The Light Summer color palette

Are you a Light Summer?

Light Summer is the lightest of the three Summer seasons, and depth is the leading trait. Skin, hair and eyes are all light, the family is cool, and contrast is low. The face reads soft and delicate rather than striking. Nothing in it is dark, and nothing in it is warm.

Skin is fair with a pink, rosy or neutral beige tint. It burns before it tans and often stays pale through summer. Any flush is pink rather than peach, and the veins at the wrist tend to look blue. Freckles, if present, are greyish brown.

Hair is ash blonde, light ash brown, or a blonde that looks mousy indoors and cool in sun. Many Light Summers were pale blonde as children and darkened to a beige or ash tone. There is no gold or red in it, even in daylight.

Eyes are light grey-blue, soft blue, grey-green or a light cool hazel. The iris looks gentle rather than bright, often with a soft grey rim. Brows and lashes are usually light, which keeps the contrast low.

On the color analysis test, a Light Summer reads light on the ITA depth scale, above about 55 degrees, with a skin hue that leans cool. Depth decides the sub-type before clarity does, so a Light Summer can score medium on contrast and still land here.

If your skin reads light and hue lands in the neutral band, the tool says whether you lean warm or cool. A cool lean lands in Light Summer, a warm lean in Light Spring. The two are close, and the sister seasons section below shows how to tell them apart.

How to wear the Light Summer palette

The palette above is the working set. Powder pink, powder blue and lavender are the signature colors, the ones that make the skin look even and the eyes clearer. Seafoam and cornflower add a little more color, and rose is the deepest pink that still belongs near the face.

The rule for a Light Summer is light and cool together. A color can be cool but too dark, like navy, or light but too warm, like peach. Both drain the face. When a color is right, the skin looks clear and the shadows around the eyes fade.

Neutrals are soft white, dove grey, rose beige and light navy. Soft white replaces stark white, which can look harsh at this level of contrast. Rose beige replaces camel and tan. Light navy is the darkest color that belongs next to the face, and it covers suits, coats and jackets.

For men, this means soft white or powder blue shirts, dove grey or rose beige knitwear, a light navy or mid-grey suit over charcoal, and a lavender or cornflower tie. A pale pink shirt works well and looks deliberate rather than soft.

Pair colors of similar lightness. Powder pink with powder blue, lavender with seafoam, soft white with dove grey. Low contrast pairings echo the face. If you wear a dark bottom, keep the color nearest your face light.

Colors to avoid

Black is the main one. Against Light Summer coloring it looks like a hole in the picture, deepens the shadows under the eyes and turns the hair flat. Charcoal and very dark grey do the same. When you need dark, use light navy, dove grey or a soft slate.

Orange, golden yellow, rust and warm brown are out. They have gold in them, and gold makes cool skin look sallow and the hair look dull. Even a warm cream can read yellow beside a Light Summer; soft white is the safer light neutral.

Saturated colors are too strong. Hot pink, electric blue, emerald and true red overpower the face, so the clothes are seen before the person. Choose the softer version of any bright: rose over fuchsia, cornflower over cobalt, seafoam over emerald.

Makeup for a Light Summer

Lips: rose pink, soft berry and cool nude. Sheer and satin finishes suit the softness better than full-coverage mattes. A soft raspberry is the evening lip. Avoid brick, orange and warm nude-browns, which turn the skin yellow.

Blush: cool pink and soft rose, applied lightly. The natural flush of a Light Summer is pink, so a cool pink blush looks like circulation rather than makeup. Peach and coral blush look orange against the skin.

Eyes: soft grey, mauve and cool taupe. Skip black liner; a grey or navy liner defines the eye without a hard ring. A touch of silvery pink shimmer on the inner corner brightens light eyes without adding contrast.

Brows: a cool taupe or ash blonde pencil, a shade lighter than instinct suggests. Dark or warm brow pencils add contrast and warmth the face does not have, and they are the fastest way to make a Light Summer look overdone.

Hair color

Ash blonde, beige blonde and light ash brown flatter the skin and keep the low contrast that defines the season. A mousy natural blonde is often better left alone than lightened. If you lighten, use cool, ashy tones and stop short of platinum, which adds contrast.

Golden or honey highlights make the skin look sallow and the eyes duller. Dark brown and black add a contrast that the eyes and skin cannot match, so the hair becomes the first thing anyone sees. Warm reds and copper are the furthest from the season.

Metals and jewelry

Silver, white gold and platinum. A pale rose gold works when it is not too orange. Yellow gold looks brassy next to a Light Summer and pulls warmth into the skin that is not there. Delicate pieces suit the low contrast better than heavy ones.

Stones: rose quartz, aquamarine, moonstone, light amethyst, blue topaz and white or pink pearls. Diamonds work in a silver setting. Avoid dark stones like onyx and garnet, which act like black, and warm stones like amber and citrine.

Light Summer vs Light Spring vs True Summer

Light Spring is the warm sister. Both seasons are light and low in contrast, so the difference is temperature. A Light Spring has peach or golden skin, gold in the hair and clear, sunny eyes. Hold powder pink and peach up to your face. Pink evens the skin on a Light Summer; peach does it on a Light Spring.

True Summer is the cooler, deeper sister. Coolness leads rather than lightness, so a True Summer has darker ash hair, more contrast between hair and skin, and a palette with more mid-tones. Hold raspberry rose and powder pink side by side. Raspberry looks balanced on a True Summer and slightly heavy on a Light Summer.

Soft Summer shares the coolness and the low contrast but is muted and a little deeper, with mushroom hair and greyed eyes. If your coloring looks smoky rather than delicate, the Soft Summer page is worth a read.

How to confirm your season at home

Stand by a window in daylight with no makeup, hair pulled back, and a white towel over your shoulders. Hold the four test colors from the palette above against your face, one at a time: powder pink, powder blue, soft white and lavender. Then hold up the same four from the Light Spring page.

The right colors make the skin look even, the eyes clearer and the shadows under the jaw shorter. The wrong colors bring up yellow, grey and the shadows under the eyes. Take a photo of each pair if you cannot see it live. The camera exaggerates the effect.

The color analysis test does the same comparison with numbers. It reads your skin hue, depth and contrast after white balancing on the whites of your eyes, so room light matters less than it does in the mirror. Retake in daylight if the lighting warning appears.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Light Summer colors?

Light, cool, gentle colors: powder pink, powder blue, seafoam, lavender, rose beige, cornflower and rose, with soft white, dove grey and light navy as neutrals. The palette has no black, no orange and nothing hot or saturated. Cool pastels are the core, with a few mid-tones for depth.

Can a Light Summer wear black?

Not well. Black is far darker than anything in a Light Summer face, so it swallows the coloring and shows every shadow. Light navy, dove grey and a soft charcoal do its job with less weight. If black is unavoidable, put soft white or powder pink between it and your face.

What is the difference between Light Summer and Light Spring?

Temperature. Both are light and low in contrast, but Light Summer is cool, with pink or neutral skin and ash hair, and Light Spring is warm, with peach skin and gold in the hair. Hold powder pink and peach up to your face: the one that evens your skin tells you.

Which hair colors suit a Light Summer?

Ash blonde, beige blonde, light ash brown and a cool, mousy blonde left as it is. Golden highlights make the skin look sallow, and black or dark brown adds a contrast the face does not have. If you lighten, keep it cool and stop short of platinum.