Summer family, cool and soft
Summer color palette
Cool, gentle and never at full volume.
· By the Hue & Shape team
Not sure you are a Summer?
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.
Summer color analysis covers the three seasons with a cool undertone and a soft finish. The skin has a pink, rosy or blue base, and the colors that suit it look as though a little gray or white has been mixed in: powder blue, dusty rose, lavender, sage.
Depth stays light to medium across the family. Light summer is the palest, while cool summer and soft summer sit at medium depth. Clarity is where they part: cool summer is the clearest of the three, light summer is in between, and soft summer is the most muted of all the cool seasons.
The family palette
Summer color palette: 18 colors across the three types
Six signature colors from each summer season. Each season page has its full 36.
Light Summer
- Powder Blue#B7CDE8
- Lavender Mist#CDC3E6
- Rose Quartz#EFC9D2
- Soft Mint#C4E3D8
- Pearl Gray#DFE1E6
- Wedgewood#7F9CC4
Cool Summer
- Dusty Rose#D49AA5
- Mauve#B18FB0
- Wisteria#9B8FC4
- Cornflower#7D9BD1
- Sea Blue#5E8FA8
- Sage#A8B8A6
Soft Summer
- Mushroom#B9A79C
- Dusty Mauve#B394A0
- Sage Green#9FAE95
- Misted Blue#8FA5B5
- Rose Beige#D7B8AE
- Soft Plum#8A6F83
Three types
Light Summer vs Cool Summer vs Soft Summer
| Trait | Light Summer | Cool Summer | Soft Summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depth | Light | Medium | Medium |
| Warmth | Cool | The coolest summer | Cool, close to neutral |
| Clarity | Soft to medium | Medium, the clearest summer | The softest summer |
| Typical skin | Fair to light, pink or rosy | Light to medium, rosy or cool beige | Light to medium, neutral-cool, low contrast |
| Typical hair | Ash blonde, light ash brown | Ash brown, cool medium brown | Dark ash blonde, mousy or ash brown |
| Typical eyes | Light blue, gray, soft green | Blue, blue-gray, gray-green | Gray-green, soft hazel, gray-blue |
| Best neutral | Pearl Gray | Slate | Mushroom |
| Signature color | Powder Blue | Dusty Rose | Sage Green |
Light Summer
The pale end of summer, built on pastels with a blue base. Powder Blue, Rose Quartz and Lavender Mist sit close to the skin's own lightness, so the face stays the focus.
The Light Summer paletteCool Summer
Also called true summer, and the most blue-based of the three. Dusty Rose, Wisteria and Berry give it color with enough depth to hold up against medium ash hair.
The Cool Summer paletteSoft Summer
The most muted summer, sitting next to soft autumn on the map. Mushroom, Sage Green and Misted Blue suit it because nothing in its coloring is strong enough to compete with a vivid color.
The Soft Summer paletteRouting
Which summer are you?
1. Squint at a mirror. How much contrast is there between hair, skin and eyes?
- Very little, because everything is light: Light Summer
- Some; my eyes or hair stand out a little: Cool Summer
- Very little, and everything is medium and blended: Soft Summer
2. Put Powder Blue near your face, then Mushroom. What happens?
- Powder blue brightens me; mushroom looks drab: Light Summer
- Mushroom looks calm and polished; powder blue looks too sweet: Soft Summer
- Both are fine, but Berry or Cornflower looks better still: Cool Summer
3. Your natural hair, before any color, is
- Ash blonde or a very light ash brown: Light Summer
- Medium ash brown with a clearly cool cast: Cool Summer
- Somewhere between dark blonde and brown, and it looks almost gray in some light: Soft Summer
Answers split? The free color test weighs a photo sample and seven questions, then names one of the twelve seasons.
Find my seasonNeighboring family
Summer vs winter
These two are easy to mix up, because both families are cool. They differ in two ways at once. Summer colors are softer, with gray or white blended in, and lighter on average. Winter colors are clear, saturated and deeper, and winter is the only family that wears true black and optic white near the face.
The pair that sits closest is cool summer and cool winter. Both have a blue base, and both can look good in a blue-red or a sapphire. The summer version of each color is dustier: Dusty Rose instead of true red, Slate instead of charcoal, Pearl Gray instead of pure white.
If you have dark hair and cool skin, it is tempting to call yourself a winter. Dark hair alone does not decide it. What matters is whether strong contrast flatters the face or overwhelms it.
- Powder Blue #b7cde8
- Rose Quartz #efc9d2
- Dusty Rose #d49aa5
- Wisteria #9b8fc4
- Sage Green #9fae95
- Misted Blue #8fa5b5
Powder Blue, Rose Quartz, Dusty Rose, Wisteria, Sage Green, Misted Blue
- Black #141414
- Deep Navy #1d2a44
- True Red #c8102e
- Royal Blue #1f4fbf
- Hot Pink #e8177f
- Icy Lavender #e7def7
Black, Deep Navy, True Red, Royal Blue, Hot Pink, Icy Lavender
The test that separates them
Hold a black top under your chin, then a slate or soft navy one. On a summer, black takes over and shadows under the eyes look deeper. On a winter, black looks clean and the slate looks flat.
Neighboring family
Summer vs spring
Summer and spring meet at the light end, where light summer and light spring both have fair skin, light hair and gentle contrast. What separates them is the undertone, not the depth. Summer is pink or blue underneath; spring is peach or gold.
The swap goes wrong in both directions. A summer in peach and buttercup looks sallow, and a spring in icy pink and lavender looks gray. Since the two palettes are similar in lightness, the undertone test is the only reliable way to tell them apart.
- Powder Blue #b7cde8
- Rose Quartz #efc9d2
- Dusty Rose #d49aa5
- Wisteria #9b8fc4
- Sage Green #9fae95
- Misted Blue #8fa5b5
Powder Blue, Rose Quartz, Dusty Rose, Wisteria, Sage Green, Misted Blue
- Peach Blossom #ffd9c7
- Marigold #f2a71b
- Warm Coral #ef7b5a
- Leaf Green #7fae3f
- Turquoise #2fb3a6
- Hot Coral #ff5a4e
Peach Blossom, Marigold, Warm Coral, Leaf Green, Turquoise, Hot Coral
The test that separates them
Compare a crisp soft white and a creamy ivory against bare skin. A summer looks clearer in the soft white and slightly yellow in the cream; a spring looks warmer and healthier in the cream.
Summer wardrobe basics
A summer wardrobe rests on gray-based neutrals: soft white, pearl gray, slate, pewter and soft navy. Black and stark white can stay in the closet for occasions when they are expected, worn away from the face or softened with a scarf.
Tonal outfits are where summers shine. Two or three colors of similar depth, such as wisteria with slate or dusty rose with pearl gray, look more finished on summer coloring than a bold contrast does.
Denim is an easy summer piece, since a mid-wash blue is close to the family's own blues. Swap a stark white T-shirt for soft white or pearl gray and the same outfit looks gentler around the face.
Hair color across the summer family
Hair color across the summer family stays cool and soft: ash blonde, beige blonde, ash brown, mushroom brown and cool light brown. Golden, copper and red tones fight the pink base of the skin and can make the cheeks look ruddy.
Light summers suit the palest ash and beige blondes. Cool summers can go to a medium ash brown or a cool brown with fine ash highlights. Soft summers look best with low-contrast, blended color, such as a mushroom brown, rather than stark highlights.
Gray hair usually suits summers well, because it repeats the softness that the palette is built on.
Summer makeup
Summer makeup is about rose, berry and mauve rather than coral and orange. A cool pink or soft plum blush, rose or berry lips, and eyes in taupe, gray, soft plum or slate all keep the face in the palette.
Keep the intensity moderate. Light and soft summers look best in sheer, blended color; cool summers can wear a deeper berry lip without it looking heavy.
Questions
Summer color questions
What is the summer color palette?
A set of cool, soft colors for people with a pink or blue undertone and light to medium coloring. Powder blue, dusty rose, lavender, sage, slate and soft white are typical. The three summer seasons are light, cool and soft.
Is true summer the same as cool summer?
Yes. Cool summer is called true summer in some systems, because it is the summer with the most typical, blue-based coloring of the family.
Can a summer wear black?
Black is usually too harsh near a summer face. Charcoal blue, soft navy and slate do the same job in a wardrobe without the contrast. Black trousers or shoes are fine.
How do I know if I am a summer or a winter?
Look at how much contrast your face can take. Winters look sharper in black, white and vivid jewel tones; summers look tired in them and better in softer, grayed versions of the same colors.
Which metals suit a summer?
Silver, white gold, platinum and pewter. Rose gold works when it is a true pink. Brushed finishes suit soft summers especially well, while bright yellow gold tends to look brassy.
Can summers wear brown?
Cool, grayed browns such as mushroom and rose brown, yes. Warm chocolate and camel lean too golden for most summers, though soft summer can carry a muted taupe.
Which summer is closest to autumn?
Soft summer. Its muted, medium coloring sits right beside soft autumn on the map, and the two share many grayed mid-tones. The deciding question is whether a hint of gold helps the skin or makes it look sallow.
Does summer mean I should only wear pastels?
No. Light summer leans pastel, but cool summer wears berry and sapphire-blue at medium depth, and soft summer wears muted mid-tones such as sage and dusty plum.
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
Beyond the summer family
- Light Summer paletteCool, quiet and made of pale blue.
- Cool Summer paletteBlue-based, medium depth, quietly sure of itself.
- Soft Summer paletteGrayed colors for a face that does not need volume.
- Color analysisSample your skin, eyes and hair, answer seven questions, and get one of 12 seasons.
- The twelve color seasonsAll palettes in one place