Seasonal Color FinderThe colors that look best on you are the ones that agree with three facts about your coloring: whether it is warm or cool, light or deep, and clear or muted. Get those three right and the right colors follow. Get one wrong and you end up with a wardrobe that is "almost" right.
Here is how to answer each question at home in about fifteen minutes, then turn the answers into a palette.
Question 1: warm or cool?
This is your undertone. Stand by a window without makeup and hold plain white paper under your jaw. If your skin looks golden or peach against it, you are warm. If it looks pink or rosy, you are cool. If you cannot tell, you are probably neutral, and if it looks slightly grey or green, read the olive skin guide.
A second vote: try a gold and a silver piece of jewelry. The one that makes your skin look evener wins. The full undertone test adds two more checks and explains when each one misleads.
Question 2: light or deep?
This is about your overall coloring, not just skin. Take a selfie in daylight and convert it to black and white.
- If everything, skin, hair, eyes, looks pale and close together in value, you are light.
- If your hair or eyes are dark and the picture has strong shadows, you are deep.
- If it sits in the middle, depth is not your deciding trait, and the other two questions will matter more.
Question 3: clear or muted?
This is the question most quizzes skip, and it explains why two people with the same undertone and depth can look so different in the same shirt.
- Clear coloring has sharp contrast between the whites of your eyes, your iris and your skin. Bright, saturated colors look natural on you and dusty colors make you look tired.
- Muted coloring is softer and blended. Greyed, dusty colors look elegant on you and bright colors seem to wear you.
A simple check: compare a bright, pure color (say, a true kelly green) with a dusty version (sage) near your face. Whichever lets you notice your face before the fabric is your answer.
Turn your answers into a season
| Your strongest trait | Warm | Cool |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Light Spring | Light Summer |
| Deep | Deep Autumn | Deep Winter |
| Clear | Bright Spring | Bright Winter |
| Muted | Soft Autumn | Soft Summer |
| Warmth or coolness itself |
Pick the trait that felt most obvious when you answered the three questions. If two felt equally strong, look at both palettes; borderline results are common and both lists will share many colors.
A shortcut by skin tone
If you only know your skin tone, these are reasonable places to start, not conclusions:
- Pale or fair skin: see colors for pale skin. Contrast with your hair decides most of it.
- Olive skin: earthy, muted colors such as olive, terracotta and teal usually beat pastels.
- Medium and golden skin: warm, saturated colors such as coral, turquoise and camel are a good first try.
- Deep skin: jewel tones and strong contrast, such as cobalt, emerald and fuchsia, are often striking; very muted beiges can flatten.
Test before you shop
Before buying anything, test in the clothes you already own. Lay three tops of different colors next to your face in a daylight selfie and compare the photos side by side. Your eyes adjust in a mirror; photos side by side do not.
Let a photo do the comparison
Our photo analysis answers all three questions from one daylight selfie. It checks exposure and color cast before reading anything, then gives you warm or cool, light or deep, and clear or muted as separate results, mapped to one of twelve palettes. The no-photo quiz asks the same three questions in words.
Keep exploring
See the skin tone chart · Find your undertone · Build a palette wardrobe