Summer Season
Light Summer
Airy, delicate, and cool. Very low contrast with soft pastels and a gentle, ethereal quality.
- Undertone
- cool & Light
- Contrast
- Low
- Best metals
- silver, white gold
Palette Comparison
Light Summer vs Cool Winter Color Palette
Light Summer and Cool Winter both run cool, which is why a Summer palette and a Winter palette can look closer than you would expect. Light Summer is cool and light, low contrast, while Cool Winter is cool and cool, high contrast. Here are both palettes side by side, with the eye, skin, and hair traits behind them.
Winter Season
Cool Winter
Striking, sophisticated, and icy. High contrast with vivid blue-based brights and true neutrals.
- Undertone
- cool & Cool
- Contrast
- High
- Best metals
- silver, white gold
The Light Summer and Cool Winter 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 Summer colors
Light Summer colors are cool, light, and slightly softened. They flatter by staying close to your own gentle contrast rather than fighting it.
Soft Rose
Your signature shade
Powder Blue
Calm and airy
Lavender
Soft and dreamy
Pale Aqua
Cool and fresh
Soft Mint
Gentle cool green
Blush Pink
Delicate and cool
Cool Butter
Your softest yellow
Sky Grey-Blue
Everyday cool neutral
Cool Winter colors
Cool Winter colors are blue-based, clear, and saturated. Icy pastels and true jewel tones both work — what matters is that nothing is muddied with warmth.
True Fuchsia
Your signature shade
Royal Blue
Vivid and clear
Emerald
Cool jewel tone
True Violet
Rich and cool
Icy Aqua
Frosted and light
Icy Orchid
Your softest accent
Deep Navy
Your best dark
Pure White
Crisp and clean
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 Summer
Blue, green, pale blue-grey, or soft lavender-grey, usually with a hazy, blended edge to the iris rather than a sharp ring.
Cool Winter
Light brown, cool hazel, blue, or icy grey, usually with a sharply defined ring around the iris that contributes to your contrast.
Skin
Light Summer
Fair with delicate cool undertones and often a slight pink tinge. Light Summer skin flushes rather than tans and burns easily in strong sun.
Cool Winter
Olive, or fair to medium with cool pink or blue undertones. Cool Winter skin looks noticeably better beside pure white than beside cream.
Hair
Light Summer
Light ash blonde, strawberry blonde with a cool cast, or medium ash brown. It usually looks slightly cool or smoky rather than golden in daylight.
Cool Winter
Ashy blonde, dark brown, black, or cool ash brown. There is no golden or coppery cast even in the lighter shades.
Not sure which season you are? Take the quiz
One photo tells you whether you are a Light Summer, a Cool Winter, or one of the other ten types, with your full palette and a preview on your own face.
Get my color analysisLight Summer vs Cool Winter Celebrities
Style icons for each palette. Comparing two faces you already know is often quicker than comparing swatches.
Reese Witherspoon
Light Summer
Taylor Swift
Light Summer
Gwyneth Paltrow
Light Summer
Kristen Bell
Light Summer
Liv Tyler
Cool Winter
Elizabeth Taylor
Cool Winter
Lucy Liu
Cool Winter
Aishwarya Rai
Cool Winter
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the real difference between Light Summer and Cool Winter?
Not undertone: both palettes are cool, so warm-versus-cool will not settle it. What differs is weight. Light Summer is the light type at low contrast, and Cool Winter is the cool one at high contrast. Hold soft rose next to true fuchsia by your face: one will let your features read clearly, and the other will either flatten them or overpower them.
Are Light Summer and Cool Winter the same season?
No. Light Summer belongs to Summer and Cool Winter belongs to Winter, two separate seasons in the twelve-type system. They read as similar because both are cool, and light and cool coloring can look alike in poor light. The shades each one is named for do not transfer between them.
Which key colors define Light Summer vs Cool Winter?
Light Summer is defined by soft rose, powder blue, lavender and pale aqua. Light Summer colors are cool, light, and slightly softened. They flatter by staying close to your own gentle contrast rather than fighting it. Cool Winter is defined by true fuchsia, royal blue, emerald and true violet. Cool Winter colors are blue-based, clear, and saturated. Icy pastels and true jewel tones both work — what matters is that nothing is muddied with warmth. Metals will not help you choose between these two, since both want silver or white gold.
Am I Light Summer or Cool Winter? How can I tell the difference?
Skip the undertone test. Both are cool, so vein color, jewelry instinct and the usual warm-versus-cool questions will point both ways. Start with depth: Light Summer carries low contrast between hair, skin and eyes where Cool Winter carries high, so judge how much contrast your own bare-faced photo shows. Metals will not break the tie here, since both types want silver or white 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 Summer and Cool Winter?
For Light Summer, look at Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kristen Bell. For Cool Winter, look at Liv Tyler, Elizabeth Taylor, Lucy Liu and Aishwarya Rai. 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 Summer vs Cool Winter 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: Cool Winter colors on a Light Summer simply drain the life out of the face, and Light Summer colors on a Cool Winter 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 silver or white gold.
Can Light Summer and Cool Winter share any colors?
Not the same shades, but a large share of both palettes sits 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 rose and powder blue for Light Summer, true fuchsia and royal blue for Cool Winter. 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 rose against true fuchsia 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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