12-season color analysis · Summer family
Cool Summer color palette
Also called True Summer
Cool, calm and rosy, like blue hydrangeas, ripe raspberries and a slate-blue lake.
Cool Summer, often called True Summer, is the Summer season in its purest form in 12-season color analysis. Your undertone is clearly cool and blue-based, and that coolness matters more than anything else. Chroma comes second, softened by a gentle gray veil, and value stays light to medium. The cool summer color palette centers on slate blue, periwinkle, raspberry, rose pink, jade and navy, and holds nothing golden, orange or earthy.
- Undertone
- Cool (blue-pink)
- Value
- Light to medium
- Chroma
- Soft to medium
- Contrast
- Low to medium
The palette
The Cool Summer color palette
Twenty-four shades that flatter cool summer coloring: neutrals to build a wardrobe on, core colors for everyday pieces, and accents for statement moments. Wear the core and accent colors closest to your face.
Neutrals
- Soft White#F2F2EF
- Silver Gray#C3C7CD
- Cool Gray#9AA3AD
- Rose Taupe#9D8B8B
- Graphite#4B5059
- Navy#2C3E63
Core colors
- Slate Blue#5B7DB1
- Rose Pink#D68AA5
- Periwinkle#8C9DD6
- Jade#4F9A8C
- Plum#8A5A7C
- Orchid#B07CA5
- Carnation Pink#E5A9C3
- Soft Violet#8E81C3
- Chambray#9FB6D6
- Teal Blue#3F8893
Accents
- Raspberry#B8406B
- Watermelon#D95F74
- Soft Magenta#C4509A
- Soft Sapphire#3A5BA8
- Soft Emerald#2A8A6F
- Aqua Blue#58B5BC
- Light Lemon#E6DF99
- Grape#6C4F8F
Is it you?
How to tell if you're a Cool Summer
Typical true summer coloring includes ash brown or ash blonde hair, eyes in cool blue, gray, soft green or gray-brown, and skin with a blue-pink undertone that can flush easily. Contrast runs low to medium. Wearing the true summer color palette calms redness and makes your skin look smooth and even. Warm, earthy colors can make the same skin look ruddy or yellowish.
- Hair in ash brown, dark ash blonde or salt-and-pepper, usually without red or golden glints.
- Eyes in gray-blue, soft blue, cool green, gray-green or soft gray-brown, sometimes with a gray ring around the iris.
- Skin that reddens easily and shows pink or blue-pink undertones, whether fair, medium or deep.
- Silver and white gold look better on you than yellow gold, which can bring out sallowness.
- Cool Summer is not tied to one ethnicity or skin depth. The defining signal is a cool undertone plus softness: icy brights look harsh on you, and warm earth tones look muddy.
Keep away from your face
Colors a Cool Summer should avoid
- Black#101010
- Tangerine#F28C28
- Camel#C19A6B
- Rust#B7410E
- Olive#708238
- Mustard#C99A2E
If camel or black is a favorite, keep it to trousers, skirts and shoes, and let soft white, rose pink or slate blue sit at your neckline. A cool-toned scarf over a camel coat keeps the warmth away from your face.
Finishing touches
Makeup, hair and jewelry
Makeup
- Lips
- Rose, raspberry, cool berry, soft plum and blue-based pinks. For a red, pick raspberry or a soft blue-red instead of orange or brick.
- Blush
- Rose, soft berry or a cool mid-pink; skip peach and coral.
- Eyes
- Slate, plum, cool mauve and navy shadows. Charcoal or navy liner defines your eyes more gracefully than brown or black.
Hair color
Ash blonde, ash brown and cool mocha keep your hair in harmony with your skin, and silver strands can be left to shine. Steer clear of golden, copper and caramel tones, which warm up your complexion and bring out redness.
Metals and jewelry
Cool metals are your best match: polished silver, white gold, platinum and pewter. Rose gold works in small doses, while bright yellow gold tends to look brassy against your skin.
Put it together
Cool Summer outfit color combinations
Tennis Club
A soft white polo and shorts with a navy cable sweater over the shoulders and slate blue details look crisp and cool.
Office Rose
A graphite suit with a rose pink shirt or blouse and silver-gray accessories is polished but softer than a black suit.
Summer Wedding
A periwinkle midi dress or suit with rose taupe shoes and soft white accessories fits a daytime wedding.
Evening Berry
A raspberry satin top with navy trousers and cool gray heels makes a rich, cool evening look.
Building a cool summer wardrobe
- Make navy, graphite and cool gray your core neutrals. They carry suits, coats and shoes with more grace than black or brown.
- For shirts, choose soft white or pale gray over cream, ivory or beige, which can make your skin look ruddy.
- Medium blue and slate-gray denim washes suit you best; skip tinted vintage washes with a yellow cast.
- Blue-and-white stripes, soft rose and blue florals, and small geometric prints suit you. Keep contrast moderate, like navy on soft white rather than black on stark white.
- Choose navy, gray, rose taupe or berry leather for bags and shoes instead of tan or cognac, which read too warm with your palette.
Close neighbors
Cool Summer or a neighboring season?
Cool Summer vs. Cool Winter
Cool Winter shares your blue-based undertone but is clearer and darker, with true black, icy white, cobalt and fuchsia. If saturated jewel tones and black look harsh on you and their softened versions look better, you're Cool Summer.
Cool Summer vs. Light Summer
Light Summer is a paler, airier version of your palette. If your features have medium depth and pale pastels leave you looking washed out, you're likely Cool Summer. If slate blue and raspberry feel heavy, try Light Summer.
Cool Summer vs. Soft Summer
Soft Summer is grayer and closer to neutral, with smoky blues, mauve and blue spruce. If dusty colors make you look dull and slightly clearer cool shades wake you up, you're Cool Summer.
Neighboring seasons share one trait and differ in another, which is why they are easy to mix up in a mirror. A drape test settles it: the same face, the same light, and two colors side by side. Avarobe's color report includes one made from your own selfie.
Questions
Cool Summer FAQ
Is cool summer the same as true summer?
Yes. They are the same season under two labels, so the true summer color palette and the cool summer color palette are one and the same. Analysts who say True Summer mean the most typical Summer, the one where coolness leads. Either way, expect blue-based, softened colors of light to medium depth, such as slate blue, raspberry, rose pink and navy.
What colors should a cool summer avoid?
Avoid warm, earthy and very dark colors: orange, rust, mustard, camel, olive and black. Golden and orange-based shades clash with your blue-pink undertone and can turn your skin ruddy or sallow, while black overpowers your softer contrast. Trade them for cool counterparts: raspberry for orange, rose taupe for camel, navy for black.
What is the difference between cool summer and cool winter?
Cool Winter is clearer and darker. The two seasons share a blue-based undertone, but a cool summer needs that coolness softened, while a cool winter can carry true black, icy white, cobalt and fuchsia at full strength. If jewel brights look harsh on you and slate blue, rose pink and navy look right, you are likely a cool summer.
Can a cool summer wear black?
Black is not your best choice. It is cool enough, but too dark and stark for your softened coloring. Worn at the neckline, it deepens shadows and emphasizes redness. Navy and graphite look just as sharp without the severity. Save black for trousers, skirts or shoes, and pair it with a rose or blue top.
What hair color suits a cool summer?
Cool, ashy shades suit a cool summer best: ash blonde, ash brown, cool mocha and soft dark ash brown. Letting natural silver grow in works well too. Avoid golden, copper, auburn and caramel highlights, which clash with the pink in your skin and can make redness more noticeable.
All 12 seasons
Explore the other seasons
Avarobe
Are you a Cool Summer? Find out from one selfie.
Avarobe reads your undertone, hair and eyes to find your season, then shows your best colors in complete outfits on your own avatar.
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