True Winter Color Palette

What True Winter coloring looks like

True Winter, also called Cool Winter, is the coolest of all 12 seasons. Coolness is the trait that stands out, and it comes with depth and clear contrast. The coloring looks crisp, cool and defined.

Typical True Winter coloring includes the following.

• Skin with a clearly cool undertone, pink, rosy or blue, from very fair to very deep. It rarely looks golden, and it can look gray or sallow in warm colors.
• Hair that is dark and cool, such as dark ash brown, black or blue black. Some True Winters gray early to a striking silver.
• Eyes that are cool and strong, such as dark brown, black brown, cool gray, icy blue or deep blue.
• Contrast that is medium to high, often with a clear difference between dark hair and lighter skin, or bright eye whites against deep skin.

How to tell if you are a True Winter

• Pure white looks crisp on you, and cream looks yellow.
• Silver jewelry looks natural, and yellow gold looks brassy.
• Orange, mustard and camel make your skin look sallow or gray.
• Black looks elegant rather than heavy.

If clearer, more electric colors look even better, you may be a Bright Winter. If very deep, dark colors look best of all, you may be a Deep Winter. To see where you sit, try our free color analysis, or our undertone test to confirm how cool your skin is.

How to wear the True Winter palette

The True Winter palette is built on blue based color. It includes Garnet, Raspberry pink, Magenta, Plum, Lemon, Jade, Bottle green, Teal, True blue, Royal blue, Amethyst and Purple.

• Near your face, wear clear jewel tones. Magenta, Royal blue and Bottle green make cool skin look bright and even.
• For neutrals, choose Snow white, Fog, Pewter, Graphite, Soot and Jet black. Navy is a strong extra neutral for you.
• Keep it clean. Simple outfits in one or two strong colors suit you better than busy, earthy mixes.
• For prints, crisp, high contrast prints in black, white and one jewel color, such as polka dots, houndstooth or bold stripes.
• For accessories, silver, platinum, white gold, pearls and stones such as sapphire, ruby, amethyst and diamond.

A simple True Winter 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 Snow white shirt and a black or navy knit.
• Charcoal and black trousers, plus dark indigo denim.
• A Magenta or Royal blue top for a clear accent.
• A Bottle green or true red dress for evenings.
• A black or charcoal wool coat with a silver brooch or scarf.
• Black or gray shoes and a bag in navy, black or a jewel color.

Common True Winter mistakes

• Cream and ivory instead of white. Pure white looks crisper on you.
• Orange and rust tones, which make cool skin look sallow.
• Yellow gold near the face. Choose silver, platinum or white gold instead.

True Winter at every skin depth

People of every skin depth can be a True Winter. 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 Watermelon, Lemon, Teal and Amethyst.
• If your skin is on the deeper side, the stronger tones carry more presence, such as Garnet, Citrine, Deep teal and Purple.

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 True Winter

• Foundation with a cool or pink undertone. Golden foundations can look orange on you.
• Lips in blue red, berry, magenta and cool plum. A classic blue red lip is the True Winter signature.
• Blush in cool rose, berry or fuchsia.
• Eyes in charcoal, black, navy, plum and silver. Black liner and mascara suit you.
• Brows in cool dark brown or soft black, never warm auburn.

Our guide to foundation for cool undertones explains how to find your shade.

Hair colors for True Winter

Cool dark brown, blue black, natural silver and cool burgundy all suit you. As your hair grays, a crisp silver or white often looks better than dyeing it warm. Avoid golden, copper and warm caramel shades, which fight with your cool skin.

True Winter compared with its neighbours

True Winter sits between Bright Winter and Deep Winter on the season wheel.

• True Winter and Bright Winter are both cool. Bright Winter is clearer and more vivid. True Winter is cooler, with blue based color.
• True Winter and Deep Winter are both cool. Deep Winter is darker and richer. True Winter is a little lighter and cooler.

The colors to avoid come from True Autumn, the season furthest away. They are warm and earthy, the exact opposite of True Winter.

True Winter at a glance