What is a True Summer?
True Summer is Summer at full strength. Your undertone is fully cool and rosy, your contrast is soft to medium, and the colors that suit you are gentle: cool, a little softened, never harsh or neon.
It sits between two neighbors. Soft Summer shares your coolness but is more muted and dusty. Dark Summer shares your coolness but goes deeper. True Summer is the classic middle: powder blue, lavender, cool rose and soft navy.
Common True Summer traits
These are patterns, not rules. Plenty of True Summers break one or two of them.
- Hair: ash blonde or light to medium ash brown, often without obvious red or gold. Silver tends to blend in softly.
- Eyes: gray-blue, soft blue, gray-green or soft cool brown.
- Skin: pink, rosy or cool beige. It may flush pink easily.
- The black test: black near your face looks heavy and can make you look tired.
- The gold test: yellow gold looks brassy, and silver looks natural.
The True Summer palette
The six colors above are your core palette. Around them, your wider palette looks like this:
- Neutrals: soft navy, slate blue, cool gray, dove gray, rose-beige and soft white.
- Accents: powder blue, lavender, cool rose, periwinkle, raspberry, soft teal and watermelon pink.
- Deeper colors: soft navy and slate. They are your darks instead of black.
Colors a True Summer should avoid
Your colors are cool and gentle. The ones that work against you are warm, heavy or loud:
- Warm earth tones: orange, rust, mustard and camel.
- Black, especially near the face. Swap it for soft navy, slate or charcoal blue.
- Neon brights. They overpower soft contrast.
- Warm yellow gold right at the face, especially in a high-shine finish.
True Summer clothes: building a wardrobe that works
True Summer colors are calm and cool, so almost everything mixes. Start here:
- Pick three neutrals to build around, such as soft navy, cool gray and soft white.
- Add two or three accent colors for tops and scarves, such as powder blue, lavender and cool rose.
- Choose soft, light fabrics. Linen, chambray, soft cotton, cashmere, chiffon and matte silk suit gentle coloring.
- Keep prints soft. Watercolor florals, soft stripes and small prints work better than bold, high-contrast graphics.
- Choose a mid-to-light denim wash. Soft, cool blues work better than inky indigo or yellowed vintage washes.
True Summer makeup
Aim for cool, fresh and blended. Rosy rather than bronzed.
- Lips: cool rose, raspberry, berry-pink, mauve-pink and soft watermelon.
- Cheeks: cool pink and soft rose.
- Eyes: gray, cool taupe, soft plum and soft navy. Gray or navy liner rather than black.
- Brows: ash brown or taupe. Avoid warm, reddish brow products.
Jewelry, metals and hair color
Metals: silver, white gold and platinum. Rose gold can work in small doses. Pearls, rose quartz, moonstone and aquamarine suit the palette.
Hair color: ash blonde, cool beige blonde and ash brown tend to work. Golden, copper and warm caramel tones fight a cool undertone. Silver often blends beautifully with True Summer coloring. A colorist can tell you what works for your hair.
True Summer vs. Soft Summer and Dark Summer
All three Summers are cool. The difference is how clear and how deep your coloring is. Try these side-by-side tests in daylight, with no makeup on:
- Powder blue vs. grayed blue. If clearer powder blue looks better, lean True Summer over Soft Summer.
- Cool rose vs. dusty rose. If cool rose looks fresh and dusty rose looks dull, lean True Summer.
- Soft navy vs. deep plum. If soft navy is enough depth and deep plum looks heavy, lean True Summer over Dark Summer.
Still stuck? That's normal. It's exactly what the free quiz and the photo analysis are built to sort out.
True Summer after 40
Your rosy undertone stays constant your whole life. As hair silvers and contrast softens, many True Summers find their palette suits them even better, because Summer colors were always soft. If your coloring has become very blended, the dustier shades of Soft Summer may be worth trying near the face. Read more in Does your color season change with age?