Deep Winter Color Palette (Dark Winter)

Depth comes first for a Deep Winter. Your coloring is dark overall, so deep shades look natural on you and pale, sweet colors look washed out unless something dark sits next to them. Temperature is secondary. You lean cool, but you border Deep Autumn, so you can carry a little more warmth than a True Winter. Your colors are fairly saturated, but dark rather than vivid.

Hair is usually medium brown to black, often with an ashy or neutral tone. Eyes are often dark brown or near-black, sometimes dark hazel or very dark olive, often with a dark border around the iris. Skin runs from fair to deep, with a neutral or neutral-cool undertone that can read rosy, beige-pink or cool olive.

Contrast is medium-high to high. Black near your face usually looks natural rather than severe. In pastel yellow or warm beige the face often looks gray and the jawline loses definition.

• Black #000000
• Soft white #F2F2F3
• Espresso #2E2624
• Burgundy #5E0F26
• Forest green #0B3D2E
• Navy #0F1A45
• Aubergine #3A1238
• True red #B8102C
• Emerald #007A52
• Sapphire #0F3F8F
• Fuchsia #B3087A
• Powder blue #A9C6EA

Deep Winter or True Winter?

True Winter is cooler, brighter and a little less deep. Hold dark chocolate (#3d302d) and then black at your face, then icy pink and burgundy (#5e0f26). If dark chocolate looks nearly as good as black and burgundy beats icy pink, you are probably Deep Winter. If chocolate makes your skin look muddy and icy pink looks fresh, try True Winter.

See the True Winter palette

Deep Winter or Deep Autumn?

Deep Autumn shares your depth but runs warm. Compare black with a warm dark brown, emerald (#007a52) with warm olive, and true red (#b8102c) with brick. Deep Winter stays clear in black, emerald and true red, while olive and brick add a gray or yellow cast. Deep Autumn looks warmer and healthier in olive and brick and can look stark in pure black. Metal is a quick second check: Deep Winters usually prefer silver or gunmetal, Deep Autumns antique gold.

See the Deep Autumn palette

Black and charcoal are your strongest neutrals. Espresso and dark chocolate give you a softer dark for coats, boots and bags. Midnight navy works for tailoring and coats. Choose soft white over optic white for shirts if bright white looks harsh, and taupe gray where others would use beige.

Your best white and what to wear instead of black.

Five outfit formulas

• Office

  • Blazer: charcoal
  • Blouse: soft white
  • Trousers: black

• Weekend

  • Chunky knit: forest green
  • Jeans: midnight navy
  • Boots: espresso

• Date night

  • Dress: burgundy
  • Heels: black

• Spring workday

  • Shirt: powder blue
  • Suit: midnight navy
  • Loafers: oxblood

• Statement coat

  • Coat: true red
  • Turtleneck: black
  • Trousers: charcoal

Prints and fabrics

You can carry large, dark prints: bold abstract prints on black, paisley in jewel tones, animal prints recolored in black and charcoal, and dark tartans with red or green. Keep the ground dark and the accent colors clear. Velvet, leather, heavy silk and wool crepe suit your depth. Small faded ditsy prints and pastel gingham look too slight on you.

Colors to avoid

• Orange #F28C28
• Mustard #C9A227
• Camel #C19A6B
• Peach #FFCBA4
• Pastel yellow #FFFAA8
• Warm olive #708238

Warm colors and very light pastels pull against Deep Winter. Orange, mustard, camel and warm olive add yellow to the skin. Pastel yellow and peach are too light and too warm, so the face looks gray above them.

Deep Winters often have a neutral or neutral-cool undertone, and some read cool olive, so a pure pink foundation can look ashy. Try neutral and cool-olive shades first and check them in daylight against your neck.

Lips

• Deep berry #7D1A45
• True red #B8102C
• Wine #5C1335
• Plum #6B2552

Blush

• Raspberry #B33A62
• Deep rose #A8486A

Eyes

• Charcoal #333336
• Espresso #2E2624
• Aubergine #3A1238
• Deep teal #073F45
• Navy #0F1A45

Liner and brows

• Black #0A0A0A
• Plum black #2E1328

Deep Winter makeup can be stronger than most people expect. A deep berry or wine lip on otherwise bare skin works for daytime. Charcoal and espresso smoky eyes suit you better than light shimmer. Peach blush and pale nude lips make the face look gray.

Keep your hair deep. Black, soft black, espresso and dark cool brown all suit you, and a neutral dark brown works as well. For color, a black cherry or deep burgundy tint looks natural. Light golden highlights and caramel balayage lower the depth that holds your coloring together.

Move toward

• Soft black #1F1D20
• Espresso #2E2624
• Black cherry #3A1420
• Dark cool brown #3A302E

Move away from

• Caramel #A8703A
• Golden blonde #D4A94F
• Copper #B5622F
• Ash blonde #B5A88F

Gray hair and highlights

Salt-and-pepper gray keeps your contrast, so blend it with dark cool lowlights rather than bleaching the dark hair out. If you cover it, use a dark brown or soft black with a cool or neutral base so the roots never show warm.

Silver, white gold and gunmetal suit most Deep Winters. Because the season borders Deep Autumn, darker metals also work, such as oxidized silver, black rhodium and small amounts of dark bronze. Bright yellow gold can look harsh on you, and rose gold usually looks pale.

• Sterling silver
• Gunmetal
• Oxidized silver
• White gold

Glasses frames

Black, espresso, deep burgundy, dark navy or a dark tortoiseshell on a black base. Thick acetate suits your depth better than thin wire.

People often typed as Deep Winter. Typing a famous face from photos is guesswork (lighting, makeup and hair dye all change it), so use it as a reference for coloring and check your own season with the drape tests above.

• Penélope Cruz: Often wears deep brown-black hair, with dark eyes and cool-neutral skin at maximum contrast. Source for Penélope Cruz, opens in a new tab
• Monica Bellucci: Often wears glossy near-black hair, with dark brown eyes and olive skin with a neutral-to-cool cast; the source says she runs slightly warm for a winter. Source for Monica Bellucci, opens in a new tab
• Viola Davis: Very dark brown eyes and deep skin with cool undertones, at high contrast. Source for Viola Davis, opens in a new tab
• Gal Gadot: Dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and cool, porcelain-like skin. Source for Gal Gadot, opens in a new tab
• Catherine Zeta-Jones: Dark, rich hair, deep brown eyes and medium skin. Source for Catherine Zeta-Jones, opens in a new tab
• Priyanka Chopra Jonas: Neutral-cool golden-olive skin with dark hair and eyes, which the source calls a high-contrast Deep Winter profile. Source for Priyanka Chopra Jonas, opens in a new tab
• Angelina Jolie: Dark brown hair, blue-gray eyes and light cool skin at high contrast. Source for Angelina Jolie, opens in a new tab