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Deep Autumn vs Deep Winter: warm dark or cool dark?

Both are dark and rich, and the undertone decides: burnt orange and gold suit one, sapphire, black and pure white the other.

Find what fits me best

Deep Autumn and Deep Winter side by side

Deep Autumn

Its best colors

  • burnt orange #B7410E
  • deep olive #556B2F
  • mustard gold #C99A06
  • deep teal #005F5F
  • chocolate brown #5C3A21
  • brick red #A52A1A

Its neutrals

  • cream #F5E8C8
  • dark khaki #6B5B3A
  • warm charcoal #3F3A35
  • espresso #3C2A1E
The full Deep Autumn palette →

Deep Winter

Its best colors

  • emerald #00704A
  • sapphire blue #0F52BA
  • crimson #B0002A
  • royal purple #5B2C83
  • black #000000
  • pure white #FFFFFF

Its neutrals

  • cool mid grey #7C818A
  • dark cool taupe #4F4848
  • charcoal #36454F
  • deep navy #1A2747
The full Deep Winter palette →

The difference test

Undertone

Deep Autumn leans warmer

Hold burnt orange under your chin, then sapphire blue. On a Deep Autumn the orange warms the skin and the sapphire turns it grey; on a Deep Winter the sapphire looks clean and the orange leaves a yellow cast around the mouth.

Depth

Similar depth

Both are deep first, so this row will not separate you. Powder blue or peach near the face looks faded on either season, while dark colors such as deep olive on one side and deep navy on the other give the face its shape.

Chroma

Similar clarity

Both wear color at full strength, neither neon nor dusty. Greyed shades such as dusty rose or mushroom grey dull both faces, while deep teal on a Deep Autumn and emerald on a Deep Winter look rich, never loud.

Contrast

Deep Winter has more contrast

Wear black with pure white right under your chin. A Deep Winter carries the hard edge and looks sharper; a Deep Autumn looks better in espresso with cream, where the gap is still visible but warmer and gentler.

  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.

Deep Autumn and Deep Winter, often called Dark Autumn and Dark Winter, are the two darkest of the twelve seasons and direct neighbors. Both usually come with dark brown or near-black hair and dark eyes, both carry dark, saturated colors with ease, and both look washed out in pastels. That shared depth is why people who land on one so often wonder about the other.

Depth is the first trait of both, so it cannot settle the question. The undertone does: a Deep Autumn is dark with gold in the skin, a Deep Winter dark with a cool or neutral base that silver suits. Contrast follows from it. A Deep Winter wears black next to pure white and looks sharper for it, while a Deep Autumn looks better when the gap is warmer and smaller, as in espresso with cream.

On the autumn side are burnt orange, deep olive, mustard gold, deep teal, chocolate brown and brick red. On the winter side are emerald, sapphire blue, crimson, royal purple, black and pure white. Pick the wrong side and the colors still look dark enough, which is what makes the mix-up hard to spot: the difference shows in your skin, not in the outfit.

Dark colors that work for both

A few colors sit on the border and usually suit either season, because they are dark and rich without being clearly golden or clearly icy. Deep teal is the safest: it is in the Deep Autumn palette, and its blue-green sits close to the emerald and sapphire of Deep Winter. A dark forest green between deep olive and emerald, and a deep wine red between brick red and crimson, behave the same way.

For neutrals, charcoal is the meeting point: Deep Winter wears it cool, Deep Autumn as warm charcoal. If you are still unsure of your season, build around these and add the clearly warm or clearly cool colors once you know.

Turning a Deep Winter wardrobe into a Deep Autumn one

The swap is mostly one for one, at the same depth. Black becomes espresso or warm charcoal, and pure white becomes cream. Emerald moves to deep olive, crimson to brick red, and sapphire blue to deep teal. Royal purple has no twin in the autumn palette, so burnt orange or brick red takes over as the statement color.

Fabrics can stay. Both seasons handle leather, velvet and heavy wool, and both need dark, saturated prints rather than washed or faded ones; only the colors in them change sides.

How to tell if you are a Deep Autumn or a Deep Winter

  1. 1

    Find four dark fabrics

    You need burnt orange or brick red for the autumn side and sapphire blue or crimson for the winter side, plus something black and something cream. Scarves, towels and T-shirts all work.

  2. 2

    Move to a window at midday

    Face the light with a bare face, and cover dyed hair with a mid-grey cloth so its color does not sway the result.

  3. 3

    Swap warm against cool

    Hold burnt orange, then sapphire blue, directly under your chin. Watch the shadows under your eyes and around your mouth: the right side smooths them, the wrong one deepens them.

  4. 4

    Test the contrast pair

    Hold black with pure white, then a dark brown with cream. If the stark pair looks sharp rather than harsh on you, you lean Deep Winter.

  5. 5

    Confirm it with a selfie

    Take a selfie in the same daylight and tap "Find what fits me best". The free reading names your season out of 12 and says in one sentence why.

FAQ

Can a Deep Autumn wear Deep Winter colors?

A few, with care. Charcoal sits close enough to warm charcoal to work, and emerald can work when it leans toward deep teal. Pure white, royal purple and sapphire blue tend to drain the warmth from Deep Autumn skin and leave it looking grey or sallow.

Can a Deep Winter wear autumn colors like rust and olive?

Rarely near the face. Burnt orange, mustard gold and deep olive carry the gold a Deep Winter does not have, so the skin often looks yellow beside them. Camel, one of this season's worst colors, shows the effect most clearly. Deep teal is the autumn color a Deep Winter can usually borrow.

Black looks good on me. Does that make me a Deep Winter?

Not on its own. Black is a Deep Winter best color, but it often looks fine on a Deep Autumn too, because both seasons are dark. The better test is pure white: if it looks crisp on you, Deep Winter is likelier; if it looks glaring and cream looks right, Deep Autumn.

Gold or silver jewelry: which one tells them apart?

Metals are a quick undertone check. Yellow and antique gold, bronze and copper flatter a Deep Autumn; silver, platinum and white gold flatter a Deep Winter. Hold one of each against your cheek in daylight: the wrong one makes the skin look grey or blotchy, the right one looks like it belongs to you.

What hair colors suit a Deep Autumn or a Deep Winter?

Stay dark and follow your undertone. A Deep Autumn usually suits rich chocolate, dark chestnut or espresso with a hint of copper. A Deep Winter suits cool dark brown, blue-black or its own natural near-black, and tends to look brassy with golden highlights. Dyed hair can also tip a photo reading toward the wrong season.

Which lipstick colors suit each season?

A Deep Autumn looks best in brick red, deep rust, warm brown and terracotta lips, with bronze or olive eyeshadow. A Deep Winter suits crimson, berry and deep plum lips with charcoal or black liner. Even a nude lip should follow the undertone: caramel on a Deep Autumn, rose on a Deep Winter.

Can I be between Deep Autumn and Deep Winter?

Many people sit near the line, with dark coloring and an undertone close to neutral. You still get one of the twelve seasons, and the colors that work for both carry most of your wardrobe. The free reading tells you which side you fall on and why, so you know which colors to add first.