If you still don’t know your season, check out Pretty Your World – the info there should walk you through being able to figure it out yourself.
IMO, the reason for the decline in popularity of the 4 season system is that so many people couldn’t be pegged. I have been identified variously as Winter (I once had very dark hair to contrast with my very fair skin), Summer, and Autumn. My reality is Soft Autumn.
I assume most people have an idea what colors look good on them. The simple color palette concept I advocate is a way to pare down, to simplify, to facilitate mix and match.
The problem with the seasons is that they’re too restrictive – people are just too varied for 4 groups or even 8 or so groups.
I would put you as a smoky light warm!
I had my colours ‘done’ in 1987 by a CMB rep at a mall in Houston. I am convinced to this day that she ‘analyzed’ me according to which colours of makeup she had to move stock in. So for years, I was convinced I was a ‘winter’.
Until I kept eyeing this dark dusty basil grey-green cardigan in a shop. I kept saying, no, not right not right not right. Then I tried it on, and GORGEOUS. Why? It’s the precise colour of my eyes.
My best combination? Mid-olive to sage green with dark lavender. Teal with olive is a very close second. Absolutely not what CMB told me in the 80s!
Hello,
I have struggled with the colors for some time now.
I know some part of it by now, but I still can´t figure out what season i belong to.
Is soft and deep the opposites of each other? I think Imight be a bit of both or maybe in between.
Olga Kurylenko has the coloring that is closest to mine, only have lighter skin and maybe eyes to. Is Olga Kurylenko a Deep Autumn?
* only I have lighter skin and maybe eyes to.
WoW, smoky light warm. How glamorously romantic that sounds.
crack me up! i had no idea the season colors were still around. i stumbled across that book in my highschool library in the early nineties, loved it and then spent all my time analyzing my friends. they used to tease me about it all the time. i’m a summer. pegged and nailed. although i’ll hop over to the website just to make sure! thanks for the link and the memories.
ps. i still have my own copy of the book up in my attic. i forget where i found it (used of course) but was so tickled when i found it.
Ha! My mom had hers done several times in the 80s – in her case, I think it was a matter of doing it with several serial groups of friends, since we moved often. On different occasions she got all four results.
I’m never sure what to make of the whole concept. My own case is pretty clear-cut – my head is ivory, orange, and olive green, and I get compliments on all strong, warm-based jewel and autumn tones. But though black isn’t my best color, I don’t quite look like death itself in it (which is what the books say is suppose to happen).
Your own result – I kind of get it, but would be interested in elaboration. My issue is that I automatically think of the concepts of “autumn” and “pink” to be completely, totally, 100%, unequivocally and without exception incompatible with one another. (I shall leave it as an exercise for the reader to determine whether pink-aversion or emphatic personality is the more intrinsic redhead characteristic.)
Laura – soft and clear are opposites. deep and light are opposites. I don’t have alot of practice identifying other people’s colors, so I’m not sure about Olga Kurylenko.
I’ll elaborate a little on my own result, answering Mella’s question. Maybe it’ll help.
The original 4 seasons categorized everyone based on two of the three characteristics of color: value (light or deep) and temp (cool or warm). The twelve also considers mutedness (technical term = chroma, cmb: soft or clear). Basically, it takes each of the original four and splits it into three: one that shares a characteristic with each of the other three. Here’s how that works with autumn:
warm autumn is kinda the classic autumn and shares the warm characteristic with spring
deep autumn might be mistaken for winter
soft autumn is muted (soft or “smoky”), but warm (as opposed to muted summer’s cool)
So, one way to explain the reason I have pink is to say that it’s because I have part of summer’s palette.
Hi folks,
Thanks for mentioning my website. I totally understand the confusion about the 4 season color theory. It was just too limiting to most people. However, it fit me perfectly because I was Warm Autumn (or just Autumn in the book). I thought it was the end all be all of color systems until I really began to study it more. Now I know that Its the most accurate system out there.
One thing about the word “soft” that always confused me was that I thought it meant intensity level…but it’s not. It’s about “chroma” or how pure a color is. So you are exactly correct that soft and clear are opposites, just like deep and light and warm and cool. It was that third element of ‘chroma’ that was missing in the original CMB book. But with those 6 elements I just mentioned–which by the way are the 6 dominant characteristics you need to identify to begin the 12 season analysis–you get the 12 seasons.
thanks,
Lora
I have been coloured typed three times; Summer, Spring, Autumn. I have very fair skin, medium red hair, and clear bright hazel eyes. I think part of my problem finding my season is that I am the product of Scottish (red hair, blue or green eyes) and Aboriginal (dark skin, hair and eyes) heritage. My father had dark hair and skin, and bright turquoise eyes.
I can wear some cool colours, but dusty and muted are terrible on me, as are black and grey.
If anyone can help, I’d be grateful!
@Rebecca – thanks, that makes sense.
Christine: based on your description, it sounded to me like your dominant characteristic is clear. So I looked at Spring. From Lora’s website, Clear Spring Palette explanation:
Clear Springs are more warm than cool (though they look quite neutral when compared to a truly warm season like a Warm Spring.) Remember to keep colors bright and clear and avoid dark, dusty, pale colors which will make you look boring and suck all of the vitality from your face.
Hope that helps!
Thanks Rebecca I think you’ve nailed it. I can’t really wear dark colours alone, so this could be my match.
I think I’ll spend a few days wearing those Clear Spring colours and see if it fits!
Thanks,
Christine
Ummm, still confused about which colors look good on me. 🙂
I thought I don’t wear oranges and reds well, but today I’m wearing an orange-ish top (deep with pink tones) and I like it with my summer tan. I don’t think it works for me in winter, when I think I look better in blues, purples and greens.
And I have no idea about clear vs. dusky. Whenever I look at those color types (as well as body types), I never fully fit any one category.
Still, its fun to try to figure it out!