Nitido
The 12 Color Seasons Explained, With Their Palettes
Short answer
The 12 color seasons split each of the four classic seasons into three types: Light, Warm and Bright Spring; Light, Cool and Soft Summer; Soft, Warm and Deep Autumn; Cool, Deep and Bright Winter. What decides your type is how warm or cool your coloring is, how light or deep, and how clear or muted. Each type has its own palette of colors that make your face look rested and sharp.
In this guide
Why twelve and not four
The four season system from the 1980s sorts people by two questions: warm or cool, light or deep. It works for people at the extremes. Most people sit somewhere in between, and that is where four seasons start to fail. Two people can both be "Autumn" and still look wrong in each other's best colors, because one is soft and dusty and the other is deep and intense.
The twelve season system adds a third question: is your coloring clear or muted? It also allows for a dominant trait. A Deep Autumn is mostly defined by depth, a Warm Autumn by warmth, a Soft Autumn by softness. That small change is the difference between a palette that roughly fits and one that really works on your face.
The four questions behind every type
Color analysts look at four things in your skin, eyes and hair. The Nitido app reads the same four from skin and eyes:
- Warmth. Does your skin lean golden and peachy (warm) or pink and blue (cool)?
- Depth. Is your overall coloring light or deep?
- Contrast. How strongly do your features stand out from your skin?
- Clarity. Do clear, saturated colors suit you, or softer, greyed ones?
Each season sits at a different spot on these scales. The three types inside a season share a base but differ in the trait that dominates.
Spring: warm and clear
Springs have warm, light to medium coloring with a fresh, clear quality. Their colors look like a garden in April: coral, warm green, turquoise, golden yellow.
| Type | Dominant trait | In a few words |
|---|---|---|
| Light Spring | Lightness | Light, warm, delicate |
| Warm Spring | Warmth | Warm, golden, rich |
| Bright Spring | Clarity | Clear, vivid, high contrast |
Summer: cool and soft
Summers have cool coloring with a gentle, slightly muted quality. Their colors are soft rose, powder blue, lavender and blue grey. Strong black next to the face often looks heavy on them.
| Type | Dominant trait | In a few words |
|---|---|---|
| Light Summer | Lightness | Light, cool, gentle |
| Cool Summer | Coolness | Cool, clear, restrained |
| Soft Summer | Softness | Muted, cool, even |
Autumn: warm and muted
Autumns are warm with an earthy, rich quality. Their colors are rust, olive, camel, mustard and teal. Icy pastels tend to wash them out.
| Type | Dominant trait | In a few words |
|---|---|---|
| Soft Autumn | Softness | Muted, warm, earthy |
| Warm Autumn | Warmth | Golden, rich, earthy |
| Deep Autumn | Depth | Deep, warm, intense |
Winter: cool and clear
Winters have cool coloring and strong contrast. They carry pure white, black, sapphire, emerald and berry tones that would overpower most other types.
| Type | Dominant trait | In a few words |
|---|---|---|
| Cool Winter | Coolness | Cool colors, strong contrasts |
| Deep Winter | Depth | Deep, cool, high contrast |
| Bright Winter | Clarity | Clear, cool, bright |
Neighbors: why two types can look similar
Every type has neighbors that share two of its traits. Deep Winter and Deep Autumn are both deep and both handle strong colors, but one is cool and the other warm. Soft Summer and Soft Autumn are both muted, but one leans cool and the other warm. This is why people often get two different results from two quizzes.
If your result sits close to a neighbor, it helps to know which one. The Nitido app tells you when the result is close, for example "Also possible: Deep Autumn". In practice, colors that both palettes share are safe for you, and you can test the rest on your own face.
How to find your type
There are three ways to find your season:
- An in person consultation. A consultant holds fabric drapes under your face in daylight and compares. It is thorough, takes an afternoon and costs money each time.
- A quiz. Free and quick, but it depends on how you judge your own skin, which is hard to do.
- A measurement from a photo. The Nitido app measures skin and eyes from a selfie in daylight, compares the result with all twelve types and gives you your palette of thirty colors plus six to avoid.
If you want to try it at home first, our guide on color analysis at home walks you through the drape test with things you already own.
FAQ
What are the 12 color seasons?
They are Light, Warm and Bright Spring; Light, Cool and Soft Summer; Soft, Warm and Deep Autumn; and Cool, Deep and Bright Winter. Each is a variation of a season with one dominant trait.
Is the 12 season system better than the 4 season system?
For most people, yes. Four seasons only ask warm or cool and light or deep. Twelve seasons also ask clear or muted, which explains why two people of the same season can need very different colors.
Can my color season change?
Your skin undertone stays the same through life, so your type usually stays too. A strong tan or a big change in hair color can shift which colors look best for a while, which is why a measurement should be based on skin rather than hair.
Does hair color decide my season?
Not on its own. Dye changes hair completely and sun lightens it by whole shades. Consultants often cover the hair with a white cap, and the Nitido app leaves hair out of the result for the same reason.
What is the rarest color season?
There is no reliable data on how common each type is. Lists that claim one season is the rarest are guesses.
