Seasons
The 12 color seasons
There are 12 color seasons, grouped under the four classic families — Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. Each describes a specific mix of undertone (warm or cool), depth (light or deep), and chroma (soft or bright), from Light Spring to Deep Winter. Find yours below, or take the two-minute analysis to be sure.
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
The three dimensions behind every season
Every season is just a coordinate on three axes. Once you know your reading on each, your season falls out on its own.
Warm or cool
Undertone
The temperature under your skin's surface — golden and peachy, or rosy and blue. It decides whether gold or silver flatters you, and it never changes.
Light or deep
Depth
How light or dark your coloring reads overall — hair, eyes, and skin together. Depth decides how much darkness your palette can hold.
Soft or bright
Chroma
How much intensity you can carry. Muted coloring glows in dusty colors and drowns in neon; clear coloring is the reverse.
How to find your color season
STEP 1
Read your undertone
Look at the veins on your wrist in daylight: green suggests warm, blue-purple suggests cool, and a hard-to-say mix suggests neutral. Cross-check with the jewelry test — does gold or silver make your skin look healthier?
STEP 2
Judge your depth
In a mirror at arm's length, squint: does your overall impression read light, medium, or deep? Hair and eyes count as much as skin here.
STEP 3
Feel out your chroma
Hold something neon or jewel-bright next to your face, then something dusty. One of them will clearly wear you — the other one, you wear.
STEP 4
Confirm it with a measurement
Self-tests get you to a neighborhood, not an address — lighting and self-perception blur all three readings. A measured analysis pins down the exact season from one photo, with a confidence score.
The 12 seasons at a glance
| Season | Undertone | Depth | Chroma | Best metals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Spring | Warm | Light | Medium-clear | Yellow gold, brushed rose gold |
| True Spring | Warm | Medium | Clear | Yellow gold, bronze |
| Bright Spring | Neutral-warm | Medium | Very clear | Polished gold, mixed metals |
| Light Summer | Cool | Light | Soft-medium | Silver, white gold, platinum |
| True Summer | Cool | Medium | Soft | Silver, white gold |
| Soft Summer | Neutral-cool | Medium | Muted | Brushed silver, antiqued pewter |
| Soft Autumn | Neutral-warm | Medium | Muted | Matte gold, antique brass |
| True Autumn | Warm | Medium-deep | Rich-muted | Yellow gold, copper, bronze |
| Deep Autumn | Neutral-warm | Deep | Rich | Antique gold, bronze |
| Deep Winter | Neutral-cool | Deep | Clear | Polished silver, white gold, gunmetal |
| True Winter | Cool | Medium-deep | Clear | Platinum, polished silver |
| Bright Winter | Neutral-cool | Medium | Very clear | High-polish silver, platinum, crystal |
Frequently asked questions
How many color seasons are there?
There are 12 color seasons in the modern system. They expand the four classic seasons (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) into three sub-types each, based on whether your coloring leans light, deep, soft, bright, warm, or cool.
How do I know which color season I am?
Your season is set by three things: undertone (warm or cool), depth (light or deep), and chroma (soft or bright). You can estimate it from your skin, hair, and eyes, but lighting and self-perception make it tricky — a measured analysis from one photo is the reliable way to pinpoint it.
Can your season change?
Your underlying undertone doesn't change — not with a tan or with age. Hair color changes can shift how deep or contrasted you appear, which is why some people re-test after going noticeably lighter or darker, but your core season stays the same.
Find your season in two minutes
Upload one selfie and ColorFinder AI measures your undertone, depth, and contrast to place you in one of the twelve — with your palette, makeup, and matches. $14.99 once, yours to keep.