Summer family, cool and soft
Cool Summer color palette
Blue-based, medium depth, quietly sure of itself.
Cool summer is the center of the summer family. The skin has a pink or blue cast, the hair is ash brown or cool blonde, and the eyes are blue, gray or a cool green. There is more depth here than in light summer, but the colors stay soft.
The palette is built on blue-based colors at medium depth: dusty rose, cornflower, sea blue, plum gray. None of them shout, and that is the point. The face is the strongest thing in the outfit.
Palette at a glance
summer family · Silver, white gold and pewter.
The palette
Twelve colors for Cool Summer
- Dusty Rose#D49AA5
- Mauve#B18FB0
- Wisteria#9B8FC4
- Cornflower#7D9BD1
- Sea Blue#5E8FA8
- Sage#A8B8A6
- Soft Teal#6FA8A2
- Plum Gray#7C6B80
- Rosewood#A75D6C
- Cloud#ECEEF2
- Slate#5C6B7D
- Berry#8E4A63
Neutrals
- Cloud
- Slate
- Soft Navy
- Pewter
Silver, white gold and pewter. Rose gold works if it is a true pink rather than a copper.
Colors to leave out
- Gold. Warm yellow makes cool skin look sallow, especially in large areas near the face.
- Orange. The strongest warm hue, and the one most likely to bring out redness in cool skin.
- Warm Beige. It reads as a washed-out yellow next to cool coloring rather than a neutral.
- Olive. Green with a warm base turns the face gray.
Wearing it
How the palette works on a body
The rules are about placement and quantity, not about permission.
Soft contrast, not no contrast
A cool summer outfit needs a light and a medium: cloud and slate, dusty rose and sea blue. All one value looks flat; all one strong color looks like a costume.
Blue is the neutral
Navy, slate and sea blue do the job a black wardrobe does for a winter. Build the basics there.
Keep warm accents away from the face
A tan leather bag is fine at hip level. A tan collar next to the face is not.
Base and cheek
A rose or berry blush with a cool base. Avoid peach and bronze, which sit on top of the skin.
Eyes and lips
Mauve, slate and soft navy on the eyes; rose, berry or a cool red on the lips. Keep shimmer cool and fine.
Questions
Cool Summer questions
What separates cool summer from soft summer?
Saturation. Cool summer can carry a medium berry and a clear cornflower; soft summer needs those same colors grayed down. Try the berry first: if it looks strong but right, you are cool summer.
Can a cool summer wear red?
A blue-red or raspberry, yes. An orange-red or brick red will fight the skin.
Is gray a good neutral?
Yes, especially cool grays with a blue or silver cast. A yellow-gray or taupe is much less flattering.
Which hair colors suit cool summer?
Ash brown, cool brunette, mushroom blonde and soft burgundy. Golden and copper tones pull the face warm.