Season comparison
Deep Autumn vs Deep Winter: how to tell the difference
Both palettes side by side, the colors they genuinely share, and the one thing that actually decides it — undertone.
Deep Autumn and Deep Winter are both deep, medium-clarity seasons; the only axis that separates them is undertone — Deep Autumn is warm, Deep Winter is cool. Their palettes overlap on 6 of Deep Autumn’s 16 colors and 5 of Deep Winter’s; the widest gaps are Deep Autumn’s Dark Mustard and Deep Winter’s Royal Purple.
What’s the difference between Deep Autumn and Deep Winter?
The 12-season system runs on three axes — undertone, depth and clarity. Deep Autumn and Deep Winter are both deep, medium-clarity seasons, so everything below the one row marked as the split is common ground.
| Undertone — the split | Deep Autumnwarm (golden/yellow-based) Deep Wintercool (pink/blue-based) This is where the two seasons part company. |
|---|---|
| Depth | Deep Autumndeep Deep Winterdeep Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
| Clarity | Deep Autumnmoderately clear Deep Wintermoderately clear Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
| Best metals | Deep AutumnGold Deep WinterSilver Different verdicts, and undertone is exactly what splits these two — the jewelry test is a real tiebreaker here. |
| Signature neutral | Deep AutumnDark Chocolate #3E2A1A Deep WinterTrue Black #101014 The color each season reaches for instead of black. |
| Palette lightness (mean L*) | Deep Autumn34 Deep Winter32 Mean L* of each 16-color palette. Deep Autumn runs 2 points lighter. |
| Palette saturation (mean C*) | Deep Autumn34 Deep Winter30 Deep Autumn runs 3 points more saturated. |
| Palette warmth (mean b*) | Deep Autumn+22 Deep Winter−9 Positive is yellow, negative is blue — the numeric version of warm versus cool. |
Deep Autumn vs Deep Winter: the two palettes side by side
Sixteen colors each, with hex values. This is the comparison most articles on these two seasons never actually show you.
The Deep Autumn palette
Deep Autumn coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), deep in depth, and moderately clear.
Oxblood#71261F Burnt Copper#9C4A1E Deep Forest#2F4A2C Aubergine Brown#4E2A33 Dark Mustard#A8791C Brick#8E3B22 Deep Teal#16535C Olive Night#4A4A22 Garnet#7C2432 Tobacco#7A5427 Spiced Wine#813038 Bronze#8C6A2B Pine#25573D Rust Deep#9B441D Warm Charcoal#443B33 Molasses#59331D
The Deep Winter palette
Deep Winter coloring is cool (pink/blue-based), deep in depth, and moderately clear.
Black Cherry#4A1526 Emerald Night#0E5A45 Sapphire#1F3B73 True Black#101014 Deep Fuchsia#A11367 Cool Ruby#8B1130 Ink Violet#3E2A66 Pine Teal#0F4C54 Crisp White#FAFAFA Deep Plum#4A2545 Berry Wine#6D1C3E Royal Purple#4E2C86 Dark Emerald#0B4A38 Midnight Navy#17233F Cold Burgundy#5A1230 Ice Pink Accent#EFC6DA
Where the Deep Autumn and Deep Winter palettes agree
Every color in one palette was measured against every color in the other in CIELAB. 7 pairings came back close enough to call the same color: 6 of Deep Autumn’s 16 have a near-identical counterpart in Deep Winter’s palette, and 5 of Deep Winter’s have one going back the other way. These are the colors you can wear whichever of the two you turn out to be.
Left: Deep AutumnRight: Deep Winter
Deep Teal#16535C Pine Teal#0F4C54 2.0 ΔE apart
Pine#25573D Emerald Night#0E5A45 7.4 ΔE apart
Pine#25573D Dark Emerald#0B4A38 7.9 ΔE apart
Aubergine Brown#4E2A33 Black Cherry#4A1526 9.5 ΔE apart
Garnet#7C2432 Cool Ruby#8B1130 11.6 ΔE apart
Spiced Wine#813038 Cool Ruby#8B1130 14.5 ΔE apart
Deep Forest#2F4A2C Dark Emerald#0B4A38 15.7 ΔE apart
Where Deep Autumn and Deep Winter split
This is the section that decides it. 10 of Deep Autumn’s colors and 11 of Deep Winter’s have no near equivalent in the other palette — and because the gap runs along undertone, these are the exact swatches to hold against your face when you cannot decide. The shared colors above will look fine either way, which is precisely why they are useless as a test.
Each color below is listed with the closest thing the other season has to it, and how far apart the two measure. The bigger the number, the more that color belongs to one season and not the other.
Deep Autumn only — 10 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Deep Winter palette:
- Dark Mustard#A8791CNearest Deep Winter color: Cool Ruby — 70 ΔE away
- Bronze#8C6A2BNearest Deep Winter color: Cool Ruby — 57 ΔE away
- Tobacco#7A5427Nearest Deep Winter color: Cool Ruby — 46 ΔE away
- Burnt Copper#9C4A1ENearest Deep Winter color: Cool Ruby — 42 ΔE away
- Rust Deep#9B441DNearest Deep Winter color: Cool Ruby — 39 ΔE away
Deep Winter only — 11 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Deep Autumn palette:
- Royal Purple#4E2C86Nearest Deep Autumn color: Aubergine Brown — 72 ΔE away
- Ink Violet#3E2A66Nearest Deep Autumn color: Aubergine Brown — 51 ΔE away
- Sapphire#1F3B73Nearest Deep Autumn color: Deep Teal — 45 ΔE away
- Crisp White#FAFAFANearest Deep Autumn color: Warm Charcoal — 45 ΔE away
- Deep Fuchsia#A11367Nearest Deep Autumn color: Garnet — 41 ΔE away
Can a Deep Autumn wear Deep Winter colors?
Partly, and the split is measurable rather than a matter of taste. 5 of the 16 Deep Winter colors sit close enough to something in the Deep Autumn palette to borrow freely — starting with Deep Winter’s Pine Teal (#0F4C54), which measures 2.0 ΔE from Deep Autumn’s Deep Teal (#16535C). The remaining 11 are where Deep Winter pulls away along undertone, and those are the ones that read as almost-right on a Deep Autumn.
It runs the same way in reverse: 6 of Deep Autumn’s colors are fair game for a Deep Winter, and 10 are not. Neither palette is the better one — they are different answers to different faces.
How do I know if I’m Deep Autumn or Deep Winter?
Only test the axis that separates them. Everything else is common ground and will give you an answer that fits both. Do this in daylight near a window, with no makeup on, and watch your skin rather than the fabric.
1. Gold beside silver
Deep Autumn is warm and wears gold; Deep Winter is cool and wears silver. Hold both metals to your jaw and look for the one that leaves your skin even rather than grey. Then repeat it with fabric: Deep Autumn’s Dark Chocolate (#3E2A1A) against Deep Winter’s True Black (#101014). The full method is in the undertone guide, and the free undertone quiz will run it for you.
2. The head-to-head
The cleanest single test on this page: put Deep Autumn’s Dark Mustard (#A8791C) next to Deep Winter’s Royal Purple (#4E2C86). Those two measure furthest from each other’s palettes of anything either season owns, so whichever one your face prefers is the strongest signal available without a full analysis.
Deep Autumn — the test colors
Deep Winter — the test colors
What a Deep Autumn and a Deep Winter wear differently
Same three axes, applied to the things you buy. Where the two seasons agree, the advice is interchangeable; where they do not, this is what changes.
| Lipstick | Deep Autumnoxblood, brown-berry and spiced brick — depth is your signature Deep Winterblack cherry, cool ruby and deep berry — high pigment, sharp line |
|---|---|
| Blush | Deep Autumndeep terracotta, used as sculpt as much as color Deep Wintercool plum, minimal — contrast does the work |
| Foundation | Deep Autumnwarm undertone with depth honored — never lightened out Deep Wintercool-neutral, matched exactly; depth is the feature |
| Hair color | Deep Autumnespresso, black-brown with warmth, deep auburn — richness over lightness Deep Winterblue-black, cool espresso, dark cool brown — golden highlights dilute you |
| Jewelry | Deep AutumnGold Deep WinterSilver |
| Wardrobe | Deep Autumndeep earth column dressing; one ember accent (garnet, rust) near the face Deep Winterblack is genuinely yours; run jewel tones against it at full contrast |
Deeper on each: Deep Autumn makeup and Deep Autumn hair, or Deep Winter makeup and Deep Winter hair.
Deep Autumn vs Deep Winter: common questions
What is the difference between Deep Autumn and Deep Winter?
Deep Autumn and Deep Winter are both deep, medium-clarity seasons, and the only axis that separates them is undertone — Deep Autumn is warm, Deep Winter is cool. In palette terms that shows up as 10 of Deep Autumn's 16 colors and 11 of Deep Winter's having no near equivalent on the other side — for example Deep Autumn's Dark Mustard (#A8791C) and Deep Winter's Royal Purple (#4E2C86).
Can a Deep Autumn wear Deep Winter colors?
Some of them, and the count is exact: 5 of the 16 colors in the Deep Winter palette have a near-identical counterpart in Deep Autumn's, so those are safe to borrow. The other 11 are where Deep Winter pulls away — wearing those is what makes a Deep Autumn look slightly off rather than lit. Borrow the overlap, skip the rest.
How do I tell if I'm Deep Autumn or Deep Winter?
Test the axis that separates them, which is undertone. Drape gold beside silver in daylight: Deep Autumn is warm, Deep Winter is cool, and gold versus silver is the fastest tell. Run it in daylight with no makeup on, and watch your skin rather than the fabric.
Do the Deep Autumn and Deep Winter palettes share any colors?
Yes — measured in CIELAB, 6 of Deep Autumn's 16 colors have a near-identical match in Deep Winter's palette, and 5 of Deep Winter's have one in Deep Autumn's. The closest single pairing is Deep Autumn's Deep Teal (#16535C) against Deep Winter's Pine Teal (#0F4C54), 2 ΔE apart. Those are the colors you can wear either way while you decide.
Does a Deep Autumn or a Deep Winter wear gold?
Deep Autumn: gold. Deep Winter: silver. Different verdicts, and undertone is exactly what splits these two — the jewelry test is a real tiebreaker here. In daylight, hold both metals to your jaw and watch your skin rather than the metal — the right one leaves you even, the wrong one leaves you grey.
What if I'm somewhere between Deep Autumn and Deep Winter?
That is a normal place to land — these two are on this list precisely because they are confused constantly. Live in the overlap: the 7 near-identical pairings between the two palettes work either way. Then judge yourself on undertone alone, in daylight, using the colors each season does not share with the other. Those are the only colors that can actually tell you apart.
Which colors should I avoid if I'm Deep Autumn rather than Deep Winter?
Deep Autumn should steer clear of icy pastel blue, baby pink, cool lilac; Deep Winter should steer clear of camel, pumpkin, mustard. The avoid lists are a useful cross-check: if one season's "avoid" colors are the ones you already know look bad on you, that is a vote for the other season.