Light summer color palette

The palette

Soft white, light grey and rose beige are the everyday neutrals, with soft navy for anything that needs to be dark. Powder pink, rose pink and soft watermelon work closest to the face; powder blue, sky blue and periwinkle are easy everyday colors, and cool mint and light teal add a green note. Light colors paired with each other keep the look airy; one dark, heavy piece next to the face can read as a shadow.

What makes it light summer

Undertone

Cool, leaning neutral. Light summer borders light spring, so its coolness is gentle: pink or neutral beige skin rather than an icy look.

Depth

Light, and this is the defining trait. The palette lives at the light end of the value scale; soft navy and light teal are its deepest colors.

Clarity

Soft. The colors are delicate and a little powdery. Strong, saturated colors tend to overpower a light summer face.

Light summers often have light ash blonde or light ash brown hair, light blue, grey or green eyes, and fair to light skin with a pink or neutral cast, with low to medium contrast. These are tendencies, not rules; what matters is how the colors look next to your face.

Hair colors for light summer

These hair colors usually sit well with light summer: they stay light and lean cool or beige rather than golden. Ice beige, champagne and ash blonde are the closest match, and a shadow root softens the line as hair grows. Platinum is the bold end and mushroom brown the deeper one. Each one opens the shade, so you can try it on your own photo.

For women

• Ice beige blonde
• Champagne blonde
• Ash blonde
• Shadow root
• Platinum blonde
• Mushroom brown

For men

• Ice beige blonde
• Champagne blonde
• Ash blonde
• Platinum blonde
• Mushroom brown
• Mocha brown

Colors to go easy on

Dark, warm and saturated colors are the usual mismatch: black, dark chocolate, bright orange, mustard and rust. Next to light, cool coloring they can look heavy or make skin look sallow. Near the face, soft navy can replace black, and light grey or rose beige can replace brown; away from the face the rules relax.

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