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Cool Summer vs Soft Summer: cool first or soft first

True Summer and Soft Summer share coolness and softness; which of the two leads in your face decides your colors.

Find what fits me best

Cool Summer and Soft Summer side by side

Cool Summer

Its best colors

  • raspberry #B3446C
  • slate blue #5D6D8E
  • cool rose pink #D98BA5
  • spruce blue-green #3F7A7A
  • soft navy #2F3E5C
  • cool grey #8E959C

Its neutrals

  • soft white #F2F2EF
  • light grey #C5C8CC
  • cool taupe #A39A9C
  • charcoal blue-grey #4A5563
The full Cool Summer palette →

Soft Summer

Its best colors

  • dusty rose #C4959A
  • soft blue-grey #7F96AB
  • sage #7FA39A
  • mauve #A1838F
  • slate navy #4A5A72
  • rose brown #8E7470

Its neutrals

  • soft white #F2F2EF
  • soft grey #9FA4A9
  • greyed taupe #9C918F
  • soft charcoal #585C62
The full Soft Summer palette →

The difference test

Undertone

Soft Summer leans warmer

Both are cool, but Soft Summer sits nearer neutral. Hold rose brown at your chin, then cool rose pink: a face that takes the brown easily and turns ruddy in the pink leans Soft Summer; one that looks muddy in the brown is Cool Summer.

Depth

Similar depth

Both sit at a medium depth: soft navy for one, slate navy for the other, two dark neutrals of about the same weight. Neither wears black well, and neither needs the pastel lightness of Light Summer, so depth leaves this pair undecided.

Chroma

Cool Summer is clearer

Hold raspberry next to dusty rose, or spruce blue-green next to sage. If the stronger color makes your eyes and lips look sharper, you are clear enough for Cool Summer; if it sits on top of you while the dusty one blends in, Soft Summer.

Contrast

Cool Summer has more contrast

A Cool Summer shows a moderate contrast between hair, eyes and skin, so soft navy with soft white looks crisp on it. A Soft Summer is lower in contrast and looks better in close tones, like soft charcoal with soft grey. A black and white stripe looks hard on both.

  1. 1

Step 1 / 1

Take a selfie in daylight

Face a window, without makeup if you can, hair as it naturally falls. Daylight and no filter keep your real skin tone — colored lamps and beauty filters change the result.

🙂

Your selfie is used for your reading and saved in your private Color Suite only if you go on to a try-on. Never shared, never used for training.

Cool Summer, also called True Summer, and Soft Summer are made of the same two traits in a different order. Cool Summer is cool first and soft second; Soft Summer is soft first and cool second. Both tend to have ash-toned hair, grey-blue or soft cool eyes and a medium depth, and both look best in colors with some grey and some blue in them.

The difference shows at the edges of the palettes. A Cool Summer carries purer cool colors, raspberry, cool rose pink and spruce blue-green, and its skin has a clear blue-pink undertone. A Soft Summer needs those colors dimmed: dusty rose instead of raspberry, sage instead of spruce. Its skin reads neutral-cool rather than rosy.

So the question is how much color your face can carry. A Soft Summer in raspberry can look as if the dress walked in first; a Cool Summer in mauve and rose brown can look faded, like an old photo.

Where the two palettes overlap

Soft white is a neutral of both, and so is any grey between Cool Summer's cool grey and Soft Summer's soft grey. Slate blue and slate navy are near neighbors, and a dusty mid-blue between them suits either. Cool taupe and greyed taupe are close enough that a taupe coat rarely goes wrong.

Silver and pewter suit both. Brushed and matte finishes flatter a Soft Summer most, while a Cool Summer can also wear polished silver and white gold.

From Cool Summer colors to Soft Summer colors

Turning a Cool Summer wardrobe into a Soft Summer one is mostly a matter of adding grey. Raspberry becomes mauve, cool rose pink becomes dusty rose, spruce blue-green becomes sage, and slate blue becomes soft blue-grey. Soft navy can stay, or soften into slate navy, and charcoal blue-grey turns into soft charcoal.

A Soft Summer who reads as Cool Summer turns the dial the other way: mauve up to raspberry, sage to spruce blue-green, rose brown to cool rose pink. The cuts and fabrics can stay; only the strength of the color changes.

How to tell if you are a Cool Summer or a Soft Summer

  1. 1

    Pick a strong and a dusty pink

    Raspberry or cool rose pink for the strong one, dusty rose or mauve for the dusty one; a T-shirt, a scarf or a towel will do.

  2. 2

    Use window light, not a lamp

    Stand facing a window during the day with no makeup on, so the room tints nothing and you see your own color.

  3. 3

    See whether your eyes still lead

    With raspberry at your chin, check whether your eyes still hold attention. If they do, lean Cool Summer; if the color takes over, lean Soft Summer.

  4. 4

    Confirm it with a free reading

    Upload one daylight selfie without a filter and tap "Find what fits me best". The reading names your season, gives the reason in a sentence and shows the colors that suit you.

FAQ

Is True Summer another name for Cool Summer?

Yes. True Summer and Cool Summer are two names for the same season: the summer where coolness leads and softness follows. This site calls it Cool Summer, and its palette is raspberry, slate blue, cool rose pink, spruce blue-green, soft navy and cool grey.

Can a Soft Summer wear Cool Summer colors?

The quieter ones, yes: slate blue, soft navy, cool grey and cool taupe sit close to Soft Summer's own colors. Raspberry and spruce blue-green are usually too strong at the face. In a skirt or a bag, a little further from it, they work better.

Which is cooler, Cool Summer or Soft Summer?

Cool Summer. Its whole palette has a blue base and its skin a clear pink or blue-pink undertone. Soft Summer is cool too, but it borders Soft Autumn on its other side, so its undertone sits closer to neutral and colors like rose brown suit it.

What hair color suits a Cool Summer vs a Soft Summer?

Both look best in ash shades with no brass. Cool Summer can take a cooler, crisper result, such as ash brown with silvery blond highlights. Soft Summer suits blended, smoky shades like mushroom brown or soft ash blond, with highlights kept close to the base color.

Does black suit a Cool Summer or a Soft Summer?

Neither looks best in black next to the face; it is too heavy for summer coloring. Cool Summer uses soft navy or charcoal blue-grey in its place, Soft Summer slate navy or soft charcoal. Both swap pure white for soft white.

What lipstick suits a Cool Summer vs a Soft Summer?

A Cool Summer can wear a real raspberry or a cool berry with some pigment. A Soft Summer looks better in dusty rose, mauve or a sheer berry, where the color is diluted. Both do best to skip orange-reds and coral.