Cool Winter color palette

What the cool winter palette means, simply put

Every shade in this palette has 3 things in common. It's cool, meaning it leans blue rather than yellow. Its depth lands in the medium range. And it's bright, by which we mean clear and pure instead of dusty or muted.

Cool Winter belongs to the winter family. Inside that family, the season takes its name from its dominant trait, and that trait is coolness. Brightness is the second most important quality.

These colors were picked for high contrast coloring. In other words, your complexion stands apart from your hair and eyes. Clear, strong shades keep up with that gap instead of fighting it.

How to tell this season is yours

Your skin shows a clear blue or pink undertone and zero warmth. An undertone is the color beneath the surface of your skin, the hint of pink, blue or warmth that shows through.

Skin tones that often match this season:

• fair porcelain skin with a cool pink undertone
• light beige skin that flushes rosy
• medium olive skin that reads cool beside silver
• deep ebony or espresso skin with blue undertones

Hair is often blue black or jet black, deep ash brown with no red in it, medium cool brown, or bright silver or salt and pepper. The eyes tend to be clear and glassy, with vivid whites and a crisp ring around the iris. You might see pale icy blue, vivid violet blue, a clear grey eye, a grey-green eye rimmed in grey, or a deep cool brown.

You can test things in the mirror too:

• Fabrics in orange or warm peach drain the color from your skin and leave it looking tired.
• Pure white flatters your face, while cream turns dull on you.
• Crisp silver jewelry sits well against your skin, while gold fights it.
• Fuchsia and cobalt blue sharpen your eyes almost instantly.
• Black worn near your face feels natural, even without much makeup.

Is True Winter a separate season?

No, True Winter is just Cool Winter under another name, and both refer to the same 60 shades. Guides vary on which term they use, so if you got a True Winter result somewhere else, it lines up with these shades.

How to wear the cool winter neutrals

Neutrals are the quiet colors that form the base of your outfits, such as pants, jackets and everyday tops. Black leads the group, and Pure White delivers the sharp contrast this season is famous for. Wear the 2 side by side and you mirror the natural contrast in your face.

Brown trips up a lot of people. Warm brown has no place in this palette, so when you want a dark brown, go with Soft Espresso. For a grey you can wear daily, reach first for Pewter and Charcoal.

Here's the full set of 12, running from the palest to the deepest:

Choosing your main colors

This group of 36 covers every red, pink, blue, green and purple you might wear as a top, dress or scarf. Each one is strong, clear and cool.

If you'd rather begin with just a few, the 5 signature colors (True Red, Emerald, Fuchsia, Icy Lilac and Bright Cobalt) are a smart first buy, since they capture this season at its most vivid.

All these shades sort into a handful of groups:

• The reds and pinks include Rose, Deep Rose, Crimson, True Red and Burgundy, plus the Watermelon, Raspberry and Fuchsia shade ranges, and Berry
• Jade and Emerald are your greens
• For blues, choose from Bright Cobalt, Royal Blue, Sapphire, the Cornflower shades, Bright Sapphire and Deep Royal Blue
• For purples, try Bright Plum, Orchid, the Magenta shades, or the Violet and Amethyst shades

Cobalt blue and fuchsia both work beautifully near your face, since they sharpen your eyes almost at once.

How to use the icy accents

Each of the 12 accents is a very pale shade with a distinct cool tint: think Icy Lilac, Icy Mint, Icy Aqua, plus Pale Rose Pink and Light Lavender. Use them when you want a lighter shirt or knit, or a small bright note next to the deeper neutral shades.

Since Icy Lilac sits among the 5 signature colors, it's an easy one to reach for first.

Shades to skip

Here are the 5 shades to pass over:

• Bright Peach
• Moss
• Aqua
• Pale Coral
• Bright Copper

Warmth is the issue. Your coloring contains no warmth, so orange and warm peach shades leave your skin looking worn out and dull. Jewelry follows the same rule: reach for bright silver or platinum, and pass on gold.

Taking the palette shopping on your phone

Cameras and indoor lighting both shift how colors appear, so daylight gives you the truest check. Before you head out, save the palette card to your phone. When you're shopping, hold the garment against the matching swatch by a window or outdoors and see if the two read as the same family.

Each swatch carries a HEX code: a short mix of letters and numbers that pinpoints one exact color on a screen. Copy it when you shop online or build something digital.

To make a final call, stand in daylight with the color held under your chin and look in a mirror. When your face looks fresher and your eyes sparkle more, the shade belongs with you. When your skin seems drained or dull, set it back on the rack.