Season comparison
Soft Summer vs Soft Autumn: how to tell the difference
Both palettes side by side, the colors they genuinely share, and the one thing that actually decides it — undertone.
Soft Summer and Soft Autumn are both medium-depth, muted seasons; the only axis that separates them is undertone — Soft Summer is cool, Soft Autumn is warm. Their palettes overlap on 5 of Soft Summer’s 16 colors and 4 of Soft Autumn’s; the widest gaps are Soft Summer’s Soft Plum and Soft Autumn’s Muted Gold.
What’s the difference between Soft Summer and Soft Autumn?
The 12-season system runs on three axes — undertone, depth and clarity. Soft Summer and Soft Autumn are both medium-depth, muted seasons, so everything below the one row marked as the split is common ground.
| Undertone — the split | Soft Summercool (pink/blue-based) Soft Autumnwarm (golden/yellow-based) This is where the two seasons part company. |
|---|---|
| Depth | Soft Summermedium Soft Autumnmedium Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
| Clarity | Soft Summersoft and muted Soft Autumnsoft and muted Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
| Best metals | Soft SummerBoth, leaning silver Soft AutumnBoth, leaning gold Different verdicts, and undertone is exactly what splits these two — the jewelry test is a real tiebreaker here. |
| Signature neutral | Soft SummerMushroom #B5A899 Soft AutumnOat #E6D8BF The color each season reaches for instead of black. |
| Palette lightness (mean L*) | Soft Summer61 Soft Autumn65 Mean L* of each 16-color palette. Soft Autumn runs 4 points lighter. |
| Palette saturation (mean C*) | Soft Summer17 Soft Autumn27 Soft Autumn runs 10 points more saturated. |
| Palette warmth (mean b*) | Soft Summer−3 Soft Autumn+21 Positive is yellow, negative is blue — the numeric version of warm versus cool. |
Soft Summer vs Soft Autumn: 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 Soft Summer palette
Soft Summer coloring is cool (pink/blue-based), medium in depth, and soft and muted.
Dusty Rose#C4909B Eucalyptus#8FAF9C Smoky Blue#7D93AC Mauve Smoke#A88399 Sage Grey#9AA98F Faded Denim#7A8DA6 Rose Brown#A87B7E Soft Plum#8E7290 Misty Teal#6E9799 Antique Blush#D3A9A9 Grey Lavender#A79FBB Muted Berry#9C5F76 Seafoam Grey#9FBFB4 Storm Blue#5F7288 Heathered Pink#C9A2AC Pewter Green#7C8B78
The Soft Autumn palette
Soft Autumn coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), medium in depth, and soft and muted.
Toasted Almond#C9A47E Salmon Dust#D08E76 Olive Moss#8A8B5C Warm Sage#A3A87B Terracotta Haze#BF7051 Honey Beige#D6B78B Faded Coral#D68A74 Khaki Green#9A9463 Soft Teal#6D9A93 Buttermilk#EBDCB2 Copper Rose#B67865 Warm Taupe#AE9884 Marsh Green#7E8E6B Muted Gold#C7A855 Cinnamon Milk#C99578 Dusty Turquoise#79A8A4
Where the Soft Summer and Soft Autumn 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: 5 of Soft Summer’s 16 have a near-identical counterpart in Soft Autumn’s palette, and 4 of Soft Autumn’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: Soft SummerRight: Soft Autumn
Misty Teal#6E9799 Dusty Turquoise#79A8A4 6.1 ΔE apart
Misty Teal#6E9799 Soft Teal#6D9A93 7.3 ΔE apart
Seafoam Grey#9FBFB4 Dusty Turquoise#79A8A4 9.9 ΔE apart
Sage Grey#9AA98F Marsh Green#7E8E6B 10.2 ΔE apart
Eucalyptus#8FAF9C Soft Teal#6D9A93 12.3 ΔE apart
Pewter Green#7C8B78 Marsh Green#7E8E6B 13.1 ΔE apart
Sage Grey#9AA98F Warm Taupe#AE9884 15.5 ΔE apart
Where Soft Summer and Soft Autumn split
This is the section that decides it. 11 of Soft Summer’s colors and 12 of Soft Autumn’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.
Soft Summer only — 11 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Soft Autumn palette:
- Soft Plum#8E7290Nearest Soft Autumn color: Dusty Turquoise — 37 ΔE away
- Muted Berry#9C5F76Nearest Soft Autumn color: Warm Taupe — 35 ΔE away
- Mauve Smoke#A88399Nearest Soft Autumn color: Warm Taupe — 33 ΔE away
- Grey Lavender#A79FBBNearest Soft Autumn color: Dusty Turquoise — 29 ΔE away
- Storm Blue#5F7288Nearest Soft Autumn color: Dusty Turquoise — 25 ΔE away
Soft Autumn only — 12 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Soft Summer palette:
- Muted Gold#C7A855Nearest Soft Summer color: Sage Grey — 53 ΔE away
- Terracotta Haze#BF7051Nearest Soft Summer color: Rose Brown — 39 ΔE away
- Faded Coral#D68A74Nearest Soft Summer color: Rose Brown — 30 ΔE away
- Honey Beige#D6B78BNearest Soft Summer color: Sage Grey — 27 ΔE away
- Toasted Almond#C9A47ENearest Soft Summer color: Sage Grey — 27 ΔE away
Can a Soft Summer wear Soft Autumn colors?
Partly, and the split is measurable rather than a matter of taste. 4 of the 16 Soft Autumn colors sit close enough to something in the Soft Summer palette to borrow freely — starting with Soft Autumn’s Dusty Turquoise (#79A8A4), which measures 6.1 ΔE from Soft Summer’s Misty Teal (#6E9799). The remaining 12 are where Soft Autumn pulls away along undertone, and those are the ones that read as almost-right on a Soft Summer.
It runs the same way in reverse: 5 of Soft Summer’s colors are fair game for a Soft Autumn, and 11 are not. Neither palette is the better one — they are different answers to different faces.
How do I know if I’m Soft Summer or Soft Autumn?
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
Soft Summer is cool and wears both, leaning silver; Soft Autumn is warm and wears both, leaning gold. Hold both metals to your jaw and look for the one that leaves your skin even rather than grey. Then repeat it with fabric: Soft Summer’s Mushroom (#B5A899) against Soft Autumn’s Oat (#E6D8BF). 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 Soft Summer’s Soft Plum (#8E7290) next to Soft Autumn’s Muted Gold (#C7A855). 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.
Soft Summer — the test colors
Soft Autumn — the test colors
What a Soft Summer and a Soft Autumn 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 | Soft Summermauve, rosewood and muted berry — blotted, lived-in finishes Soft Autumnwarm rosewood, terracotta nude and brick rose — soft-matte |
|---|---|
| Blush | Soft Summerdusty rose, barely-there Soft Autumnmuted apricot |
| Foundation | Soft Summerneutral undertone; satin-matte, never dewy-bright Soft Autumnwarm-neutral; skin-like finish, zero flashback white |
| Hair color | Soft Summerkeep it smoky: ash brown, mushroom blonde, cool bronde — high-shine warmth clashes Soft Autumnsoft golden depth: bronde, caramel balayage, warm light brown — avoid platinum and blue-black |
| Jewelry | Soft SummerBoth, leaning silver Soft AutumnBoth, leaning gold |
| Wardrobe | Soft Summertonal layering of greyed pastels and mid-tones; texture adds the interest color would Soft Autumnearthy tonal outfits; olive and camel are your power neutrals |
Deeper on each: Soft Summer makeup and Soft Summer hair, or Soft Autumn makeup and Soft Autumn hair.
Soft Summer vs Soft Autumn: common questions
What is the difference between Soft Summer and Soft Autumn?
Soft Summer and Soft Autumn are both medium-depth, muted seasons, and the only axis that separates them is undertone — Soft Summer is cool, Soft Autumn is warm. In palette terms that shows up as 11 of Soft Summer's 16 colors and 12 of Soft Autumn's having no near equivalent on the other side — for example Soft Summer's Soft Plum (#8E7290) and Soft Autumn's Muted Gold (#C7A855).
Can a Soft Summer wear Soft Autumn colors?
Some of them, and the count is exact: 4 of the 16 colors in the Soft Autumn palette have a near-identical counterpart in Soft Summer's, so those are safe to borrow. The other 12 are where Soft Autumn pulls away — wearing those is what makes a Soft Summer look slightly off rather than lit. Borrow the overlap, skip the rest.
How do I tell if I'm Soft Summer or Soft Autumn?
Test the axis that separates them, which is undertone. Drape gold beside silver in daylight: Soft Summer is cool, Soft Autumn is warm, and both, leaning silver versus both, leaning gold is the fastest tell. Run it in daylight with no makeup on, and watch your skin rather than the fabric.
Do the Soft Summer and Soft Autumn palettes share any colors?
Yes — measured in CIELAB, 5 of Soft Summer's 16 colors have a near-identical match in Soft Autumn's palette, and 4 of Soft Autumn's have one in Soft Summer's. The closest single pairing is Soft Summer's Misty Teal (#6E9799) against Soft Autumn's Dusty Turquoise (#79A8A4), 6 ΔE apart. Those are the colors you can wear either way while you decide.
Does a Soft Summer or a Soft Autumn wear gold?
Soft Summer: both, leaning silver. Soft Autumn: both, leaning gold. 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 Soft Summer and Soft Autumn?
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 Soft Summer rather than Soft Autumn?
Soft Summer should steer clear of neon coral, sun yellow, jet black; Soft Autumn should steer clear of jet black, icy pink, electric blue. 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.