Soft Summer color palette
Also called Soft Cool Summer
Soft Summer is defined by mutedness: cool-neutral undertone, medium depth, and the lowest contrast of the cool seasons.
The palette is soft, smoky, and blended — dusty rose, soft plum, sage, slate, muted mauve.
Soft Summer colouring at a glance
- Skin
- Cool-neutral, often with a slightly grey or muted quality.
- Eyes
- Soft — greyed blue, green or hazel, rarely bright.
- Hair
- Ash or mousy brown, medium depth.
- Contrast
- Low — features melt together.
Best colours for Soft Summer
Every colour should look slightly greyed. Blend tones together rather than creating contrast, and skip anything bright or crisp.
Best near your face
- Dusty rose #C08C93
Statement colours
- Soft plum #7E5A78
- Soft teal #4E8C8A
- Soft burgundy #8C5F63
Neutrals
- Warm-grey taupe #9A8C7D
- Slate #6B7280
- Cool cocoa #5F5048
- Soft white #E8E6DF
Soft blenders
- Sage #A7B39B
- Grey-blue #93A4B3
- Muted mauve #A98FA0
Metals
- Pewter #B7B2AC
Colours for Soft Summer to avoid
- Bright warm red #FF3B1F Clarity and warmth both fight this muted, cool palette.
- Black #101010 Creates contrast the face does not have; looks severe.
- Stark white #FFFFFF Too crisp — softens better with off-white.
- Warm gold #F3C13B Bright and warm; the undertone is cool and greyed.
- Electric blue #00B3E6 Too saturated for soft colouring.
Soft Summer makeup
Lipstick
- Dusty rose #B98089 Muted cool everyday lip.
- Soft mauve-berry #A96C79 A touch deeper for evening.
- Soft burgundy bold #96585F Muted statement.
Blush
- Muted rose #D3A0A6 Soft, diffused flush.
- Dusty pink #C98F98 Slightly more colour.
Eyeshadow
- Smoky mauve #A99AA2 Everyday muted lid.
- Greyed taupe #8A8378 Soft crease.
- Muted teal-grey bold #6E8683 A quiet accent.
Metals: pewter, soft silver, brushed rose gold.
Blend, do not define. Every shade should look slightly greyed — muted rose, smoky taupe, soft plum. Skip black liner and high-shimmer; a soft smudged brown line suits the low contrast.
Nearby seasons
If Soft Summer does not feel right, you may be one of its neighbours: Light Summer or True Summer . Its opposite is True Spring , whose palette shows the direction to avoid.