Cool Winter celebrities

What these true winter names have in common

Everyone in this group has a cool undertone. Your undertone is the color underneath the surface of the skin, and for these people it runs pink, rosy or cool instead of golden. Liv Tyler and Brooke Shields are good examples, both with fair skin that leans rosy.

High contrast is another shared trait. Contrast is how strong the difference is between skin, hair and eyes. With Courteney Cox, dark ash brown hair and vivid blue eyes sit next to fair cool skin, so the difference jumps out even from far away.

Pale skin is not a requirement. Simone Ashley's deep cool skin, dark brown eyes and jet black hair create a contrast that still reads crisp and cool.

The eyes usually read as clear rather than soft. Lauren Graham and Katy Perry both have bright blue eyes, Jennifer Connelly has icy green ones, and Jisoo has clear dark brown eyes.

Their hair tends to be dark and cool, anywhere between cool medium brown, espresso and jet black, and warm red or gold tones rarely show up in it.

Celebrity typing is a rough guide

These typings come from reading photos, not from meeting anyone in person. Photos can fool you in a few ways:

• Hair dye changes one of the biggest factors in picking a season.
• Makeup can push the skin warmer or cooler.
• Studio lighting moves skin color around on camera.
• Filters alter the colors before the picture gets to you.

That's why analysts often land on different seasons for the same person. So treat a celebrity typing as a clue to the season's overall look, not as hard proof of anyone's place in it.

Checking yourself against their photos

The best use for celebrity photos is training your own eye. Choose someone whose coloring seems close to yours, then look at pictures of them in two different kinds of colors.

1. Look for a picture of them in one of the signature shades, like Emerald, True Red, Bright Cobalt, Icy Lilac or Fuchsia. On a Cool Winter face, cobalt and fuchsia usually bring out the eyes and make them look clearer.
2. Look for a picture of them in one of the colors to avoid, like Bright Copper, Moss or Bright Peach. Warm peach and orange can leave cool skin looking sallow and worn out.
3. Put the two photos side by side and see which one makes the face glow and the eyes pop.
4. Look at any jewelry in close-ups. Bright silver tends to look crisp on this skin, while gold often clashes.
5. Do the same thing yourself in a mirror near a window. Daylight shows your skin more honestly than your phone's camera or a lamp indoors.

Every season palette on the site lists 60 named colors split into three sets: neutrals, main colors and accents, along with the colors to avoid. So there are plenty of shades to hunt for in photos.

Seasons that get confused with this one

Cool Winter belongs to the winter family along with two other winters, Deep Winter and Bright Winter. All 12 seasons take their name from their strongest trait. For Cool Winter that trait is coolness, with brightness coming second. A person whose coloring is very dark might be placed in Deep Winter instead, and someone whose shades seem extra vivid might be placed in Bright Winter.

The other common mix-up is Cool Summer, since it is also cool. Clarity is what separates them. Clarity tells you if your best colors are crisp and vivid or gentle and muted. Cool Winter sits on the bright side, so a person with softer, gentler coloring may land in Cool Summer instead. A person with cool medium brown hair, such as Alexis Bledel, may seem softer than someone with jet black hair. That kind of difference is exactly what leads analysts to different calls.