Deep Winter and Deep Autumn are the two darkest seasons, and from across a room they can look the same: dark hair, dark eyes, strong brows, a face that carries deep color without strain. Depth is the strongest trait in both. What separates them is temperature. Deep Winter leans cool and wants clear, blue-based color; Deep Autumn leans warm and wants golden, earthy color.
You may see them called Dark Winter and Dark Autumn; the names are interchangeable. If you have not placed yourself on the three axes yet, the Color Season Quiz does it in a few minutes. Then use the tests below to check the one question the quiz may leave open.
What the two Deep seasons share
Both palettes are built on value. Dark colors look natural on you, and pale pastels look faded or make your features seem to float. The depth comes from the whole face: hair, brows and eyes count as much as skin, so a Deep season can have fair, medium or very deep skin.
Because the main trait is shared, the two palettes overlap at the dark end. Aubergine, dark teal, wine and deep forest green sit close to the line between them, which is why many people in this pair feel equally at home in both.
The one difference: temperature
Everything else follows from the undertone. Deep Winter is cool, so its colors are jewel tones with blue in them, and its contrast is sharp: black next to white, sapphire next to icy pink. Deep Autumn is warm: its colors are rich and earthy, with brown and gold in them, like chocolate, brick and dark mustard.
Wearing the wrong side shows up quickly. Cool, icy colors make warm skin look gray or sallow. Golden, earthy colors can make cool skin look yellow, or pull up redness around the nose and mouth.
The lipstick test
A lip color is a small, concentrated drape placed in the middle of your face, which makes it the quickest way to read temperature. You need two reds: a blue-red such as cranberry or berry, and a brick red with brown or orange in it.
Apply one on bare lips, in daylight, and step back from the mirror to arm’s length. Then switch. The right red looks like a deeper version of your own lips and leaves the skin around your mouth even. The wrong one arrives before your face does. On warm skin a blue-red tends to look purple and makes the chin look gray; on cool skin a brick red looks brown and muddy, and the face looks slightly yellow.
For a fuller list of shades per season, see lipstick by color season.
Three drapes to confirm it
Lipstick is a strong hint, not a verdict. Confirm it with fabric under your chin: daylight, no makeup, hair covered with a gray towel, and your eyes on your skin rather than the fabric.
| Pair | Deep Winter side | Deep Autumn side | What it tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black | Dark chocolate | The dark neutral you will wear most |
| 2 | Burgundy or cranberry | Brick | The red family |
| 3 | Pure white | Cream | The light end of the palette |
Depth already tells you that you are a Deep season. The drapes only have to answer whether you are cool or warm.
If the lipstick and two of the three drapes agree, you have your answer.
Deep Winter vs Deep Autumn, side by side
- white
- icy pink
- burgundy
- deep plum
- sapphire
- emerald
- charcoal
- black
- cream
- dark mustard
- brick
- aubergine
- forest
- dark olive
- dark teal
- chocolate
| Deep Winter | Deep Autumn | |
|---|---|---|
| Undertone | Cool to neutral-cool | Warm to neutral-warm |
| Dark neutral | Black, charcoal | Chocolate |
| Light neutral | Pure white, icy pink | Cream |
| Reds | Burgundy, blue-red | Brick |
| Greens | Emerald | Forest, dark olive |
| Blues | Sapphire | Dark teal |
| Metal | Silver, platinum | Gold, bronze |
| Avoid | Soft muted shades, orange, camel | Light pastels, cool icy shades |
Still between them?
Look at the temperature marker on your quiz result. If it sits near the middle and the quiz reports a neutral undertone, you are close to this line, which is common: seasons are a styling framework drawn across a continuous range, not measured categories (more on that in is color analysis scientific?). Build around the shared colors while you decide.
To place yourself inside one family, read which Winter am I or which Autumn am I. Sister seasons explains why the neighboring palette half-works for you either way.