Seasonal color analysis sorts your natural colouring into one of twelve colour “seasons” — Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter, each split into three — by undertone, depth, and clarity. The system has been refined since the 1980s into today’s 12-season model, which is precise enough to give you a genuinely wearable palette. You can find yours free from a photo, or read on for how it works.
The four seasons
Each season is a combination of undertone and one dominant quality:
| Season | Undertone | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| Spring | Warm | Light, clear, fresh |
| Summer | Cool | Soft, blended, powdery |
| Autumn | Warm | Rich, muted, earthy |
| Winter | Cool | Deep, icy, high-contrast |
The twelve sub-seasons
Each season splits into three, depending on whether your colouring leans light, true to the season, or toward the neighbouring season:
- Spring: Light Spring, True Spring, Bright Spring
- Summer: Light Summer, True Summer, Soft Summer
- Autumn: Soft Autumn, True Autumn, Deep Autumn
- Winter: Bright Winter, True Winter, Deep Winter
“Bright Spring” and “Bright Winter”, for example, both sit on the border between Spring and Winter — very clear colouring — but one is warm and the other cool.
How your season is worked out
Three measurements place you:
- Undertone — warm, cool, or neutral. See warm vs cool undertone.
- Depth — how light or deep your overall colouring is.
- Clarity — whether you suit bright, saturated colour or soft, muted colour, judged partly by the contrast between your hair, skin, and eyes.
A warm + light + bright person is a Spring; a warm + deep + muted person is an Autumn; and so on. The free tool does this scoring for you and shows how close you are to each season.
What you get
Your season comes with best colours, colours to avoid, a personalised palette, and makeup guidance — which reds, which metals, which eyeshadows. Every season page includes its full palette; start at the color seasons hub.