Your skin tone is the most important factor in determining the colours that look best on you. The tone of your skin comes from three pigments melanin(brown), carotene(yellow) hemoglobin(red). It is the particular combination of these three pigments that gives you your unique skin tone.

Because your skin acts as a thin filter, it is the tone just under its surface that determines whether your colouring is cool or warm. Summers and winters, the cool seasons have blue undertones, while autumns are springs have golden undertones. Some people’s skin tone is quite obvious, but for others the tone is subtle. We can compare wrists and palms. By comparison you can often see whether you are more blue or golden than someone else.

WINTER Skin- First look for the blue or blue-pink undertone, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t readily see it. It’s often subtle on a winter. There are more winters in the world than any other seasonal type. The largest range of winters are those with grey-beige skin, ranging from light to dark, usually with no visible pink in the skin. Most olive skinned people, blacks and orientals are winters, although a few are summers, autumn or springs. Many winters are sallow, appearing yellow and they misdiagnose themselves as autumns.

But golden colours will make them appear more sallow, while the cool winter colours make their sallowness disappear. A winter may also have milky white skin and dark hair. The white may have a visible pink tone or may appear pure white with a translucent quality. Winters do not usually have rosy cheeks and their appearance improves dramatically with pink tone blusher.

HAIR – Most winters have dark hair, even though some were white blond in infancy. Winter’s hair usually has an ash tone, although sometimes the hair will have a touch of red highlights visible in the sun. Blue-black hair is typical of winter, as is salt-and-pepper or silver grey.
EYES- The winter women’s eyes are most often a deep colour. They may be red brown, black-brown, green, blue, hazel, grey-blue, grey green or dark blue.

TRYING TOUR COLOURS- You are best in clear colours and sharp contrast. A winter strives to stay snappy and should never wear muted, powdered tones. When shopping think true blue and vivid; sharp, clear and icy. Winter is the only season who successfully wears pure white or black. Winters grey range from icy to charcoal and true grey is yours, but not blue grey or yellow grey. Icy tones make the winter woman sparkle.

These are your version of pastels, almost white with drop of colour. You wear icy blue, icy aqua, icy pink, icy violet, icy green and icy yellow as well as icy versions of your other colours, such as grey and taupe. Avoid all powdered pastels as they will dull you. For very fair skinned winter deep hot pink will be better than shocking pink. True emerald or pine green is better than light true green; blue-red and burgundy are better than true red.

Look for the golden undertone. The Autumn comes in three varieties: the fair person with ivory or creamy peach skin; the true red head, fair to dark, often with freckles; and the golden-beige brunette, whose skin ranges from medium to deep copper, the latter having charcoal black hair. Many autumns are pale or sallow and especially need an orange-tone rouge to ‘come alive’.

An autumn and a spring may have similar colouring, but the Autumn will usually are ruddy, however and may look pink, but the pink is more peachy than blue. These Autumns look good in a few summer colours, but really come to life in the true Autumn palette. A few orientals and blacks are Autumns, if they have a truly golden undertone, but most are other seasons.

HAIR- Autumn’s hair is most often touched with red or golden highlights. It ranges from auburn to copper, strawberry blonde to carrot top, dark golden blonde to warn brown. (A few redheads are springs, having colouring too delicate to handle the stronger Autumn palette). Many Autumns are brunette, their hair usually having a gold or metallic red cast. Some Autumns have ash blonde hair that has no warm highlights. This type of ‘wrong’ blonde Autumn can be easily confused with summer. Occasionally, an Autumn has charcoal black hair and swarthy skin. A redheaded Autumn should cover grey, as it tends to come in yellow-grey, and the two-tone look is drab on her. However, once her hair is completely grey, it can be most attractive.

EYES

Most Autumns have golden brown eyes, from dark to topaz, or green eyes with orange or golden streaks radiating from a star formation that surrounds the pupil. Isolated flecks either gold, brown or black are often present in the Autumn eye. Some Autumns have clear green eyes, like glass or deep olive green’ cat ’ eyes. An Autumn’s hazel eye contains golden brown, green and gold.

A few Autumns have vivid turquoise, aqua or steel blue eyes that are marked by a teal grey rim around the edge of the iris.. Occasionally an Autumn has extremely pale blue or teal eyes, giving the appearance of a clear ring around the pupil. This is a pastel Autumn who looks best in the muted colours of the palette.

TRYING YOUR COLOURS

Your Autumns have the easiest shopping! Your colours are readily available. And because you can wear either muted or clear tones, you need not be too careful in matching your swatches. You may use your swatches as a general guide, except for your blues, where you should stick to your printed samples. Always think of golden undertones when you shop. Your best white is oyster, a beige-tone white. You wear all warm beiges, from light to dark, except taupe(grey-beige) and rose-beige.

Dark chocolate brown is especially exciting on you, though you wear all browns well mahogany, camel, tan and bronze tones. Any gold, yellow-gold, pumpkin, mustard or terracotta is good. Your oranges range from medium peach and muted salmon to bright orange and rust. Orange-red and bittersweet reds are your best. Yellow-greens from grey to bright and earth greens from jade to moss are for you. Forest green is especially becoming. Be careful with your blues.

The very fair Autumn may be overwhelmed by the strength of the brightest colours such as orange, chartreuse, bright yellow-green and turquoise. By contrast a dark-skinned Autumn may look a little drab in the muted earth colours of this palette. She needs to wear her bright colours closest to her face, saving the muted ones for skirts and shoes or to mix in prints. She needs makeup to look her best in beige and softer colours. All Autumns should avoid black, pink, navy, grey, blue-reds and all colours with blue undertones.

The tone of your skin comes from three pigments melanin(brown), carotene(yellow) hemoglobin(red). It is the particular combination of these three pigments that gives you your unique skin tone. Because your skin acts as a thin filter, it is the tone just under its surface that determines whether your colouring is cool or warm.

Summers and winters, the cool seasons have blue undertones, while autumns are springs have golden undertones. Some people’s skin tone is quite obvious, but for others the tone is subtle. We can compare wrists and palms. By comparison you can often see whether you are more blue or golden than someone else.

WINTER

Skin- First look for the blue or blue-pink undertone, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t readily see it. It’s often subtle on a winter. There are more winters in the world than any other seasonal type. The largest range of winters are those with grey-beige skin, ranging from light to dark, usually with no visible pink in the skin. Most olive skinned people, blacks and orientals are winters, although a few are summers, autumn or springs. Many winters are sallow, appearing yellow and they misdiagnose themselves as autumns.

But golden colours will make them appear more sallow, while the cool winter colours make their sallowness disappear. A winter may also have milky white skin and dark hair. The white may have a visible pink tone or may appear pure white with a translucent quality. Winters do not usually have rosy cheeks and their appearance improves dramatically with pink tone blusher.

HAIR

Most winters have dark hair, even though some were white blond in infancy. Winter’s hair usually has an ash tone, although sometimes the hair will have a touch of red highlights visible in the sun. Blue-black hair is typical of winter, as is salt-and-pepper or silver grey.

EYES

The winter women’s eyes are most often a deep colour. They may be red brown, black-brown, green, blue, hazel, grey-blue, grey green or dark blue.

TRYING TOUR COLOURS

You are best in clear colours and sharp contrast. A winter strives to stay snappy and should never wear muted, powdered tones. When shopping think true blue and vivid; sharp, clear and icy. Winter is the only season who successfully wears pure white or black. Winters grey range from icy to charcoal and true grey is yours, but not blue grey or yellow grey. Icy tones make the winter woman sparkle.

These are your version of pastels, almost white with drop of colour. You wear icy blue, icy aqua, icy pink, icy violet, icy green and icy yellow as well as icy versions of your other colours, such as grey and taupe. Avoid all powdered pastels as they will dull you. For very fair skinned winter deep hot pink will be better than shocking pink. True emerald or pine green is better than light true green; blue-red and burgundy are better than true red.

The summer and winter palettes contain cool, blue-based colours; Autumn and spring contain warm, yellow based colours. Do not base your decision on the clothes currently hanging in your wardrobe. They may be right, but they may instead be the result of a current fad that is not necessarily for you! Pick the group containing the most colours that have brought you compliment all your life (even though you may be tired of wearing them). This test is based on comparison.

Each column may have some colours that you have worn, but do they all look equally good on you? Ask yourself, ’which group is best’? The palettes are all designed to give you a wide range of colours, with something appropriate for every time of year and for every kind of occasion. Some of your colours are suitable for wintertime, some for summertime. Your palette contains sporty colours, dressy colours, neutrals, basics and bright accent colours. You will find a colour to suit your every mood and need.

WINTER

Navy, true blue, royal blue, icy blue, hot turquoise, Chinese blue, icy aqua, light green, true green, emerald green icy green, black, pure white, true red, blue reds, burgundy, clear lemon yellow, icy tallow, royal purple, icy violet, shocking pink, deep hot pink, magenta, fuchsia icy pink, true grey from icy to charcoal.

SUMMER

Grey blues(including denim), sky blue, periwinkle blue, turquoise pastel aqua, blue greens(pastel to deep), burgundy including maroons and red browns, light lemon yellow, plum soft fuchsia, mauve orchid, lavender, rose-brown cocoa, navy, rose pink, lavender, plum, soft white. Blue-grey light to medium.

AUTUMN

Brown (dark brown, most browns, tans coffee, mahogany, bronze), beiges(earth beiges, gold tone beiges, including camel), orange(all oranges deep peach, salmon rust, terracotta) gold, yellow gold, moss green, oyster white.

SPRING
Golden brown, beiges(clear beiges, creamy beiges, including camel), all peachy pink, blues(light royal blue, periwinkle blues, light to dark), turquoise(medium warm turquoise, clear aqua),bright golden yellow, grey light to medium, golden yellow ivory. Light clear navy, purple (medium violet, blue violet.

HAIR

Occasionally a summer has warm blonde hair or hair with auburn highlights, especially if she gets lot of sun. The summer woman greys gracefully (often prematurely) to a soft blue-grey or pearly white tone. Summers of all the seasons, most often feel the need to ‘brighten’ themselves with hair color or frosting. A summer woman truly benefits from wearing her colors, as her colours alone bring ‘life’ to her face.

EYES

Summer eyes are most often blue, green, aqua, grey or soft hazel.

TRYING YOUR COLOURS

Summer is the pastel woman and the woman who wears soft neutrals especially well. You should think blue, rose and soft. Even though you may be a summer who favours her bright colours, you should think of yourself as feminine, looking more for softness than for sharp contrast. On you the pastels look strong and vibrant enough. Soft white (with no yellow) is summer’s best white. Ironically, this is the shade called ‘winter white’ in the shops. Your beige and brown always have a rose tone. Wear any shade between your rose-beige and rose-brown swatches, including cocoa, but avoid yellow-beiges, grey-beiges, and dark browns. You can wear greys from very light blue-grey to any soft charcoal blue-grey.

You are in your territory in most blues, eliminating only the royal or Chinese shades of winter. Your swatches for blues are simply guides. Keep your aqua light to medium and your navy greyer and softer than the strong navy of winter. Greyed navy brings out the beauty of your softer complexion. Blue-greens, ranging from pastel to deep, also belong to summer, as do all pastel pinks with a blue undertone. You may carry your pinks into deep rose tones, including fuchsia, but often they are best when powdered or muted. Your reds, like your greys and greens, have blue tones. Your watermelon leans a bit toward coral, but you should avoid orange or orange-reds.

The whole family of lavender, orchid and mauve pastels belongs to summer. All of them are for you. In addition you have the darker tones of plum, burgundy, and raspberry, though fair summers may need to keep a softer shade near the face. Summer has only one flattering shade of yellow: light lemon. You should stick closely to your yellow swatch and avoid gold tones. All summers should avoid black, yellow-beige, gold, orange, yellow-greens and all yellow undertones.

Of all the seasons, springs are the most likely to have rosy cheeks and to flush easily. Their skin is usually finely textured and colour seems to rush to the surface. Some springs are very ruddy and can be confused with summers because of the apparent pinkness. Even their knuckles look purple. Springs have an aliveness and brightness to their skin tone, even if they are extremely fair. Black and oriental springs have light, golden brown skin.

HAIR

Spring’s hair is flaxen blonde, yellow blonde, honey, strawberry, taffy-red or golden brown. Ash-tone hair is not spring. In childhood many springs are blonde, ranging from flaxen to honey to strawberry but their hair often darkens with age. Some have very dark brown hair. Grey does not blend with the golden hair of a spring, so she is wise to keep her hair dyed its youthful colour until she has turned totally grey.

EYES

Spring’s eyes are likely to be blue, green, teal or aqua often with golden flecks in the iris or a golden cluster around the pupil. There are some brown-eyed springs but they are always golden brown or topaz. A spring’s hazel eye contains golden brown, green and gold.

TRYING YOUR COLOURS

Spring’s are the most delicate of all seasons, yet they need colours that are alive. When you shop, think clear, warm (yellow) and crisp. Your colours are the hardest to find because they must be clear, never muted and not too dark. Because of your delicate beauty you remain ageless. Spring’s best white is ivory, a creamy tone, though you may also wear off-white. Your beiges are all clear and warm- from light beige to camel.. Your browns begin with golden tan and go as dark as milk chocolate. Any golden brown is good as long as it is not too dark. Spring has clear gold from buff to golden yellow, bright but not harsh.

Peach, apricot, salmon and coral as well as all peachy are for springs. Avoid black, pure white, colours with blue undertones, dark and muted colours but you may wear black in prints, unless you are very fair.

An autumn and a spring may have similar colouring, but the Autumn will usually are ruddy, however and may look pink, but the pink is more peachy than blue. These Autumns look good in a few summer colours, but really come to life in the true Autumn palette. A few orientals and blacks are Autumns, if they have a truly golden undertone, but most are other seasons.

HAIR

Autumn’s hair is most often touched with red or golden highlights. It ranges from auburn to copper, strawberry blonde to carrot top, dark golden blonde to warn brown. (A few redheads are springs, having colouring too delicate to handle the stronger Autumn palette). Many Autumns are brunette, their hair usually having a gold or metallic red cast. Some Autumns have ash blonde hair that has no warm highlights. This type of ‘wrong’ blonde Autumn can be easily confused with summer. Occasionally, an Autumn has charcoal black hair and swarthy skin. A redheaded Autumn should cover grey, as it tends to come in yellow-grey, and the two-tone look is drab on her. However, once her hair is completely grey, it can be most attractive.

EYES

Most Autumns have golden brown eyes, from dark to topaz, or green eyes with orange or golden streaks radiating from a star formation that surrounds the pupil. Isolated flecks either gold, brown or black are often present in the Autumn eye. Some Autumns have clear green eyes, like glass or deep olive green’ cat ’ eyes. An Autumn’s hazel eye contains golden brown, green and gold. A few Autumns have vivid turquoise, aqua or steel blue eyes that are marked by a teal grey rim around the edge of the iris. Occasionally an Autumn has extremely pale blue or teal eyes, giving the appearance of a clear ring around the pupil. This is a pastel Autumn who looks best in the muted colours of the palette.

TRYING YOUR COLOURS

your Autumns have the easiest shopping! Your colours are readily available. And because you can wear either muted or clear tones, you need not be too careful in matching your swatches. You may use your swatches as a general guide, except for your blues, where you should stick to your printed samples. Always think of golden undertones when you shop. Your best white is oyster, a beige-tone white. You wear all warm beiges, from light to dark, except taupe(grey-beige) and rose-beige. Dark chocolate brown is especially exciting on you, though you wear all browns well mahogany, camel, tan and bronze tones. Any gold, yellow-gold, pumpkin, mustard or terracotta is good. Your oranges range from medium peach and muted salmon to bright orange and rust.

Orange-red and bittersweet reds are your best. Yellow-greens from grey to bright and earth greens from jade to moss are for you. Forest green is especially becoming. Be careful with your blues. The very fair Autumn may be overwhelmed by the strength of the brightest colours such as orange, chartreuse, bright yellow-green and turquoise. By contrast a dark-skinned Autumn may look a little drab in the muted earth colours of this palette. She needs to wear her bright colours closest to her face, saving the muted ones for skirts and shoes or to mix in prints. She needs makeup to look her best in beige and softer colours. All Autumns should avoid black, pink, navy, grey, blue-reds and all colours with blue undertones.

It is the particular combination of these three pigments that gives you your unique skin tone. Because your skin acts as a thin filter, it is the tone just under its surface that determines whether your colouring is cool or warm. Summers and winters, the cool seasons have blue undertones, while autumns are springs have golden undertones. Some people’s skin tone is quite obvious, but for others the tone is subtle. We can compare wrists and palms. By comparison you can often see whether you are more blue or golden than someone else.

WINTER

Skin- First look for the blue or blue-pink undertone, but don’t be discouraged if you can’t readily see it. It’s often subtle on a winter. There are more winters in the world than any other seasonal type. The largest range of winters are those with grey-beige skin, ranging from light to dark, usually with no visible pink in the skin. Most olive skinned people, blacks and orientals are winters, although a few are summers, autumn or springs. Many winters are sallow, appearing yellow and they misdiagnose themselves as autumns. But golden colours will make them appear more sallow, while the cool winter colours make their sallowness disappear. A winter may also have milky white skin and dark hair. The white may have a visible pink tone or may appear pure white with a translucent quality. Winters do not usually have rosy cheeks and their appearance improves dramatically with pink tone blusher.

HAIR

Most winters have dark hair, even though some were white blond in infancy. Winter’s hair usually has an ash tone, although sometimes the hair will have a touch of red highlights visible in the sun. Blue-black hair is typical of winter, as is salt-and-pepper or silver grey.

EYES

The winter women’s eyes are most often a deep colour. They may be red brown, black-brown, green, blue, hazel, grey-blue, grey green or dark blue.

TRYING TOUR COLOURS

You are best in clear colours and sharp contrast. A winter strives to stay snappy and should never wear muted, powdered tones. When shopping think true blue and vivid; sharp, clear and icy. Winter is the only season who successfully wears pure white or black. Winters grey range from icy to charcoal and true grey is yours, but not blue grey or yellow grey. Icy tones make the winter woman sparkle. These are your version of pastels, almost white with drop of colour. You wear icy blue, icy aqua, icy pink, icy violet, icy green and icy yellow as well as icy versions of your other colours, such as grey and taupe. Avoid all powdered pastels as they will dull you. For very fair skinned winter deep hot pink will be better than shocking pink. True emerald or pine green is better than light true green; blue-red and burgundy are better than true red.