How to Find Your Colour Season: A Complete Guide to the 12 Seasons
Discover the science of harmony and unlock the colours that truly belong in your wardrobe.
Finding your colour season is about looking at the mix of your skin, eyes and hair. It’s not about picking your favourite shades. It’s about spotting which pigments are already there so you can work with them. When you match your palette to your own undertone, depth and clarity, your clothes will support your complexion rather than fighting it.
Why does colour analysis matter?
Colour analysis is a way to make sure your wardrobe actually fits your physical colouring. When you wear colours that match your season, your skin looks brighter, your eyes look clearer, and any shadows around your face tend to soften. Wear colours that clash with your natural undertone, and you might find your skin looks a bit grey or washed out. There are 12 seasons in total, defined by three things: your undertone, how deep your colouring is, and how bright or soft your features are. Once you get the hang of these, shopping gets a lot simpler because you’ll know what works and what doesn't. You can look through the seasons directory to see how each palette works.
How to identify your dominant characteristics
Before you try to slot yourself into a season, look at your features in natural daylight without makeup. Check your skin to see if you have a cool, blue-based undertone or a warmer, yellow-based one. Then, think about the contrast between your hair, eyes and skin. Do you have high contrast (like very dark hair against pale skin) or is your look a bit more blended? The third thing to consider is clarity, are your features bright and saturated, or are they more muted and soft? If you're stuck, our very-you-quiz can help you work through your profile. Just remember that your season is fixed. You might decide to change-your-season for a while if you’re playing around with your look, but your natural colouring doesn't change.
The 12 colour seasons explained
The 12 seasons are split into four families. Spring and Autumn are generally warm, while Summer and Winter are mostly cool. Within those, everything is broken down by depth and clarity. For example, light-spring is all about soft, warm colours, while deep-winter leans into dark, cool, high-contrast tones. Knowing the difference between these 12 categories saves you from thinking that every Winter is the same. A bright-spring needs much more saturation than a soft-summer, and treating them as the same will just look off. Once you know your exact spot, you can learn how to borrow-from-seasons to expand your options while staying in your own lane.
Integrating your season into your lifestyle
Knowing your season is one thing, but using it is another. You don't need to throw out your wardrobe. Start by identifying the best-neutrals-for-your-season to act as the base for your outfits. If you're a true-autumn, your neutrals will be completely different from a true-winter's, and getting those right makes everything else easier. Your season affects everything, from your gold-or-silver-jewellery to your glasses. When you choose your accessories and clothes with your palette in mind, your whole look feels pulled together.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have features from two different seasons?
Most people fit pretty well into one of the 12 seasons. If you feel like you're caught between two, you're likely a 'flow' season, which just means you sit where two categories overlap. The system helps you find your main season so you have a solid starting point for shopping.
Does my hair colour determine my season?
It's a big part of it, but it's not the only thing. Your season is the result of your skin's undertone, your eye colour and how much contrast you have overall. Even if you dye your hair, your skin's natural season stays exactly the same.
Should I wear my season's colours from head to toe?
Not if you don't want to. Your palette is just a guide for the colours that will look best near your face. You can mix in colours from your borrow-from-seasons guide whenever you fancy a change, provided you're happy with how it looks.
Finding your colour season is about looking at the mix of your skin, eyes and hair. It’s not about picking your favourite shades. It’s about spotting which pigments are already there so you can work with them. When you match your palette to your own undertone, depth and clarity, your clothes will support your complexion rather than fighting it.
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