Soft Summer
The Colour Seasons are a starting point when we don't know which colours suit us best. We're all unique. The aim is to experiment and find what we like. If you don't like the palette recommended to you, trust yourself and wear the colours in which you feel most comfortable. These are just suggestions that you should adapt to your own tastes.
If this is a new subject for you, I suggest you refer to the Colour Glossary before starting.
The primary colour aspect of the overall appearance is soft, and the secondary aspect is cool.
Skin
The skin has a neutral or cool undertone. It may have freckles. The skin tones range from fair to matte.
Eyes
The eyes are medium-light and greyish. They have cool undertones. They can be blue, green, hazel or brown.
Hair
The hair has cool tones with ashy highlights. It can be blond, light or medium brown.
Contrast
The contrast between the skin, hair and eyes varies from low to medium. The features contrast slightly or blend together.
Comparison
Soft Summer and Soft Autumn are sometimes difficult to tell apart, as both have muted features and a low to medium contrast. What sets them apart are the cool (greyish) tones of Soft Summer, compared with the warm (golden) tones of Soft Autumn.
Colour Palette
The colours in your palette tend towards the cool end, which means they contain more shades of blue than yellow. Even your yellows have a bluish base.
Most of your colours are in the middle of the scale, neither very light nor very dark.
The colours are soft and muted.
This palette doesn't represent all the colours that would suit you, there are many more. These are the main ones.
Neutrals
The neutrals in your palette are greyish and pinkish. Your light neutrals are greys, purples and taupes. Your dark neutrals are browns, blues and anthracites.
Black and white are not part of your palette, as they are too harsh for your colouring. If you wear them frequently, mix them with the soft, colourful colours in your palette.
Sister Palettes
Soft Summer lies between True Summer and Soft Autumn. Compared with True Summer, the colours are more desaturated, warmer and slightly darker. Compared with Soft Autumn, the colours are cooler and duller, but both are of medium value.
Depending on where you are in the Soft Summer spectrum, you can borrow certain colours from your « sister palettes ». If you're leaning towards True Summer, opt for the palette's more muted colours. If you're leaning towards Soft Summer, choose the palette's coolest colours.
Colour Combinations
You can combine all the colours in your palette with each other, but some combinations work better than others. The best ones are those that have the same level of contrast naturally present in your appearance. Soft Summer has a low to medium contrast, so your colour combinations should be too.
The easiest way to create contrast is to combine a medium colour with a lighter colour. You can also combine neighbouring shades on the colour wheel, such as pink and purple. Another way is to combine a neutral colour with an accent colour of similar value, such as a light beige with a light pink. Because of your muted appearance, outfits that are purely neutral will suit you.
Try to avoid combining high-contrast colours, especially those on opposite sides of the colour wheel, such as yellow and violet, as these will detract from your naturally muted appearance.
Not Ideal Colours
The warm and bright colours are not ideal, since Soft Summer is soft and cool.
Warm colours, such as golden yellows and orangey red, will clash with your cool colouring. Saturated colours, such as bright pinks and electric blues, will be too intense for your muted appearance.
Patterns
Your best patterns are those containing muted and cool colours. Choose ones with low-contrast elements.
Metals
Your best metals are silver and white gold. Gold and rose gold are also suitable, as long as they are light. Prefer matte or slightly antique finishes to luminous ones.
Complexion
The complexion products should have neutral or pink undertones. Prefer matte or satin finishes.
Highlighters tend not to be ideal, as they look less natural on a muted complexion.
Bronzers
Depending on your skin tone, bronzers can enhance your complexion. It should have pink tones. Prefer matte finishes.
Blushs
The best blush colours are pinks, mauves and peaches. The least flattering colours are bright and warm. Prefer satin finishes.
Lipsticks
The best lipstick colours are pinks, peaches, mauves, purples, pinkish reds. The least flattering colours are bright and warm. Prefer satin finishes.
Eyeshadows
Your neutral eyeshadow colours are : creams, mauves, taupes and greys. Your colour accents are : pinks, blues and purples. The least flattering colours are bright and warm. Prefer satin finishes.
Mascaras & Eyeliners
The best mascara colours are cool browns and greys. Your neutral eyeliner colours are greys and taupes. Your colour accents are blues, purples and greens.
Light Makeup
A light makeup should reproduce the natural characteristics of your appearance. The complexion should be soft and fresh, with a little blush. Prefer light eye makeup and rosy lips.
Defined Makeup
A defined makeup should enhance the natural features of your appearance. You can simply intensify your lips and/or eyes. The complexion should remain soft and fresh.
For more inspiration, follow Satine Vespère on Pinterest.
Sources
Painting : Wang Neng Jun / 1. Bianca Balti - FilmMagic / 2. Carmen Chaplin - Contour RA / 3. Rami Malek - Getty Images North America / 4. Alain Delon - Moviepix / 5. Christy Turlington - Archive Photos / 6. Jessica Brown Findlay - Contour RA / 7. Zoe Saldana - Allure / 8. Michael Ealy - Getty Images North America / 9. Kim Tae-ri - Numéro Magazine / 10. Christy Turlington - Archive Photos / 11. Andreea Diaconu - Bobbi Brown / 12. Isabel Lucas - Spell Seashell Campaign / 13. Kim Tae-ri - Elle Korea / 14. Zoe Saldana - Marie Claire / 15. Ralph Fiennes - Contour RA / 16. Christy Turlington - Archive Photos / 17. Jessica Strother - WireImage / 18. Christy Turlington - Vanity Fair / 19. Rosario Dawson - Contour RA / 20. Jessica Brown Findlay - Contour RA / 21. Bianca Balti - FilmMagic / 22. Taylor Hill - Contour RA / 23. Dakota Johnson - FilmMagic / 24. Kim Tae-ri - Vogue Hong Kong / 25. Isabel Lucas - Contour RA / 26. Zoe Saldana - Marie Claire
The website Satine Vespère does not own the rights to any of these images.