Soft Autumn Color Palette

Soft Autumn is one of the three Autumn types in 12-season color analysis. Its leading trait is softness: colors with a little grey in them, never neon and never pure. Its second trait is warmth, which is why it borrows the earthy, golden side of Autumn while staying lighter and gentler than True Autumn or Deep Autumn. Think of a field of dry grass at the end of the day rather than a pumpkin patch at noon.

Soft Autumns usually have medium-light to medium coloring with low contrast. Typical signs:

• hair in golden or beige blonde, light ash-brown with warm lights, or soft brown;
• eyes in hazel, soft green, grey-green or warm light brown, often with several colors blended together;
• skin with a neutral-warm or slightly golden base that looks sallow in bright cool colors;
• black and pure white near the face look harsh and make shadows look darker.

A quick test: hold a camel sweater and a bright royal blue one under your chin in daylight. If camel makes your skin look smoother and the blue makes it look grey, you are on the Soft Autumn side.

Build your wardrobe on the neutrals in the first row: oyster, warm beige, camel, khaki and coffee do the job that black, grey and navy do for other people. Add the muted greens and teals for everyday color, and keep the dusty corals, warm roses and soft rusts for the pieces you want people to notice. Tonal outfits look especially polished on you: camel with sage, oyster with soft teal, coffee with dusty coral. Matte and textured fabrics such as suede, linen, brushed cotton and cashmere echo your coloring better than shiny satin.

The colors to avoid are the ones that are too clear, too cold or too dark for your soft, warm coloring: black, pure white, icy blue, hot pink, royal blue, fuchsia, bright lemon and cool silver-grey. You do not need to throw them out. Wear them away from your face, in trousers, skirts, shoes or bags, and keep one of your own colors at the neckline.

For makeup, stay in peach, warm rose and soft terracotta for lips and cheeks, and swap black liner and mascara for brown, olive or bronze. Hair looks best in golden or beige blonde, soft light-to-medium brown with warm lights, or strawberry blonde; ash tones and jet black flatten you. Brushed gold, rose gold and bronze suit you more than bright silver, and matte or antique finishes beat high polish.

Soft Autumn is most often confused with Soft Summer, its cool neighbor. Both look best in muted colors, so the question is temperature: if you look better in camel, olive and warm coral than in grey-blue, mauve and rose, you are Soft Autumn. The other neighbor is True Autumn, which is richer and more saturated: if spicy rust, mustard and deep teal overwhelm you while sage and dusty coral look natural, you are the softer type.

See the palettes side by side: Soft Summer and True Autumn.

If you are torn between Soft Autumn and Soft Summer or True Autumn, compare two colors from each palette under your chin in daylight; the one that makes your skin look smoother and your eyes clearer wins. A photo is a second opinion: the free selfie analysis reads your skin, hair and eye colors, and the color analysis quiz works without a photo. If it says Autumn, the paid report tells you whether you are this type or a neighbor, with a printable Soft Autumn color card. See pricing.

Black is usually too harsh next to a Soft Autumn face. Coffee, warm charcoal or olive grey give the same depth without the shadows. If you love black, wear it below the waist or with a scarf in one of your colors near the face.

Neutral-warm. Softness is the main trait and warmth comes second, so the palette is warm but never fiery, and some near-neutral colors such as mushroom and warm grey work well.

Oyster or cream rather than optical white. A slightly warm, slightly muted white blends with your skin instead of reflecting harsh light onto it.