True Spring and True Autumn are the two warmest seasons. Golden skin tones, copper or golden-brown hair and warm eyes are common in both, and cool pinks and icy colors suit neither. The difference is clarity. True Spring’s warmth is clear and lively, like coral in sunlight; True Autumn’s is rich and muted, like rust and olive, and usually a little deeper.
If you already know you are warm, the tests below answer the remaining question. If you do not, start with the Color Season Quiz, which uses the same logic: when warmth is your strongest trait, clear answers lead to True Spring and soft ones to True Autumn.
What True Spring and True Autumn share
Temperature is the dominant trait in both seasons. Gold looks better on you than silver, cream looks better than pure white, and blue-based pinks make the skin look sallow or flushed. Both palettes contain cream, and both are built on yellow-based color: golden yellow and mustard, coral and rust, warm turquoise and deep teal.
The difference: clear or rich
True Spring adds clarity. Its colors are saturated without being harsh: poppy, kelly green, clear blue, golden yellow. On Spring coloring they look fresh, and muted earth tones make the face look tired.
True Autumn turns the clarity down and the depth up. Its colors have a little brown or gray mixed in: pumpkin, olive, forest, chocolate. On Autumn coloring they look rich, and clear brights wash the skin out while the color looks loud.
The green ladder
This is the clearest way to see your chroma on its own. Find four greens of similar depth, from muted to clear: olive, moss, grass green and kelly green. Any fabric will do, including towels and T-shirts.
Hold them under your chin in order. Note the step where your face looks best: skin even, eyes clear, nothing standing out. If the peak is at the clear end, you lean Spring. If it is at olive or moss, you lean Autumn. A peak in the middle means medium chroma, which the drapes below can settle.
Three drapes and a gold test
In daylight, with a bare face and your hair covered:
- Kelly green vs olive. The clarity test in its purest form.
- Coral vs rust. The same warm red-orange, clear against earthy.
- Golden yellow vs mustard. Yellow is unforgiving near the face, which makes it a sharp test.
Then compare two pieces of gold: one bright and polished, one brushed or antique. Polished gold usually suits True Spring; the softer finish suits True Autumn.
Both are warm. What you are testing is whether your warmth is sunlit or spiced.
True Spring vs True Autumn side by side
- cream
- golden yellow
- coral
- poppy
- warm turquoise
- kelly green
- clear blue
- golden brown
- cream
- mustard
- pumpkin
- rust
- olive
- forest
- deep teal
- chocolate
| True Spring | True Autumn | |
|---|---|---|
| Clarity | Clear | Muted, rich |
| Depth | Light to medium | Medium to deep |
| Greens | Kelly green | Olive, forest |
| Reds | Coral, poppy | Rust, pumpkin |
| Blue | Warm turquoise, clear blue | Deep teal |
| Dark neutral | Golden brown | Chocolate |
| Metal | Polished yellow gold | Brushed or antique gold, bronze |
| Avoid | Icy pastels, cool grays, black | Cool pinks, icy colors, pure white |
If you are between them
A strong warm reading with the chroma marker near the middle puts you near this border. Cream, camel, warm teal and tomato red work on both sides and make a good base. The border between seasons is a styling convention, so sitting on it says more about the system than about you.
For the neighboring seasons in each family, read which Spring am I and which Autumn am I.