Deep Winter and Deep Autumn are the most commonly confused season pair. Both have dark, rich colouring — typically deep brown or black hair, dark eyes, strong contrast between features. The difference is invisible to most people until they hold both palettes up to the same face.
The distinction is entirely about undertone. Deep Winter runs cool; Deep Autumn runs warm. That single measurement changes every colour that flatters you.
The three identifying questions
1. What does your skin do in the sun?
Deep Winter skin tends to have a pink or blue-pink undertone that resists tanning easily — it may go slightly golden but retains a cool quality. Deep Autumn skin tans quickly and deeply, going a warm golden brown. If you have very deep skin, look for warmth or coolness in the undertone rather than tanning behaviour.
2. What do your veins look like?
In natural daylight on the inside of your wrist: blue or purple veins point toward Deep Winter; greenish or olive veins point toward Deep Autumn. For very deep skin, this test can be harder to read — try the jewellery test instead.
3. What happens with gold vs silver jewellery?
This is often the clearest test for Deep types. Hold yellow gold near your bare face, then silver.
- If gold makes your skin glow and silver looks harsh → Deep Autumn
- If silver looks clean and elegant and gold looks orange or muddy → Deep Winter
The palette difference
Deep Winter colours are cool, vivid, and high-contrast: true black, pure white, icy pastels, jewel tones (true blue, emerald, magenta, true red). The palette has clarity and saturation.
Deep Autumn colours are warm and rich: chocolate brown, deep olive, burnt orange, rust, forest green, deep gold. The palette is earthy and complex — no pure primary colours, no icy lights.
The colours that reveal the answer
The easiest way to find your season is to test two specific colours:
- Tomato red vs burgundy wine red. Tomato red is warm. Burgundy has a cool-blue cast. If tomato red makes you glow and burgundy looks slightly off, you're Deep Autumn. If burgundy is flattering and tomato orange-toned red clashes, you're Deep Winter.
- Camel vs charcoal grey. Camel is a warm neutral; charcoal is cool. Deep Autumns can wear camel near the face without going sallow. Deep Winters cannot — it yellows them immediately.
Common confusions
"I have dark hair and dark eyes — I must be a Deep Winter." Not necessarily. Deep colouring is the defining feature of both seasons. Plenty of Deep Autumns have black hair. The difference is in skin undertone, not depth.
"I look good in black — so I'm Winter." Deep Autumn can also wear black if it's dark enough. It's not as natural as for Deep Winter, but it works. The better test is whether true black or very dark brown looks more like you.
"My colouring is mixed." Some people genuinely sit at the borderline — warm olive skin with cool-reading eyes, for example. This is where the app's analysis earns its value over a self-administered quiz: it reads the actual pixel values of your face against a calibrated reference rather than asking you to describe what you see.