Light Summer Color Palette

Light Summer is led by value. Your colors have to be light before anything else, and a pale color in the wrong temperature usually beats a deep color in the right one. Temperature comes second: you lean cool, so pinks are blue-based and blues have no green-yellow in them. Chroma is gently soft, with enough clarity for pastels to look fresh.

Skin is usually fair to light-medium, neutral or neutral-cool, with beige or pinkish undertones. Eyes are often light blue, light gray, soft aqua or pale green.

Hair usually runs from light ash blonde to light ash brown, and many Light Summers were blonde as children before their hair darkened. Contrast between hair, skin and eyes is low.

Black, chocolate brown and burgundy tend to wash you out and add shadows under the eyes. A pastel near the face brings the color back to your cheeks.

• Off-white #EEF5F5
• Light gray #D0D5D9
• Soft navy #4D5A6F
• Blush pink #F5D5D9
• Baby blue #C5E1F0
• Lilac #DAD0EB
• Mint #CCEDDE
• Rose pink #E39EAD
• Sky blue #8DC3DE
• Lavender #BEB0D7
• Raspberry pink #DD7597
• Turquoise #4DBBBE

Light Summer or Cool Summer?

Cool Summer (True Summer) shares your cool base but can go deeper. Hold a Soft navy (#4d5a6f) and then a deep navy (#1b4370) at your face. A Light Summer looks fine in the soft navy and drained in the deep one, which shows up as gray under the eyes. A Cool Summer can wear both. Plum (#7c5777) against a darker plum (#6b3b60) gives the same answer: you want the lighter one.

See the Cool Summer palette

Light Summer or Light Spring?

Light Spring is just as light but warm. Drape Baby blue (#c5e1f0) and then a light peach (#f7c9a9). On a Light Summer the blue looks clean and the peach turns the skin yellow or ruddy. On a Light Spring the peach adds a glow and the blue looks cold. Silver against light gold jewelry is a quick second check: Light Summers usually look clearer in silver.

See the Light Spring palette

Your neutrals are light and soft. Off-white, Light gray and Dove gray do most of the work, with Rose beige and Light taupe as your beige and brown. Blue-gray and Soft navy are the deepest neutrals you need, for trousers, coats and tailoring. Keep the darkest piece of an outfit at Soft navy depth and let pale colors sit near the face.

Your best white and what to wear instead of black.

Five outfit formulas

• Office day

  • Blazer: dove gray
  • Blouse: blush pink
  • Trousers: soft navy

• Weekend layers

  • Knit: baby blue
  • T-shirt: off-white
  • Jeans: slate blue

• Dinner out

  • Dress: soft orchid
  • Wrap: light gray
  • Shoes: rose beige

• Smart casual

  • Shirt: pale periwinkle
  • Chinos: light taupe
  • Sweater over shoulders: teal blue

• Statement top

  • Silk top: raspberry pink
  • Skirt or trousers: blue-gray
  • Bag: off-white

Prints and fabrics

Light, airy prints suit you: small florals on a pale ground, fine stripes in blue and white, gingham in pastel blue or pink, soft watercolors. Keep the darkest color in a print at mid depth. Light fabrics with some movement work well, such as voile, cotton lawn, chiffon, fine knits and pale chambray. Heavy, dark tweeds and bold black-ground prints overwhelm this coloring.

Colors to avoid

• Jet black #000000
• Chocolate brown #4B2E1E
• Burnt orange #CC5500
• Mustard #C9A227
• Camel #C19A6B
• Electric blue #0047FF

Black and chocolate brown are too dark for a light face, and burnt orange, mustard and camel bring in gold that yellows pink skin. Electric blue is too intense. If you wear any of these, keep them below the waist and wear Off-white or a pastel at the neckline.

Look for light shades with a pink or neutral-cool base, often labeled porcelain, rose or cool ivory. Golden or tan foundations make light skin look muddy. Sheer coverage suits you better than heavy matte.

Lips

• Pink rose #D58C9D
• Watermelon pink #DA7A82
• Sheer raspberry #C66988
• Petal pink #E2ADC0

Blush

• Soft pink #E5B4C2
• Rose quartz #DCA9AD

Eyes

• Light gray #B1B7BB
• Soft lavender #B3ADCA
• Light taupe #AF9C97
• Slate blue #667F97

Liner and brows

• Soft navy #515F75
• Slate gray #626C74

Keep the whole face light. Brown or gray mascara often looks more natural than black on light lashes. Sheer pinks and glossy rose lips suit you; deep wine and brown lipsticks look heavy. A soft shimmer on the lid is fine.

Light Summers look best in light, cool hair: light ash blonde, pearl blonde, soft beige blonde and light ash brown. Fine ash or pearl highlights brighten a darker base without adding gold. Keep the hair within a couple of levels of your skin so contrast stays low. Very dark brown or black hair adds a hard frame, and golden, honey or copper shades warm a pink complexion too much. A violet shampoo once a week keeps blonde from turning brassy.

Move toward

• Light ash blonde #C4BAAB
• Pearl blonde #D7D1C4
• Beige blonde #BEAE9D
• Light ash brown #91847C

Move away from

• Black #111111
• Dark chocolate #3B2219
• Honey gold #C8902E
• Copper #B5562A

Gray hair and highlights

Gray and silver usually blend easily with Light Summer coloring. Pearl or ash blonde highlights hide early grays well. Once you are mostly gray, a silver gloss or a soft platinum toner keeps it bright.

Silver, white gold and platinum suit you best, in fine, light pieces. Pale rose gold is also flattering. Chunky, dark or antiqued metal looks heavy on light coloring, and bright yellow gold tends to look brassy.

• Sterling silver
• White gold
• Platinum
• Pale rose gold

Glasses frames

Light gray, clear, translucent pink, lilac-gray and soft blue frames work best, or fine silver wire. Avoid black and dark brown tortoiseshell; they are the darkest thing on your face.

People often typed as Light Summer. 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.

• Cate Blanchett: Fair skin with cool undertones and light blue eyes at low contrast. Source for Cate Blanchett, opens in a new tab
• January Jones: Fair skin, light blue eyes and cool undertones; often wears light blonde. Source for January Jones, opens in a new tab
• Kirsten Dunst: Fair, cool-toned skin and light blue eyes without harsh contrast. Source for Kirsten Dunst, opens in a new tab
• Natalia Vodianova: Fair skin and light eyes with cool undertones. Source for Natalia Vodianova, opens in a new tab
• Elisha Cuthbert: Fair skin, light eyes and cool undertones; often wears blonde. Source for Elisha Cuthbert, opens in a new tab
• Naomi Watts: Fair skin and soft blue eyes; often wears blonde, keeping the face low in contrast. Source for Naomi Watts, opens in a new tab
• Claudia Schiffer: Fair skin and ice-blue eyes; often wears cool blonde. Source for Claudia Schiffer, opens in a new tab