Heavier jewelry works in proportion to the depth of the coloring. Stones like garnet, smoky quartz, tiger's eye, amber and deep green malachite sit inside the palette. Bright polished silver tends to look small and cold next to the face.

Cream
Espresso
Cognac
Deep Olive
Dark Chocolate
Warm Charcoal

Every depth

Deep Autumn on fair, medium and deep skin

Fair skin

A fair or light golden face with dark brown hair and dark eyes still reads deep autumn because of the contrast. Lean on the lights and mid-tones near the face, bisque, camel tan and bronze, and use the deeps in coats and trousers.

Medium skin

Medium golden or bronze skin can wear the whole palette, and the accents, gold, paprika, petrol and emerald pine, look especially rich.

Deep skin

Deep skin with a warm, golden or red brown base is at home here. The reds group, oxblood, garnet and brick red, and the jewel accents all hold their own, and cream or bisque gives a light that does not look stark.

Questions

Deep Autumn questions

Is dark autumn the same as deep autumn?

Yes. Dark autumn, deep autumn and deep fall all name the same season: warm coloring with the most depth in the autumn family.

What is the difference between deep autumn and deep winter?

Undertone. Both are dark, but deep autumn suits warm darks like espresso, mahogany and forest, while deep winter suits cool darks like true black, burgundy and emerald.

Can a deep autumn wear black?

A deep autumn can wear black better than other autumns, but a brown based dark such as espresso or black coffee usually looks richer near the face.

What hair color suits a deep autumn?

Dark chocolate, deep auburn, mahogany brown and warm brown black. Avoid platinum, blue black and ash tones.

What are the best deep autumn clothing colors?

Espresso, mahogany, forest, deep teal, olive, cognac and cream for the base, with gold, paprika and petrol as accents.

Can a deep autumn wear white?

Cream and bisque work well. Optic white tends to look stark, so keep it away from the face or soften it with gold jewelry.

Can a deep autumn wear purple?

Aubergine and deep plum brown work because they carry warmth. Lavender, lilac and cool violet are the hard ones.

How we measure. The seasons on this site come from fixed positions for warmth, depth and clarity, and the free test matches you to the nearest one. Read the method