Season comparison
True Autumn vs Deep Autumn: how to tell the difference
Both palettes side by side, the colors they genuinely share, and the one thing that actually decides it — depth.
True Autumn and Deep Autumn are both warm, medium-clarity seasons; the only axis that separates them is depth — True Autumn is medium in depth, Deep Autumn is deep. Their palettes overlap on 7 of True Autumn’s 16 colors and 5 of Deep Autumn’s; the widest gaps are True Autumn’s Fern and Deep Autumn’s Aubergine Brown.
What’s the difference between True Autumn and Deep Autumn?
The 12-season system runs on three axes — undertone, depth and clarity. True Autumn and Deep Autumn are both warm, medium-clarity seasons, so everything below the one row marked as the split is common ground.
| Undertone | True Autumnwarm (golden/yellow-based) Deep Autumnwarm (golden/yellow-based) Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
|---|---|
| Depth — the split | True Autumnmedium Deep Autumndeep This is where the two seasons part company. |
| Clarity | True Autumnmoderately clear Deep Autumnmoderately clear Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
| Best metals | True AutumnGold Deep AutumnGold Same verdict — jewelry cannot settle this pair. Judge on depth instead. |
| Signature neutral | True AutumnCream Caramel #EFDDBC Deep AutumnDark Chocolate #3E2A1A The color each season reaches for instead of black. |
| Palette lightness (mean L*) | True Autumn52 Deep Autumn34 Mean L* of each 16-color palette. True Autumn runs 18 points lighter. |
| Palette saturation (mean C*) | True Autumn50 Deep Autumn34 True Autumn runs 16 points more saturated. |
| Palette warmth (mean b*) | True Autumn+39 Deep Autumn+22 Positive is yellow, negative is blue — the numeric version of warm versus cool. |
True Autumn vs Deep 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 True Autumn palette
True Autumn coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), medium in depth, and moderately clear.
Rust#B4531F Mustard Gold#D19A2A Forest Olive#5F6E33 Pumpkin Spice#C46A1B Tomato Bisque#BF3E1D Moss#7A7B33 Teal Pine#22646B Burnt Sienna#A24E30 Golden Olive#98862F Paprika#AD3B21 Amber Honey#D89A3D Deep Salmon#C96F4A Turmeric#C98A16 Fern#5E7A3A Warm Turquoise#2E8578 Marmalade#D97836
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
Where the True Autumn and Deep Autumn palettes agree
Every color in one palette was measured against every color in the other in CIELAB. 9 pairings came back close enough to call the same color: 7 of True Autumn’s 16 have a near-identical counterpart in Deep Autumn’s palette, and 5 of Deep 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: True AutumnRight: Deep Autumn
Teal Pine#22646B Deep Teal#16535C 4.8 ΔE apart
Burnt Sienna#A24E30 Brick#8E3B22 4.9 ΔE apart
Burnt Sienna#A24E30 Rust Deep#9B441D 9.5 ΔE apart
Amber Honey#D89A3D Dark Mustard#A8791C 10.0 ΔE apart
Burnt Sienna#A24E30 Burnt Copper#9C4A1E 10.7 ΔE apart
Rust#B4531F Burnt Copper#9C4A1E 11.1 ΔE apart
Paprika#AD3B21 Rust Deep#9B441D 11.3 ΔE apart
Deep Salmon#C96F4A Burnt Copper#9C4A1E 11.4 ΔE apart
Mustard Gold#D19A2A Dark Mustard#A8791C 15.0 ΔE apart
Where True Autumn and Deep Autumn split
This is the section that decides it. 9 of True Autumn’s colors and 11 of Deep Autumn’s have no near equivalent in the other palette — and because the gap runs along depth, 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.
True Autumn only — 9 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Deep Autumn palette:
- Fern#5E7A3ANearest Deep Autumn color: Olive Night — 22 ΔE away
- Pumpkin Spice#C46A1BNearest Deep Autumn color: Dark Mustard — 21 ΔE away
- Warm Turquoise#2E8578Nearest Deep Autumn color: Pine — 20 ΔE away
- Marmalade#D97836Nearest Deep Autumn color: Burnt Copper — 20 ΔE away
- Tomato Bisque#BF3E1DNearest Deep Autumn color: Rust Deep — 20 ΔE away
Deep Autumn only — 11 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the True Autumn palette:
- Aubergine Brown#4E2A33Nearest True Autumn color: Teal Pine — 41 ΔE away
- Warm Charcoal#443B33Nearest True Autumn color: Teal Pine — 33 ΔE away
- Garnet#7C2432Nearest True Autumn color: Burnt Sienna — 33 ΔE away
- Spiced Wine#813038Nearest True Autumn color: Burnt Sienna — 31 ΔE away
- Molasses#59331DNearest True Autumn color: Burnt Sienna — 28 ΔE away
Can a True Autumn wear Deep Autumn colors?
Partly, and the split is measurable rather than a matter of taste. 5 of the 16 Deep Autumn colors sit close enough to something in the True Autumn palette to borrow freely — starting with Deep Autumn’s Deep Teal (#16535C), which measures 4.8 ΔE from True Autumn’s Teal Pine (#22646B). The remaining 11 are where Deep Autumn pulls away along depth, and those are the ones that read as almost-right on a True Autumn.
It runs the same way in reverse: 7 of True Autumn’s colors are fair game for a Deep Autumn, and 9 are not. Neither palette is the better one — they are different answers to different faces.
How do I know if I’m True Autumn or Deep 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. Do deep colors ground you or swallow you?
Hold True Autumn’s deepest color, Teal Pine (#22646B), against Deep Autumn’s, Aubergine Brown (#4E2A33). If the deeper of the two anchors your face and sharpens your features, you belong to the deeper season. If it takes over — your eyes and mouth recede and the garment arrives before you do — you belong to the lighter one.
2. The head-to-head
The cleanest single test on this page: put True Autumn’s Fern (#5E7A3A) next to Deep Autumn’s Aubergine Brown (#4E2A33). 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.
Undertone will not separate these two — True Autumn and Deep Autumn share it. If you are not yet certain you are in the right half of the system at all, settle that first with the undertone guide or the free undertone quiz, and come back to depth once it is answered.
True Autumn — the test colors
Deep Autumn — the test colors
What a True Autumn and a Deep 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 | True Autumnbrick red, warm terracotta and spiced brown-rose Deep Autumnoxblood, brown-berry and spiced brick — depth is your signature |
|---|---|
| Blush | True Autumnterracotta or warm apricot bronze Deep Autumndeep terracotta, used as sculpt as much as color |
| Foundation | True Autumngolden undertone; bronzy warmth reads as health on you Deep Autumnwarm undertone with depth honored — never lightened out |
| Hair color | True Autumnauburn, copper, golden chestnut — the richer and warmer, the better Deep Autumnespresso, black-brown with warmth, deep auburn — richness over lightness |
| Jewelry | True AutumnGold Deep AutumnGold |
| Wardrobe | True Autumnhead-to-toe earth tones; chocolate replaces black, cream replaces white Deep Autumndeep earth column dressing; one ember accent (garnet, rust) near the face |
Deeper on each: True Autumn makeup and True Autumn hair, or Deep Autumn makeup and Deep Autumn hair.
True Autumn vs Deep Autumn: common questions
What is the difference between True Autumn and Deep Autumn?
True Autumn and Deep Autumn are both warm, medium-clarity seasons, and the only axis that separates them is depth — True Autumn is medium in depth, Deep Autumn is deep. In palette terms that shows up as 9 of True Autumn's 16 colors and 11 of Deep Autumn's having no near equivalent on the other side — for example True Autumn's Fern (#5E7A3A) and Deep Autumn's Aubergine Brown (#4E2A33).
Can a True Autumn wear Deep Autumn colors?
Some of them, and the count is exact: 5 of the 16 colors in the Deep Autumn palette have a near-identical counterpart in True Autumn's, so those are safe to borrow. The other 11 are where Deep Autumn pulls away — wearing those is what makes a True Autumn look slightly off rather than lit. Borrow the overlap, skip the rest.
How do I tell if I'm True Autumn or Deep Autumn?
Test the axis that separates them, which is depth. Hold True Autumn's Teal Pine against Deep Autumn's Aubergine Brown and watch whether the deeper one grounds your face or swallows it. Run it in daylight with no makeup on, and watch your skin rather than the fabric.
Do the True Autumn and Deep Autumn palettes share any colors?
Yes — measured in CIELAB, 7 of True Autumn's 16 colors have a near-identical match in Deep Autumn's palette, and 5 of Deep Autumn's have one in True Autumn's. The closest single pairing is True Autumn's Teal Pine (#22646B) against Deep Autumn's Deep Teal (#16535C), 5 ΔE apart. Those are the colors you can wear either way while you decide.
Does a True Autumn or a Deep Autumn wear gold?
True Autumn: gold. Deep Autumn: gold. Same verdict — jewelry cannot settle this pair. Judge on depth instead.
What if I'm somewhere between True Autumn and Deep 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 9 near-identical pairings between the two palettes work either way. Then judge yourself on depth 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 True Autumn rather than Deep Autumn?
True Autumn should steer clear of icy pink, jet black, cool fuchsia; Deep Autumn should steer clear of icy pastel blue, baby pink, cool lilac. 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.