Dressing for the soft summer color season is about to get a whole lot easier for you.
In this super simple guide, we jump straight to the point. We break down everything you need to know about the soft summer color season in a quick and easy way.
This way you can stop researching and start making those little changes that will ultimately add up to a dramatically better wardrobe for you.
How to Spot the Soft Summer Color Season
First, let’s break down the characteristics of a soft summer.
You’ll quickly notice a pattern here. “Soft” is the dominating factor for soft summers. Soft can also be interchanged with “muted” or “grayed.” Soft summers have muted grayish eyes, lighter, neutral skin, and ashy hair tones.
It’s the most neutral and blended of the summer color seasons.
Skin Tone
The skin tones for a soft summer range from fair to tan.
They have neutral and neutral cool undertones or NC + N. (A good way to find this out, if you don’t already know it, is to go to a cosmetic counter or store and have a professional color match you for foundation. The letters signifying the undertones are almost always marked on the bottle.)
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Soft summers have an overall tend to have an overall soft and creamy appearance. Some notice slight gray or olive undertones.
Eyes
Soft summers have gray mixed in with their eye color. Or, they could have stunning, pure gray eyes.
However, instead of light and bright, soft summer eye colors are light, soft, and blend well with the overall appearance.
Because of the the soft summer neutral tones, you’ll often see cool mixed in with cooler tones of warmer colors. (Example: greens and yellows.)
Hair
To carry on with the gray, muted theme, soft summers have ash tones in their hair that vary from medium ash blonde to medium ash brown.
These hair colors include: medium ash blonde, dark ash blonde, light ash brown, and medium ash brown.
Hair can be an easy giveaway for summers. If you describe it as dirty, dusty, dishwater, or ash blonde – that’s a key indicator that your hair is cool toned,
Soft Summer Color Season Palette
At first glance, the soft summer color season palette is full of medium shaded colors. But, you’ll also notice medium and darker tones in the mix.
The easiest way to make sense of this is to think about the variety of clothing colors available at stores and online shops. This soft summer color palette should give you an idea of the shade range for each basic color.
We break into down into a lighter, medium, and darker option to help steer you in the right direction.
If you don’t have access to this color palette when shopping, these three questions should help.
- Does this shade have a grayish, pinkish or bluish, cool tint to it?
- Is this shade the “soft” version of this color family instead of the light or bright version?
- Is this the medium options of this color family?
Best Colors for the Soft Summer Color Season
Below are your top three colors for each color category.
As mentioned above, you’ll find a lighter, medium, and darker option for each color family. This will help you get a better grasp on the shade range for the soft summer color season.
Whites/Creams - Grayish, Greenish, pinkish
When looking for whites or light neutral colors you’ll want them to have these characteristics:
- Soft and creamy vs crisp. *Avoid bright, true whites.
- Pinkish, greenish, gray tints vs yellow and golden.
yellows - Dusty soft yellows
You’ll want to pick soft yellows that won’t overpower your blended complexion.
- Soft vs Bright
- More dusty gray, green tints than true yellow.
Oranges - Pinkish DUSTY CORALS
Orange is hard to pull of as a summer. However, you can fake orange with some gray coral tones. Pick oranges that are:
- More pinkish coral than pure orange.
- Medium shades vs very light + very dark.
- Soft vs. bright.
pinks - DUSTY PLUMS
Pinks tend to be a power color for summers. Pick pinks that are:
- Soft vs bright
- Dusty or muted, noticeable gray tint.
- Pinks that lean closer plum vs orange-like corals.
Reds - DUSTY REDS WITH BROWNS + PLUMS
The right kind of red can look incredible on soft summers. Choose reds that are:
- Gray, Brown Plum tints vs. Orange Tints
- Soft vs crisp
Purples - GRAY AND BLUE TINTS
Like pinks, purples can be more cool toned. So pick purples that are;
- Soft neutral vs vibrant
- Subtle blue tints vs peachy purples.
blues - Blue with Yellow and White Tints
Blues are another power color for soft summers. Pick blues that are:
- Soft vs bright
- More faded greens and grays, vs purple.
Greens - Gray Greens
Greens can be harder to pull off for summers. Pick greens that are:
- Soft vs Bright
- Blue or gray greens vs yellow greens.
grays- BROWN Gray
Grays that lean toward blue work best for soft summers. Pick grays that are more:
- Brown and gray tones vs. yellow tones.
- Dirty, or soft, vs bold.
Browns - Pinkish GRAY Browns
Browns can blend well with the soft summer coloring. Choose browns that are:
- More pinkish gray than golden.
- Soft and neutral vs bold and bright.
Blacks/ Alternates for Blacks - GRAY BROWNS + FADED CHARCOAL
Soft summers should avoid stark black because it can overpower your overall light and soft coloring. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t wear some form of it. Pick blacks that are:
- Faded vs bold
- Gray browns and charcoals, vs yellow tinted options.
Soft Summer Shopping Hacks
When shopping, soft summers should gravitate to naturally cool colors first. Look at pinks, blues, reds, and grays first as they are more likely to have options that suit your natural undertones.
Also, scan for the colors that you would describe as soft but not bright.
If you prefer a variety of colors, warm tones can look great on you, too. However, they may be harder to spot.
Look for the cool warm that have a hint of blue, pink and gray instead of yellow. These should also be soft instead of bright and bold.
Conclusion: Soft Summer
The soft summer color season has ash toned hair, grayish eyes, and light to medium skin tones. Soft summers have cool and neutral undertones and look best in shades that are more soft vs. bright.
When shopping, soft summers should gravitate to cool dominate colors first like pinks, blues, reds, and grays as the store is more likely to have a colors that will harmonize with their natural coloring.
Next Steps:
If you’re a soft summer, share what your favorite color to wear is in the comments. (Bonus points for photos.)
Lastly, do you know makeup colors look best on you? Find out now with this super simple guide to soft summer makeup colors.
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