Summer Season
Light Summer
Airy, delicate, and cool. Very low contrast with soft pastels and a gentle, ethereal quality.
- Undertone
- cool & Light
- Contrast
- Low
- Best metals
- silver, white gold
Palette Comparison
Light Summer vs Deep Autumn Color Palette
Light Summer is a cool palette and Deep Autumn is a warm one, so the two pull your complexion in opposite directions. Light Summer is cool and light, low contrast, while Deep Autumn is warm and deep, high contrast. Here are both palettes side by side, with the eye, skin, and hair traits behind them.
Autumn Season
Deep Autumn
Dark, luxurious, and intense. High contrast with rich chocolate, burgundy, and forest tones.
- Undertone
- warm & Deep
- Contrast
- High
- Best metals
- gold, rose gold
The Light Summer and Deep Autumn Palettes
Each type's eight signature shades. Read them as a set rather than one color at a time: it's the overall temperature and clarity that separates these two palettes.
Light Summer colors
Light Summer colors are cool, light, and slightly softened. They flatter by staying close to your own gentle contrast rather than fighting it.
Soft Rose
Your signature shade
Powder Blue
Calm and airy
Lavender
Soft and dreamy
Pale Aqua
Cool and fresh
Soft Mint
Gentle cool green
Blush Pink
Delicate and cool
Cool Butter
Your softest yellow
Sky Grey-Blue
Everyday cool neutral
Deep Autumn colors
Deep Autumn colors carry weight. Every shade in your palette has depth and warmth — this is the richest, most saturated corner of the Autumn family.
Mahogany
Your signature shade
Burgundy
Deep and luxurious
Deep Olive
Dark and earthy
Bronze Gold
Rich metallic warmth
Forest Teal
Your cool accent
Burnt Sienna
Warm and intense
Chocolate
Everyday deep neutral
Warm Buff
Your best light base
Key Characteristics
The coloring each palette is built around. Where you land on these three is what decides which of the two is yours.
Eyes
Light Summer
Blue, green, pale blue-grey, or soft lavender-grey, usually with a hazy, blended edge to the iris rather than a sharp ring.
Deep Autumn
Dark blue, deep green, dark hazel, dark brown, or nearly black, usually with warm golden or olive tones visible up close.
Skin
Light Summer
Fair with delicate cool undertones and often a slight pink tinge. Light Summer skin flushes rather than tans and burns easily in strong sun.
Deep Autumn
Ivory, olive, or medium to deep with golden-olive warm undertones. Deep Autumn skin holds a tan well and rarely looks pink.
Hair
Light Summer
Light ash blonde, strawberry blonde with a cool cast, or medium ash brown. It usually looks slightly cool or smoky rather than golden in daylight.
Deep Autumn
Medium to dark brown with a golden shine, or dark auburn. There is warmth in it even at the darkest depths.
Not sure which season you are? Take the quiz
One photo tells you whether you are a Light Summer, a Deep Autumn, or one of the other ten types, with your full palette and a preview on your own face.
Get my color analysisLight Summer vs Deep Autumn Celebrities
Style icons for each palette. Comparing two faces you already know is often quicker than comparing swatches.
Reese Witherspoon
Light Summer
Taylor Swift
Light Summer
Gwyneth Paltrow
Light Summer
Kristen Bell
Light Summer
Eva Mendes
Deep Autumn
Kelly Rowland
Deep Autumn
Sofía Vergara
Deep Autumn
Penélope Cruz
Deep Autumn
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the real difference between Light Summer and Deep Autumn?
Undertone. Light Summer is cool, built around shades like soft rose, powder blue and lavender, while Deep Autumn is warm, built around mahogany, burgundy and deep olive. Depth differs too, Light Summer sitting at low contrast against Deep Autumn at high, but temperature is what you should test first. A palette on the wrong side of that line leaves skin looking sallow or grey however well the depth matches.
Are Light Summer and Deep Autumn the same season?
No. Light Summer belongs to Summer and Deep Autumn belongs to Autumn, two separate seasons in the twelve-type system. They also sit on opposite sides of the warm and cool line, which makes confusing them the more costly kind of mistake. The shades each one is named for do not transfer between them.
Which key colors define Light Summer vs Deep Autumn?
Light Summer is defined by soft rose, powder blue, lavender and pale aqua. Light Summer colors are cool, light, and slightly softened. They flatter by staying close to your own gentle contrast rather than fighting it. Deep Autumn is defined by mahogany, burgundy, deep olive and bronze gold. Deep Autumn colors carry weight. Every shade in your palette has depth and warmth — this is the richest, most saturated corner of the Autumn family. Metals are the quickest tell of all: Light Summer wants silver or white gold, and Deep Autumn wants gold or rose gold.
Am I Light Summer or Deep Autumn? How can I tell the difference?
Temperature first: hold soft rose and mahogany fabric under your chin in daylight and watch which one evens out your skin instead of adding shadow. Then depth: Light Summer carries low contrast between hair, skin and eyes where Deep Autumn carries high, so judge how much contrast your own bare-faced photo shows. Then metals: Light Summer suits silver or white gold and Deep Autumn suits gold or rose gold. When two of the three agree, that is your answer.
Who are some celebrity examples of Light Summer and Deep Autumn?
For Light Summer, look at Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kristen Bell. For Deep Autumn, look at Eva Mendes, Kelly Rowland, Sofía Vergara and Penélope Cruz. Read them for the relationship between hair, skin and eyes rather than for individual outfits, since a stylist can put anyone in anything. Daylight photographs without heavy makeup or filters are far more useful here than red-carpet shots.
Why does getting Light Summer vs Deep Autumn right matter?
Because the two palettes fail in opposite directions, and the failure is quiet rather than obvious. Wearing Deep Autumn colors as a Light Summer lays a warm cast over cool skin, which shows up as dullness, grey under the eyes, or a yellow flatness people read as tiredness rather than as a wardrobe problem. It also costs money. Most of a wardrobe is neutrals and basics, and buying those on the wrong side of the line means every top you own works slightly against your face while none of them looks obviously wrong on the hanger. Metals compound it: Light Summer suits silver or white gold and Deep Autumn suits gold or rose gold, so jewelry bought for the wrong season quietly undercuts the rest.
Can Light Summer and Deep Autumn share any colors?
Not the same shades, but another 13 sit close enough that one garment could pass for either. Those near-matches are the softest, most neutral parts of each palette, where the gap narrows to a degree or two of warmth. Everything either season is known for stays on its own side: soft rose and powder blue for Light Summer, mahogany and burgundy for Deep Autumn. Treat the near-matches as safe ground, not as proof the palettes are interchangeable.
What's the fastest way to confirm my season at home?
Stand at a window in indirect daylight, without makeup, in something that will not bounce color onto your face. Hold soft rose against mahogany under your chin, one at a time, and watch your skin rather than the fabric: the right one evens out redness and softens the shadows under your eyes, and the wrong one adds a grey or yellow cast. Then repeat at your wrist with silver or white gold against gold or rose gold jewelry. Two signals pointing the same way is usually enough, and a photo-based analysis will confirm it in minutes.
Browse All Palettes
All twelve color seasons, three to a family. Open any one for its full palette, traits, and the colors to keep away from your face.
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
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