Soft Summer Color Palette

What Soft Summer coloring looks like

Soft Summer is the most muted of the cool seasons. Its strongest trait is softness, which shows as gentle contrast and colors that look slightly smoky. Coolness comes second. Soft Summer is one of the most searched color seasons, because this soft, ashy look is very common.

Typical Soft Summer coloring includes the following.

• Skin that is cool to neutral cool, from fair to medium, often with a soft rosy or beige cast. It can look a little gray in very warm colors.
• Hair in muted, ashy shades, such as ash blonde, mouse brown, ash brown or soft medium brown, often with little shine.
• Eyes that are soft and blended, such as gray blue, gray green, soft hazel or cool soft brown.
• Contrast that is low to medium. Nothing about the coloring looks sharp.

How to tell if you are a Soft Summer

• Bright colors overpower you, and muted, smoky colors look elegant.
• Silver, pewter and brushed metals suit you better than shiny yellow gold.
• Pure black and stark white feel too strong, while charcoal and soft white feel right.
• Orange, mustard and bright warm colors make your skin look sallow.

If warmer muted colors such as olive and camel look just as good, you may be a Soft Autumn. If clearer cool colors such as rose and cornflower look better, you may be a True Summer. Our free color analysis will show you where you sit.

How to wear the Soft Summer palette

The Soft Summer palette is cool and smoky. It includes Pink sand, Rosewood, Antique rose, Mauve, Heather rose, Butter, Soft jade, Eucalyptus, Sage, Juniper, Marine teal, Chambray, Steel blue, Slate blue, Heather and Dusk violet.

• Near your face, wear soft cool colors. Mauve, Slate blue and Eucalyptus make your skin look smooth and calm.
• For neutrals, choose Mist, Silver gray, Smoke and Pewter for light and mid tones, and Granite and Charcoal instead of black. Soft navy and taupe work too.
• Blend rather than contrast. Tonal outfits, such as gray with slate blue or mauve with dusty rose, look effortless on you.
• For prints, soft, blended prints such as watercolor florals, heather knits and faded stripes.
• For accessories, brushed silver, pewter, rose gold and pearls, with stones such as rose quartz, moonstone and aquamarine.

A simple Soft Summer 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 Mist or soft white shirt and a Silver gray knit.
• Charcoal, slate and soft navy trousers.
• A Mauve or Slate blue top for calm color.
• A Dusty rose or Eucalyptus dress.
• A charcoal or soft navy coat with a heather scarf.
• Gray suede shoes, a pewter bag and brushed silver jewelry.

Common Soft Summer mistakes

• Bright, warm colors such as orange and kelly green.
• Pure black, which looks too strong. Charcoal and graphite give depth with less weight.
• Brassy highlights. Keep hair cool and ashy.

Soft Summer at every skin depth

People of every skin depth can be a Soft Summer. 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 Pink sand, Butter, Spa and Heather.
• If your skin is on the deeper side, the stronger tones carry more presence, such as Rosewood, Wheat, Marine teal and Dusk violet.

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 Soft Summer

• Foundation with a neutral or cool undertone and a soft, natural finish.
• Lips in dusty rose, mauve, soft berry and cool nude.
• Blush in soft rose, mauve or dusty pink.
• Eyes in taupe, slate, soft plum, gray blue and pewter. Gray or soft brown liner, smudged.
• Brows in ash brown or cool taupe.

For more lip, blush and eye ideas, see our guide to makeup for cool undertones.

Hair colors for Soft Summer

Ash brown, mushroom brown, soft ash blonde and cool beige blonde keep your natural softness. Soft, cool highlights brighten without adding contrast. Avoid brassy gold, copper and stark black, which add warmth or contrast that your skin and eyes do not have.

Soft Summer compared with its neighbours

Soft Summer sits between Soft Autumn and True Summer on the season wheel.

• Soft Summer and Soft Autumn are both soft first. Soft Summer is cooler, Soft Autumn is warmer. The most neutral muted colors, such as soft teal and taupe, work for both.
• Soft Summer and True Summer are both cool. True Summer is clearer and a little brighter. Soft Summer is more muted and gray.

The colors to avoid come from Bright Spring, the season furthest away. They are vivid, warm and clear, the opposite of soft and cool.

Soft Summer at a glance