Warm Autumn Color Palette (True Autumn)

Warm Autumn is led by hue. Your coloring is clearly golden, so the first question for any color is whether it carries yellow. Chroma is the second axis: your colors are rich and slightly earthy, stronger than Soft Autumn's but less clear than Warm Spring's. Value sits around medium to medium-deep.

Skin is often golden beige, warm bronze or deep golden brown, sometimes with an olive cast, and lighter Warm Autumns may have freckles. Eyes are usually warm too: amber, golden brown, warm green, olive green or hazel with gold flecks.

Hair is often golden blonde, golden brown, copper, auburn or warm brunette, and many Warm Autumns show golden, caramel or rusty glints in sunlight. Contrast is usually medium. The overall impression is warmth across every feature, with no ashy or icy note anywhere.

• Camel #BB915F
• Cream #F4E6C6
• Chocolate brown #5C3B24
• Olive #6D6A36
• Peach #F6C29A
• Butter yellow #F5DB98
• Mustard #C3933C
• Terracotta #C3683F
• Warm teal #3E8F84
• Rust #9A4A24
• Forest green #3E5A2E
• Pumpkin #E0702A

Warm Autumn or Deep Autumn?

Deep Autumn shares your warmth but is darker and can carry near-black shades. Drape a dark espresso brown (#261b16) and then a golden camel (#bb915f). On a Warm Autumn the camel looks natural and the espresso sits like a shadow under the jaw. On a Deep Autumn the espresso frames the face and the camel can look slightly washed out. If your eyes are very dark and your hair is deep brown, test Deep Autumn first.

See the Deep Autumn palette

Warm Autumn or Soft Autumn?

Soft Autumn is warm as well but more muted. Hold pumpkin (#e0702a) next to a grayed salmon (#e0937a). Warm Autumns light up in the pumpkin and look a little dull in the grayed salmon. Soft Autumns look calmer in the salmon and find the pumpkin too strong. A second check is mustard (#c3933c) against mushroom (#a39484): mushroom flatters a Soft Autumn and makes a Warm Autumn look tired.

See the Soft Autumn palette

Camel, golden brown, chocolate brown, olive and khaki form your base, and each has visible yellow in it. Use cream where others use white and espresso where others use black. Gray only works when it leans khaki; cool charcoal and navy look dull beside your face, so keep them for shoes and bags.

Your best white and what to wear instead of black.

Five outfit formulas

• Everyday camel coat

  • Wool coat: camel
  • Sweater: cream
  • Trousers: chocolate brown
  • Boots: espresso

• Olive office

  • Blazer: olive
  • Blouse: peach
  • Trousers: khaki

• Weekend corduroy

  • Corduroy shirt: rust
  • T-shirt: cream
  • Chinos: golden brown

• Terracotta summer

  • Midi dress: terracotta
  • Sandals: camel
  • Clutch: bronze

• Teal night out

  • Satin top: teal
  • Wide-leg trousers: chocolate brown
  • Heels: camel

Prints and fabrics

Your prints can be fairly bold as long as every color in them is warm: paisley in rust, mustard and olive, autumn-leaf florals, animal prints in camel and chocolate, plaids in brick and forest green, and tortoiseshell. Fabrics with a warm surface suit you, such as suede, corduroy, tweed, wool flannel, raw silk and leather. Gold-thread or bronze embroidery works well, but skip silver lurex and icy satin.

Colors to avoid

• Black #000000
• Optic white #FFFFFF
• Icy pink #F5D6E3
• Royal blue #3050C0
• Fuchsia #D02090
• Lavender #B8A8D8

All of these are cool or stark. Blue-based pinks, violets and royal blue fight the gold in your skin and can make it look sallow. Black and optic white are too harsh for warm, medium-contrast coloring. If you own them, wear them as shoes, bags or trousers.

Choose warm or golden foundation: golden beige, warm honey, caramel or golden bronze, depending on depth. A neutral formula can work if it leans yellow. Pink or rosy shades show as a gray layer on warm skin.

Lips

• Brick red #9E3F2C
• Terracotta #B85C3E
• Warm coral #D8704F
• Cinnamon nude #A8684A

Blush

• Peach #E8A07C
• Apricot #E09068
• Warm terracotta #C87050

Eyes

• Bronze #8A6030
• Copper #B5673A
• Moss green #5F6A30
• Antique gold #C49A40

Liner and brows

• Chocolate brown #4A2E1E
• Deep olive #3F4022

Golden shimmer and bronze metallics suit you, while silver and pearl-white highlighters look chalky. For a red lip, choose one with orange in it, such as brick or tomato, and skip blue-reds. On lighter Warm Autumns, dark brown mascara is often softer than black.

Warm Autumns usually look best with hair that keeps or adds gold and red: auburn, copper, golden chestnut, warm caramel and strawberry blonde. A rich warm brown is a safe base, and copper or golden balayage adds light without turning ashy. Ash brown, platinum and blue-black all cool the face.

Move toward

• Auburn #7A3A22
• Copper #A5512A
• Golden chestnut #6E4426
• Warm caramel #A87442
• Strawberry blonde #C88A5A

Move away from

• Ash brown #6B6560
• Platinum #E6E4E0
• Blue-black #10141C
• Burgundy red #6A1E3A

Gray hair and highlights

Gray can read cool against golden skin, so many Warm Autumns blend it with copper or golden-brown lowlights. If you grow it out, a golden gloss softens the transition. Near the face, wear camel, rust and olive, which keep silver hair looking warm.

Yellow gold is your best metal, and brushed, hammered or antiqued finishes suit you better than mirror shine. Brass, bronze and copper suit you nearly as well. Silver and white gold tend to look cold on you; if you wear a silver watch, add a gold piece near the face.

• Yellow gold
• Brass
• Bronze
• Copper
• Antique gold

Glasses frames

Tortoiseshell in amber or dark honey, warm brown, olive, rust or caramel acetate, and gold or bronze metal. Black and silver frames add a cool line across your face.

People often typed as Warm Autumn. 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.

• Julianne Moore: Warm fair skin with freckles and green eyes, often with red hair. Source for Julianne Moore, opens in a new tab
• Julia Roberts: Warm golden complexion and deep brown eyes, often with auburn hair. Source for Julia Roberts, opens in a new tab
• Jane Seymour: Warm skin tone and brown eyes, often seen with auburn hair. Source for Jane Seymour, opens in a new tab
• Jessica Chastain: Light golden skin, often with warm copper hair. Source for Jessica Chastain, opens in a new tab
• Isla Fisher: Peachy skin, often with copper hair. Source for Isla Fisher, opens in a new tab
• Jennifer Lopez: Golden skin, often with warm brown hair. Source for Jennifer Lopez, opens in a new tab