Summer subtype · Cool Summer

Cool Summer (True Summer) Color Palette: Colors, Makeup and Hair

Cool summer, also known as true summer, is the coldest of the three summer subtypes: the skin has a clearly cool, pink undertone, the hair an ashy glint, and the contrast is medium and soft. The cool summer color palette is built on blues, raspberry pinks and ash navies, while all warm, golden colors dim it.

Woman with cool summer coloring wearing colors from her seasonal palette — Teresa · Cool Summer

In the 12 season system cool summer is often called true summer, because it shows the essence of summer in its purest form: coolness. If silver jewelry always looks better on you than gold, and warm beige or camel makes your face look tired, there is a good chance this is your season. Of all the summer subtypes, this one tolerates warmed-up hair color and sunny clothing colors the worst.

Cool summer is easy to confuse with soft summer (more gray, less coldness) and with cool winter (the same coldness, but higher contrast and purer colors). The differences can be subtle and self-declarations often fail; what settles it is the skin undertone and contrast measured on a photo, not an impression in the mirror.

How to recognize a cool summer

Hair

Ash blonde, mousy or cool brown, always with a gray, silvery glint. No golden or red sparks appear in the sun.

Eyes

Gray blue, gray, cool blue or gray green. Often with a soft, slightly misted iris, without amber flecks.

Skin

A clearly cool, pink undertone. The veins on the wrist lean blue and violet, blushing comes easily, and the tan is cool, never golden.

Contrast

Medium, soft. More distinct than a light summer's, but without the wintery sharpness between skin, hair and eyes.

The cool summer color palette

30 colors with hex codes, from the same engine that builds the personal reports. In your own report the palette is tuned to your exact subtype and coloring.

Lavender blue#8B9DC3

Muted raspberry#B05C72

Steel blue#607B8B

Powder pink#D4A5A5

Ash navy#4A5A78

Misty blue#A0B4C4

Sapphire accent#4A6EA8

Muted cornflower#5B76B0

Denim indigo#3E5470

Dove blue#7E96AD

Cold raspberry#C23060

Smoky fuchsia#B84A78

Cool raspberry red#A83A55

Cool burgundy#8C3A50

Cool mauve#B08898

Heather#A489B0

Lavender violet#9E8FBF

Plum violet#7B4F7E

Rose quartz#DDB8C0

Dusty rose#C8A0A8

Gray green#7A9E8E

Ash mint#93B8B0

Pale sea green#82AEAD

Smoky sea green#5E8F8B

Silver frost#C2C8D2

Pearl gray#C8CAD4

Rosy off-white#EDE8E6

Ash gray#8E8E96

Cool graphite#5A5A62

Cold ink navy#2E3A5C

Colors to avoid

Cool summer has the coldest undertone in the entire summer family, so warm and golden colors clash with it harder than with the other subtypes: next to them the complexion turns sallow, the features harden and the shadows under the eyes deepen.

✕Orange#E07030

✕Rust terracotta#C05030

✕Warm gold#D4A020

✕Warm caramel#B8732A

✕Mustard#C39A3E

✕Yellow green#A8B840

Metals and jewelry

Silver#A8A8B0

Platinum#C8C8D0

White gold#D4CFC4

Cool summer makeup colors

Cool summer makeup holds one line: everything in cool pinks and grays, nothing in browns and oranges. A cool pink instead of bronzer, a graphite liner instead of a black one. The goal is freshness, not warmth.

LipsRaspberry, cool pink and mauve. Red only in a raspberry version, never an orange one.

Cold raspberryMuted raspberryCool mauve

CheeksA cool, powdery pink built up in layers. Give bronzer and peaches a wide berth.

Dusty rosePowder pink

EyesGrays, taupe and plums. A graphite or plum liner instead of a black one, an ashy brown instead of a warm one.

Cool graphitePlum violetSilver frost

Cool summer hair colors

For a cool summer, hair color is the biggest minefield: colorists default to warm balayage, which clashes with the pink undertone of the skin. The safest direction is ashy shades, a tone or two around your natural color. How a specific shade works next to your face is exactly what the visualizations in a photo analysis report show.

Flattering

Cool ash blonde

Pearl beige blonde

Ash mousy brown

Cool ash brown

Ash chocolate

Avoid

✕Warm golden blonde

✕Copper red

✕Caramel highlights

✕Honey brown

✕Warm chestnut

Outfit formulas

1A total denim look: light denim + indigo + silver jewelry, the simplest recipe for a cool summer's good day.

2A raspberry sweater with ash navy instead of red with black: the same wow effect, none of the hardness.

3Instead of a white shirt, a rosy off-white; pure white stays on accessories away from the face.

4For the office: dove blue + graphite + a heather accent instead of black and beige.

Cool Summer celebrities

Among actresses, stylists often classify Barbara Palvin, Emily Blunt and Rachel McAdams (in her cooler, non-warmed hair eras) as cool summers. Treat such celebrity lists as illustration, not verdict: typings done by eye differ between stylists, because lighting and hair dye can fool even a professional. Your own season is better determined from a photo analysis than from comparing yourself to actresses.

How cool summer differs from the other summer subtypes

Trait	Light Summer	Cool Summer	Soft Summer
Dominant trait	lightness	coolness	mutedness
Undertone	cool, delicate	the coldest in summer	cool with a drop of warmth
Contrast	low	medium, soft	low to medium
Best colors	icy pastels	blues, raspberries, navies	grays, dusty roses
Often confused with	light spring	cool winter	soft autumn

All three summer subtypes share a cool undertone; what separates them is the dominant trait. Cool summer is also known as true summer.

Sister and opposite types

Sister typeCool WinterThe same cold undertone, more contrast and purer colors. If you hesitate between summer and winter, this is the most common border.See the type →Opposite typeWarm AutumnThe exact opposite: warmth and depth instead of coolness and softness. Warm autumn colors are a cool summer's never list.See the type →

Is this your season?

Check in 2 minutes

Reading about the cool summer palette tells you what the colors are. The free quiz tells you whether they are yours, and the AI photo analysis goes further: it assigns your exact subtype and shows your best colors on your own photo.

Take the free quiz →See the AI color analysis →

Frequently asked questions about the cool summer season

What are the best colors in the cool summer color palette?

Blues from misty to ash navy, raspberry pinks and smoky fuchsias, cool violets, gray greens and grays from silver frost to graphite. The common denominator: zero warmth and moderate saturation.

Is cool summer the same as true summer?

Yes. True summer is another name for cool summer, used because this subtype shows the defining summer trait, coolness, in its purest form. Both names describe the same cool, soft, medium-contrast coloring.

Can a cool summer wear black and white?

Pure black and snow white are winter colors: next to a cool summer's face they become too hard. Instead of black, go for graphite or an ink navy; instead of pure white, a rosy off-white. Both can return in the lower parts of an outfit.

What hair color suits a cool summer?

Ashy ones: from cool blonde through mousy brown to ash chocolate. Avoid golden, honey and caramel highlights, which clash with the pink undertone of the skin and force warmer makeup.

Cool summer vs cool winter: how do I tell them apart?

Both seasons are cold; contrast and saturation separate them. Winter has sharp borders between skin, hair and eyes and wears pure, electric colors; summer is soft and looks better in smoky shades. High contrast plus black next to the face without a tired effect points to winter.

How do I know if I am a cool summer?

Start with the free color season quiz, and for certainty get a photo analysis: AI measures your undertone, contrast and saturation, assigns you 1 of the 12 seasons and shows your palette plus visualizations on your own face.

‹ All 12 color seasons