Soft Summer vs Soft Autumn: how to tell them apart
Soft Summer and Soft Autumn are the pair people mix up most. Both look best in muted, slightly greyed colours and both are overwhelmed by neon and pure black. The one real difference is temperature: Soft Summer leans cool, Soft Autumn leans warm. Here is how to see it on your own face.
Free entry · English result · iOS and Android
Am I a Soft Summer or a Soft Autumn?
If dusty rose, soft lavender and grey-blue make your skin look smooth and calm, and silver looks more natural than gold, you are closer to Soft Summer. If olive, warm taupe, soft terracotta and camel do that, and gold or brushed bronze blends in, you are closer to Soft Autumn. If both work about equally, you sit between the two: start from the colours they share and test the ones that differ.
What they share: softness
Both seasons suit muted colours with a little grey in them. Bright, saturated shades and stark black-and-white contrast sit on top of the face for both.
Soft Summer: soft and cool
Dusty rose, mauve, grey-blue, soft plum, cool taupe and pewter. Silver and white gold look most natural.
Soft Autumn: soft and warm
Olive, camel, cinnamon, warm taupe, soft terracotta and muted coral. Gold, bronze and brushed metals blend in.
Compare the two palettes
The colours both types share are safe either way. The ones only one palette has are what to hold up to your face.
Soft Summer
Only in this palette- Grey · deep
- White · light
- Blue · medium
- Green · light
- Green · light
- Green · light
- Pink · medium
- Purple · light
- Purple · light
- Purple · medium
Soft Autumn
Only in this palette- White · light
- Blue · medium
- Green · medium
- Green · deep
- Green · medium
- Orange · medium
- Brown · medium
- Orange · medium
- Orange · light
- Orange · medium
- Red · medium
- Red · deep
- Brown · medium
- Purple · deep
Which of the two are you closer to?
Four quick questions to answer in daylight. They point you toward one of the two; a photo settles it.
The app reads your season from a selfie and shows hair and lipstick shades on your own face.
Find out from a photo in the app which of the two you are →Three steps for a fair comparison
- 01
In daylight and without make-up, hold dusty rose and then soft terracotta under your chin. The one that makes your skin look even, not red or sallow, points to your temperature.
- 02
Compare grey-blue with olive green. Soft Summer skin looks clearer next to grey-blue; Soft Autumn skin looks warmer and healthier next to olive.
- 03
Try silver and then gold jewellery. If two of the three tests point the same way, that is your side of the pair.
Why these two are so easy to confuse
On the twelve-season wheel, Soft Summer and Soft Autumn sit right next to each other. Their strongest quality is the same, softness, and their temperature is only mildly cool or mildly warm. That is why a questionnaire often lands in the middle: most answers fit both.
What separates them is how the skin reacts to a cool and a warm colour of the same softness and depth, seen side by side in daylight.
Three colour pairs to compare
Hold each pair under your chin in turn and choose the colour that makes your skin look calm and even, not the one you like more.
- Dusty rose or soft terracotta: rose points to Soft Summer, terracotta to Soft Autumn.
- Grey-blue or olive green: grey-blue points to Soft Summer, olive to Soft Autumn.
- Pewter or camel: pewter points to Soft Summer, camel to Soft Autumn.
When you sit between the two
Many people do. Then wear the colours both palettes share, such as soft navy, muted teal, mushroom and rosy beige, near the face, and treat the clearly warm or clearly cool shades as accents further away.
A photo-based analysis compares your colouring with both palettes at once. When a photo cannot decide, the app shows both seasons and lets you compare their palettes on the same photo.
Clarity before your next purchase
What is the difference between Soft Summer and Soft Autumn?
Temperature. Both seasons are soft and muted; Soft Summer leans cool (dusty rose, grey-blue, pewter), Soft Autumn leans warm (olive, camel, soft terracotta).
Can I be both a Soft Summer and a Soft Autumn?
You can sit between them. Wear the shared muted neutrals near your face and test the warm and cool accents separately.
Which metals suit Soft Summer and Soft Autumn?
Soft Summer: silver, white gold and pewter. Soft Autumn: gold, bronze and brushed brass. Matt finishes suit both better than high shine.
Can Soft Summer and Soft Autumn wear black?
Black is harsh for both. Charcoal or soft navy gives the same depth more gently.
From an initial clue to personal colour analysis
Analyse your photo, receive a practical palette and use it when choosing clothes, hair colour and make-up.