Spring Season
Light Spring
Fresh, delicate, and warm. Low contrast with golden undertones and soft, sunny pastels.
- Undertone
- warm & Light
- Contrast
- Low
- Best metals
- gold, rose gold
Palette Comparison
Light Spring vs Deep Autumn Color Palette
Light Spring and Deep Autumn both run warm, which is why a Spring palette and a Autumn palette can look closer than you would expect. Light Spring is warm and light, low contrast, while Deep Autumn is warm and deep, high contrast. Here are both palettes side by side, with the eye, skin, and hair traits behind them.
Autumn Season
Deep Autumn
Dark, luxurious, and intense. High contrast with rich chocolate, burgundy, and forest tones.
- Undertone
- warm & Deep
- Contrast
- High
- Best metals
- gold, rose gold
The Light Spring and Deep Autumn Palettes
Each type's eight signature shades. Read them as a set rather than one color at a time: it's the overall temperature and clarity that separates these two palettes.
Light Spring colors
Light Spring colors are warm, light, and clear. Worn near your face they lift your complexion without ever overpowering your delicate coloring.
Soft Peach
Your signature shade
Light Coral
Warm and gentle
Butter Yellow
Sunny, never harsh
Spring Mint
Fresh and airy
Light Turquoise
Clear and bright
Warm Sky Blue
Soft with warmth
Warm Pink
Playful and light
Light Lilac
Your softest accent
Deep Autumn colors
Deep Autumn colors carry weight. Every shade in your palette has depth and warmth — this is the richest, most saturated corner of the Autumn family.
Mahogany
Your signature shade
Burgundy
Deep and luxurious
Deep Olive
Dark and earthy
Bronze Gold
Rich metallic warmth
Forest Teal
Your cool accent
Burnt Sienna
Warm and intense
Chocolate
Everyday deep neutral
Warm Buff
Your best light base
Key Characteristics
The coloring each palette is built around. Where you land on these three is what decides which of the two is yours.
Eyes
Light Spring
Light blue, clear green, light hazel, or light brown, usually with a soft golden fleck around the pupil and a gentle rather than sharp edge to the iris.
Deep Autumn
Dark blue, deep green, dark hazel, dark brown, or nearly black, usually with warm golden or olive tones visible up close.
Skin
Light Spring
Fair with warm peachy undertones. Light Spring skin often freckles in the sun and looks noticeably healthier against cream than against optic white.
Deep Autumn
Ivory, olive, or medium to deep with golden-olive warm undertones. Deep Autumn skin holds a tan well and rarely looks pink.
Hair
Light Spring
Light golden blonde, strawberry blonde, or medium golden brown. It lightens easily in the sun and rarely reads ashy in daylight.
Deep Autumn
Medium to dark brown with a golden shine, or dark auburn. There is warmth in it even at the darkest depths.
Not sure which season you are? Take the quiz
One photo tells you whether you are a Light Spring, a Deep Autumn, or one of the other ten types, with your full palette and a preview on your own face.
Get my color analysisLight Spring vs Deep Autumn Celebrities
Style icons for each palette. Comparing two faces you already know is often quicker than comparing swatches.
Amanda Seyfried
Light Spring
Scarlett Johansson
Light Spring
Kate Hudson
Light Spring
Léa Seydoux
Light Spring
Eva Mendes
Deep Autumn
Kelly Rowland
Deep Autumn
Sofía Vergara
Deep Autumn
Penélope Cruz
Deep Autumn
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the real difference between Light Spring and Deep Autumn?
Not undertone: both palettes are warm, so warm-versus-cool will not settle it. What differs is weight. Light Spring is the light type at low contrast, and Deep Autumn is the deep one at high contrast. Hold soft peach next to mahogany by your face: one will let your features read clearly, and the other will either flatten them or overpower them.
Are Light Spring and Deep Autumn the same season?
No. Light Spring belongs to Spring and Deep Autumn belongs to Autumn, two separate seasons in the twelve-type system. They read as similar because both are warm, and light and deep coloring can look alike in poor light. The shades each one is named for do not transfer between them.
Which key colors define Light Spring vs Deep Autumn?
Light Spring is defined by soft peach, light coral, butter yellow and spring mint. Light Spring colors are warm, light, and clear. Worn near your face they lift your complexion without ever overpowering your delicate coloring. Deep Autumn is defined by mahogany, burgundy, deep olive and bronze gold. Deep Autumn colors carry weight. Every shade in your palette has depth and warmth — this is the richest, most saturated corner of the Autumn family. Metals will not help you choose between these two, since both want gold or rose gold.
Am I Light Spring or Deep Autumn? How can I tell the difference?
Skip the undertone test. Both are warm, so vein color, jewelry instinct and the usual warm-versus-cool questions will point both ways. Start with depth: Light Spring carries low contrast between hair, skin and eyes where Deep Autumn carries high, so judge how much contrast your own bare-faced photo shows. Metals will not break the tie here, since both types want gold or rose gold. That leaves the fabric test as the deciding one, which is exactly why this pair is worth checking against a photo rather than a mirror.
Who are some celebrity examples of Light Spring and Deep Autumn?
For Light Spring, look at Amanda Seyfried, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Hudson and Léa Seydoux. For Deep Autumn, look at Eva Mendes, Kelly Rowland, Sofía Vergara and Penélope Cruz. Read them for the relationship between hair, skin and eyes rather than for individual outfits, since a stylist can put anyone in anything. Daylight photographs without heavy makeup or filters are far more useful here than red-carpet shots.
Why does getting Light Spring vs Deep Autumn right matter?
Because the two palettes fail in opposite directions, and the failure is quiet rather than obvious. The mismatch is weight, so nothing clashes outright: Deep Autumn colors on a Light Spring simply drain the life out of the face, and Light Spring colors on a Deep Autumn sit too heavily on it. It also costs money. Most of a wardrobe is neutrals and basics, and buying those on the wrong side of the line means every top you own works slightly against your face while none of them looks obviously wrong on the hanger. Jewelry is the one thing you can buy safely either way, since both types want gold or rose gold.
Can Light Spring and Deep Autumn share any colors?
Not the same shades, but another 5 sit close enough that one garment could pass for either. Those near-matches are the softest, most neutral parts of each palette, where the gap narrows to a degree or two of warmth. Everything either season is known for stays on its own side: soft peach and light coral for Light Spring, mahogany and burgundy for Deep Autumn. Treat the near-matches as safe ground, not as proof the palettes are interchangeable.
What's the fastest way to confirm my season at home?
Stand at a window in indirect daylight, without makeup, in something that will not bounce color onto your face. Hold soft peach against mahogany under your chin, one at a time, and watch your skin rather than the fabric: the right one evens out redness and softens the shadows under your eyes, and the wrong one adds a grey or yellow cast. Do it twice on different days, since both types want the same metals and jewelry cannot act as your second opinion here. Two readings that agree are usually enough, and a photo-based analysis will confirm it in minutes.
Browse All Palettes
All twelve color seasons, three to a family. Open any one for its full palette, traits, and the colors to keep away from your face.
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter
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