Soft Summer:
The Complete Guide
The Soft Summer color palette is characterized by its soft, powdery, and dusty tones. The defining feature of the Soft Summer palette is its softness, which perfectly complements those with blended, low-contrast personal coloring. Enjoy this comprehensive guide filled with examples of Soft Summers, outfit ideas, makeup tips, hair inspiration, denim choices, jewelry suggestions, and more!
Are you a Soft Summer?
When you look in the mirror, you’ll see that your hair, skin, and eyes blend together softly, without sharp contrasts. Your natural colors are softly blended rather than bright. Cool colors, like gray and soft white, will suit you better than warm tones such as beige or brown. You might be a soft summer if you have these features:
Hair: medium or mousy brown, ash brown, ash blonde
Skin: You have cool/neutral undertones.
Eyes: hazel, pale blue, gray, pale green, gray green or gray blue
Soft Summer Examples
Here’s a selection of Soft Summer examples with their natural hair color from my in-person color analysis consultations.
Were you analyzed correctly?
To ensure you were correctly identified as a Soft Summer, here are some helpful tips to verify your results.
Photo Comparison: Do you resemble the Soft Summer clients in the photos above or match the description of Soft Summer’s soft, blended coloring?
Gold & Silver: Soft Summer works beautifully with mixed metals—both silver and light gold tend to complement your skin tone.
Compliments: Do you often receive compliments when wearing Soft Summer colors?
Brighter Colors: Do you notice that bright, bold colors tend to overpower your features, making the color stand out more than you do?
Soft Summer colors are like the serene, hazy hues of a quiet summer evening—think dusty rose, muted lavender, and soft blue-gray. These shades are cool, soft, and delicately blended, perfectly complementing the gentle, harmonious features of a Soft Summer complexion. Unlike the brighter tones of Light Summer or the warmer hues of Soft Autumn, Soft Summer’s palette is tranquil and understated, offering an effortlessly elegant look.
Soft Summer colors have these characteristics:
Hue: Soft Summer colors lean cool, but not overly so. This means they have more cool than warm undertones, creating a harmonious and balanced feel.
Value: Most colors in the Soft Summer palette are medium to light in value, reflecting the season's soft, blended quality. While predominantly gentle, there are deeper tones like smoky teal and pewter to add depth and variety.
Chroma: The colors are soft and understated, never too bright or overpowering. Their softness creates a calm, elegant appearance that complements the subtle features of a Soft Summer complexion.
Soft Summer and Soft Autumn share a gentle, muted quality, but they have distinct differences in tone and temperature.
Soft Summer: Features cool, blended hues like dusty rose, soft lavender, and smoky teal. This palette leans cooler, creating a tranquil and harmonious look with subtle elegance.
Soft Autumn: Highlights warm, earthy hues like muted olive, soft peach, and gentle taupe. This palette leans warmer, exuding a cozy and natural feel.
To determine if you’re a Soft Summer Vs. Soft Autumn, consider the following:
Soft Summer: If your natural coloring leans cooler with low to medium contrast, and you look best in gentle, dusty tones like smoky blue or muted lavender, you’re likely a Soft Summer.
Soft Autumn: If your coloring leans warmer with low to medium contrast, and earthy, soft hues like muted olive or warm peach enhance your features, you may be a Soft Autumn.
Soft Summer and Cool Summer share cool undertones, but each has its own distinct qualities:
Soft Summer: leans toward muted, gentle tones, while Cool Summer embraces cooler, lighter hues. Soft Summer offers a soft, serene appearance, while Cool Summer creates a fresh, airy look with more contrast.
Cool Summer: Showcases crisp, clear cool tones like cool pinks, serene greens, and soft grays. This palette is purely cool with no warmth, offering a fresher feeling.
To determine whether you’re a Soft Summer or Cool Summer, consider these key differences:
Soft Summer: If your natural coloring is muted, blended, and leans slightly neutral with soft, cool tones, you’re likely a Soft Summer. You’ll feel most at home in gentle shades like dusty rose, smoky teal, and muted lavender that harmonize with your understated features.
Cool Summer: If muted shades seem to dull your complexion, you’re likely a Cool Summer. Cool Summer clients shine in cooler, lighter tones that bring out their natural coloring.
Discovered you’re a Soft Summer and ready to shop?
ColorBook offers a unique real-time shopping experience tailored to your color season and style. Enjoy a fun and easy way to create your perfect Soft Summer wardrobe!
Beautiful neutrals
Building a wardrobe around soft summer neutrals—think soft white, light grey, pewter, cocoa, taupe, teal, and soft navy. Start with everyday essentials in these colors for a timeless look. These soft, cool tones offer tranquility and sophistication, making it easy to mix and match for a stylish, soft summer vibe.
Neutrals to avoid
Soft Summers should avoid stark neutrals like pure black, as they can overpower your gentle, blended features. Similarly, overly warm neutrals like golden beige or orangey browns may clash with your cool undertones.
Choose medium, faded denim
For soft summers, I recommend opting for soft, faded denim in medium shades. These tones complement the soft summer color palette.
How to Wear Your Soft Summer Colors
Here are some tips to style your Soft Summer palette in a way that highlights its soft, blended beauty:
Monochromatic Combinations
Pair different shades of the same color for a cohesive, tonal look. For example, combine a light dusty blue with a deeper smoky blue for subtle harmony.
Low Contrast Pairings
Choose colors close to each other on the color wheel with similar softness, like a muted lavender paired with a cool gray-green.
Neutral + Accent
Balance a neutral shade with an accent color of similar value. For instance, pair a soft gray with a muted rose for a gentle yet elegant look.
Soft Summer makeup is all about soft and cool hues that enhance your natural beauty. Look for colors like dusty pink, soft rose, and mauve. Click here for a full list of Soft Summer makeup recommendations, including blush, lipstick, eyeshadows, and mascara suggestions to complement your coloring.
Here’s a guide to help you choose the best metals, stones, and other accessories to complement your Soft Summer palette.
Metals & Jewelry
Embracing the Soft Summer palette extends to the choice of metals, where white gold, pewter, soft silver reign supreme. These metals harmonize seamlessly with the season's soft and gentle vibe.
Stones
For Soft Summers, gemstones with soft, cool tones work beautifully. Look for amethyst, moonstone, opal, lapis lazuli, and pearls to complement your gentle palette. Muted variations of turquoise and jasper can also harmonize well, while diamonds in understated settings add a touch of classic elegance.
For Soft Summer, the primary color aspects are soft and cool, so bright, dark, and warm colors are less flattering.
What Colors to Avoid:
Soft Summers should avoid bright, bold colors like neon pink, electric blue, or bright orange, as these can overpower their gentle, muted coloring. Harsh neutrals like pure black and stark white are also best avoided, as they create too much contrast. Additionally, overly warm tones, such as golden yellows or bright, orangey reds, can clash with their cool undertones.
Here’s the hair advice I share with my Soft Summer clients, along with examples of their natural hair below.
Embrace Your Natural Color
Your natural hair color is perfectly suited to your Soft Summer palette! Embrace its natural beauty as it will harmonize beautifully with your colors.
Opt for Cool, Ashy Hues
If you choose to color your hair, aim to match your natural shade with cool, ashy tones that complement your palette. Medium ashy browns or soft ash blondes work beautifully to enhance your natural coloring. Avoid overly warm tones or bright highlights, as they can clash with your cool undertones and may wash you out.
When adding patterns and prints to your Soft Summer wardrobe, consider these tips to ensure they complement your natural coloring:
Suggested Patterns
Opt for patterns that feature over 75% of Soft Summer colors. Look for natural and soft patterns that are serene, powdery, and subtle. Small floral prints are also a great choice, especially if they feature delicate flowers.
Patterns to Avoid
Avoid geometric patterns, large motifs, and ordered arrangements, as they may clash with your soft, gentle appearance.
