Bright Spring Color Palette

What Bright Spring coloring looks like

Bright Spring is the clearest and most vivid of the warm seasons. Its strongest trait is brightness, which shows as high contrast and sparkling, clear eyes. Warmth comes second.

Typical Bright Spring coloring includes the following.

• Skin that is clear and warm to neutral warm, from fair to deep. It often looks smooth and luminous, with a golden or peachy cast.
• Hair that is medium to dark, such as golden brown, warm chestnut or dark brown with warm lights. Some Bright Springs have bright golden blonde or vivid red hair.
• Eyes that are clear and bright, such as turquoise, bright green, clear blue, golden topaz or warm brown with a glassy shine. The whites of the eyes often look very white.
• Contrast that is medium to high. The difference between hair, skin and eyes is noticeable.

How to tell if you are a Bright Spring

• Soft, dusty colors make you look flat, and vivid colors make you come alive.
• You can wear stronger contrast than other springs, such as navy with bright white, or a print of poppy and cream.
• Both gold and silver can work, but polished gold usually looks best.
• People notice your eyes first.

If fully warm, earthier colors look even better, you may be a Warm Spring. If cool jewel tones such as fuchsia and royal blue look just as good as warm brights, you may be a Bright Winter. Run our free color analysis to see which side of the line you fall on.

How to wear the Bright Spring palette

The Bright Spring palette is the boldest of the springs. It includes Scarlet, Poppy, Sunflower, Kelly green, Electric blue and Ultraviolet, alongside softer Salmon and Melon for days you want something lighter.

• Near your face, wear clear, saturated colors. A Poppy top or an Electric blue scarf makes your eyes look brighter.
• For neutrals, choose Ivory and Bone for light pieces. For dark basics, navy, charcoal, Loden or Peat give depth with less weight than black.
• Use contrast. Color blocking suits you, for example kelly green with ivory, or coral with navy.
• For prints, pick crisp, medium to large prints with clean edges, such as bold florals, graphic stripes and color block patterns.
• For accessories, polished gold, bright enamel and clear colored stones look better than antique or matte finishes.

A simple Bright Spring capsule wardrobe

A small wardrobe in your colors means almost everything goes with everything else. Start with these pieces and add color from your palette over time.

• A bright Ivory shirt and a navy knit for a crisp base.
• Dark denim and navy trousers for strong contrast.
• A Poppy or Coral top as your signature color.
• A Kelly green or Electric blue dress for evenings.
• A navy coat with a bright scarf near the face.
• White sneakers, tan sandals and a bag in a bright accent color.

Common Bright Spring mistakes

• Wearing head to toe muted colors. Add at least one clear, bright color near your face.
• Smoky eye makeup in gray. Teal, violet and bronze look fresher on you.
• Low contrast outfits. Pair light with dark to match your natural contrast.

Bright Spring at every skin depth

People of every skin depth can be a Bright Spring. The season describes how your coloring fits together, not how light or deep your skin is. Within the palette, though, skin depth still guides which tones look best right next to your face.

• If your skin is on the lighter side, lean on the lighter tone of each color family, such as Salmon, Sunflower, Turquoise and Lupine.
• If your skin is on the deeper side, the stronger tones carry more presence, such as Scarlet, Saffron, Lagoon and Ultraviolet.

Either way, the test is the same. Hold the color under your chin in daylight and keep it if your skin looks smoother and your eyes look brighter.

Makeup for Bright Spring

• Foundation with a warm or neutral warm undertone, in a fresh, natural finish.
• Lips in poppy red, coral, warm hot pink and bright peach. Bright Spring can wear a bold lip with very little else.
• Blush in bright coral, warm pink or peach.
• Eyes in golden bronze, warm brown, bright teal and violet. A colored liner in teal or violet suits you well.
• Brows defined in a warm brown, to match your contrast.

Hair colors for Bright Spring

Rich golden brown, bright copper, warm chestnut and golden blonde keep your hair clear and glossy. Shine matters as much as shade, so glosses and glazes suit you. Avoid smoky, ashy shades and heavy, flat dark colors, which lower your contrast and dull the effect of your eyes.

Bright Spring compared with its neighbours

Bright Spring sits between Warm Spring and Bright Winter on the season wheel.

• Bright Spring and Warm Spring both suit warm, clear colors. Bright Spring needs more saturation and contrast, while Warm Spring is happy with fresh, slightly lighter colors.
• Bright Spring and Bright Winter are both bright first. Bright Spring leans warm, Bright Winter leans cool. Both can wear vivid colors that would overwhelm other seasons.

The colors to avoid come from Soft Summer, the season furthest from yours. They are cool, gray and muted, the opposite of warm and clear. Read what colors look good on me for a simple way to test colors at home.

Bright Spring at a glance