Deep autumn color palette

The palette

Chocolate, dark chocolate and dark camel are the everyday neutrals, used where other seasons use black and grey. Tomato red, brick red and rust are strong near the face; forest green, deep olive and dark teal are the deep accents. Dark colors layered together, with one warmer, brighter note such as tomato red or ochre, suit this palette.

What makes it deep autumn

Undertone

Warm, leaning neutral. Deep autumn sits next to deep winter, so its warmth is less golden than true autumn's, but the palette stays warm.

Depth

Deep, and this is the defining trait. The palette is built on dark values; warm cream is the only light color and works as an accent.

Clarity

Medium to rich. Colors are saturated and earthy. Pale pastels and icy colors tend to look washed out on a deep autumn.

Deep autumns often have dark brown to near-black hair, sometimes with a red or warm cast, dark brown or deep hazel eyes, and noticeable depth in their overall coloring, across a wide range of skin tones. These are tendencies, not rules.

Hair colors for deep autumn

These hair colors come from the autumn family, ordered for deep autumn so the darker shades come first: burnt sienna copper, auburn, chestnut brown and chocolate brown. Cinnamon gloss and whiskey copper are lighter options if you want more warmth around the face. Each one opens the shade, so you can try it on your own photo.

For women

• Burnt sienna copper
• Auburn hair
• Chestnut brown
• Chocolate brown
• Cinnamon gloss
• Whiskey copper

For men

• Burnt sienna copper
• Auburn hair
• Chestnut brown
• Chocolate brown
• Cinnamon gloss
• Whiskey copper

Colors to go easy on

Pale, cool and icy colors are the usual mismatch: optic white, powder pink, icy blue, lavender and fuchsia. Next to deep, warm coloring they can look faded or harsh. Near the face, swap optic white for warm cream and pastel pinks for tomato red or rust; further from the face, they matter less.

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