Seasonal Colour Analysis Explained: The 12 Colour Seasons

The 12 colour seasons is a system used by professional stylists to determine which colours best enhance an individual’s natural colouring.

In this system, people are categorised into twelve seasonal palettes based on three key characteristics of their colouring:

• Temperature (warm or cool)
  
  
• Value (light or dark)
  
  
• Chroma (soft or bright)
  
  

The twelve seasons are organised into four seasonal families (Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) with each family containing three sub-seasons that share similar colour qualities.

The 12 colour seasons are:

Spring

• Light Spring
  
  
• True Spring
  
  
• Bright Spring
  
  

Summer

• Light Summer
  
  
• True Summer
  
  
• Soft Summer
  
  

Autumn

• Soft Autumn
  
  
• True Autumn
  
  
• Dark Autumn
  
  

Winter

• Dark Winter
  
  
• True Winter
  
  
• Bright Winter
  
  

Each colour season has a carefully balanced palette designed to harmonise with an individual's natural skin tone, hair colour and eye colour. Understanding the twelve colour seasons helps identify which colours will create the most flattering and harmonious appearance.

In seasonal colour analysis, colour seasons are primarily divided into warm and cool undertone groups.

Warm seasons include:

• Spring
  
  
• Autumn
  
  

Cool seasons include:

• Summer
  
  
• Winter
  
  

Those with warm undertones typically suit golden or peach colours, while cool undertones are enhanced by blue-based, pastel or jewel tones.

The intensity of temperature can vary between sub-seasons within each family. For example, within the Summer family:

• Light Summer (neutral-cool)
  
  
• True Summer (extremely cool)
  
  
• Soft Summer (neutral-cool)

Understanding whether your colouring is warm or cool is often the first step in determining your seasonal colour palette.

The 4-season colour analysis system groups individuals into four broad categories: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

The 12 season system expands this model by dividing each season into three sub-seasons. Think of each sub-season representing the beginning, the middle and the end of a season. This allows colour analysts to account for differences in chroma, value and temperature within each seasonal family.

For example, the Autumn family includes:

• Soft Autumn (the beginning of the autumn season)
  
  
• True Autumn (the middle of the autumn season)
  
  
• Dark Autumn (the end of the autumn season)

This refined system provides a more precise colour palette tailored to each individual.

Your colour season is determined by analysing the temperature, value and chroma of your natural colouring.

A professional colour analysis considers:

• skin undertone
  
• hair colour
  
• eye colour
  
• natural contrast between features
  

By evaluating these factors, a stylist can determine which of the twelve seasonal palettes creates the most harmonious effect.

If you are unsure which season you belong to, our stylists can help. Explore our Online Colour Analysis service and receive your personalised results in 72 hours or less.

Your colour season does change as it is based on your natural colouring and undertone. However, factors such as hair dye may influence how certain colours appear, which is why a professional colour analysis can be helpful in identifying the most flattering palette.