Color analysis quiz: which of the 12 seasons are you?
Answer eight questions about your undertone, hair, skin and eyes to get a suggested color season, a runner-up to compare and the lipstick, blush and eyeshadow colors that go with it.
Eight questions, 12 seasons. No email, photo or sign-up. The scoring is printed on this page, and the result shows your runner-up season and any tie. It is a self-assessment, not a draping session or a consultation.
Your answers stay in this browser tab, even if you reload, and are never uploaded. Start over clears them. Read the scoring rules
How to answer
- Sit by a window in daylight, with no makeup and no colored top near your face.
- For hair, judge your natural color at the roots. If you are gray or dyed and can’t tell, pick that option; it is left out of the score.
- Every question has a “Can’t tell” option. Skipped answers are left out, so the remaining answers on that axis each carry a larger share of its score, and a result built on few answers is rougher.
- Not sure of your undertone? Take the undertone test first; it uses six checks for that one question.
How the quiz scores your answers
Seasonal color analysis describes coloring by three qualities. The quiz calls them hue (cool to warm), depth (light to deep) and chroma (soft to bright). Depth runs the opposite way to Munsell’s “value”, which rises toward white, so the quiz uses a different word. These are simplified self-assessment scales, not Munsell measurements.
| Axis | Questions | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Hue | Undertone, gold vs silver | Warm +1, neutral 0, cool −1, olive not scored; gold +1, both 0, silver −1 |
| Depth | Hair, skin, eyes | Lightest −1, then −0.5, 0, +0.5, deepest +1 |
| Chroma | Contrast, eye clarity, vivid colors | Strong, clear or more awake +1; in between 0; barely, soft or the color stood out −1 |
- Each axis score is the average of its answered questions. “Can’t tell” answers are left out.
- Each axis needs at least one answer; otherwise the quiz asks you to answer one more question on that axis.
- Your three scores are compared with the 12 season points in the next table. The result is the nearest point, using distance² = hue difference² + depth difference² + 0.5 × chroma difference². Chroma counts half, an editorial choice: soft versus bright is hard to judge in a mirror. Lookslate set the season points and weights as a self-assessment guide; they have not been tested against professional draping.
- The runner-up is the next nearest season. When two or more seasons are exactly as near, the result says “Tie” and names every tied season in alphabetical order.
- The result also names the deciding axis: the one that adds the most to the score gap between your season and the runner-up. A tie names none.
| Season | Hue | Depth | Chroma |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Spring | +0.5 | -1 | +0.3 |
| Warm Spring | +1 | -0.3 | +0.5 |
| Bright Spring | +0.4 | -0.2 | +1 |
| Light Summer | -0.5 | -1 | -0.3 |
| Cool Summer | -1 | -0.3 | -0.5 |
| Soft Summer | -0.4 | -0.2 | -1 |
| Soft Autumn | +0.4 | +0.2 | -1 |
| Warm Autumn | +1 | +0.3 | -0.5 |
| Deep Autumn | +0.5 | +1 | -0.3 |
| Deep Winter | -0.5 | +1 | +0.3 |
| Cool Winter | -1 | +0.3 | +0.5 |
| Bright Winter | -0.4 | +0.2 | +1 |
The 12 seasons and their makeup colors
These makeup families are Lookslate’s editorial mapping, matched to the colors our undertone test suggests for warm and cool skin. They are not from a study. Within each family, adjust depth, pigment and sheerness to your complexion. Brand shade names, finish and your natural lip color all change how a shade looks, so in daylight try your own products or individual samples where you will wear them. For store testers, use a fresh single-use applicator and never put a shared tester straight on your lips or eyes.
| Season | Coloring | Lipstick | Blush | Eyeshadow | Liner and mascara | Go easy on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Spring | Light, warm-leaning and clear. | peach pink, light coral, warm nude | peach, apricot, soft coral | champagne, golden beige, light warm brown | soft brown; brown or brown-black mascara | heavy black liner, very dark lips and icy pastels |
| Warm Spring | Clearly warm, light to medium, with lively color. | coral, poppy red, warm peach | apricot, coral, peach | gold, bronze, warm brown | warm brown or bronze; brown-black mascara | icy pastels and gray-based mauves |
| Bright Spring | Clear and vivid first, then warm-leaning. | clear coral, poppy red, warm bright pink | clear coral-pink, warm pink, coral | champagne, golden brown, teal accent | black-brown, or teal as an accent; black mascara | dusty, grayed shades that dull clear coloring |
| Light Summer | Light and cool-leaning, with a gentle softness. | soft cool pink, rose, sheer berry | light rose, soft pink, cool rose | light cool taupe, soft gray, lavender | gray-brown or soft gray; brown-black mascara | heavy black liner, orange and very deep browns |
| Cool Summer | Clearly cool, light to medium, with softened color. | cool rose, raspberry, soft plum | mauve-pink, cool rose, soft berry | cool taupe, gray, mauve | gray or navy; brown-black or black mascara | orange and golden bronzers |
| Soft Summer | Soft and blended first, then cool-leaning. | dusty rose, muted mauve, soft berry | dusty pink, muted rose, soft mauve | mushroom taupe, gray-brown, smoky plum | gray-brown; brown-black mascara | neon brights, orange and stark black liner |
| Soft Autumn | Soft and blended first, then warm-leaning. | muted peach-rose, rose-brown, soft terracotta | dusty peach, soft terracotta, warm rose-brown | warm taupe, khaki, soft bronze | soft brown or olive; brown mascara | neon brights and stark black liner |
| Warm Autumn | Clearly warm, medium to deep, with rich, earthy color. | terracotta, brick, cinnamon | burnt peach, terracotta, warm bronze-rose | copper, bronze, olive | brown or olive; brown-black mascara | icy pinks and pale pastels |
| Deep Autumn | Deep first, then warm-leaning. | brick red, warm burgundy, chocolate rose | deep terracotta, brick rose, bronze | deep olive, chocolate, antique gold | espresso; black-brown mascara | pale pastels and frosted light shades |
| Deep Winter | Deep first, then cool-leaning. | wine, deep berry, blue-based red | berry, deep rose, plum | charcoal, deep plum, cool espresso | black; black mascara | orange and warm golden bronzers |
| Cool Winter | Clearly cool, medium to deep, with crisp color. | cherry, fuchsia, cool berry | cool pink, raspberry, cool rose | silver-gray, cool taupe, plum | black or charcoal; black mascara | orange, peach and golden bronzers |
| Bright Winter | Clear and vivid first, then cool-leaning. | clear fuchsia, cherry, vivid berry | clear cool pink, fuchsia-pink, cool rose | cool taupe, silver, sapphire accent | black; black mascara | muted, dusty and orange-leaning shades |
For more on picking a lipstick shade, read how to choose a lipstick color; for depth-based tips, see makeup for your skin tone; for pairing eye and lip colors, use the makeup color wheel.
Check your result with a draping test
- Take off makeup and stand facing a window in daylight.
- Hold two tops or pieces of fabric under your chin, one at a time: the comparison your result suggests.
- Look at your skin, not the fabric. Use two matte fabrics of the same texture and, when you are checking warmth, of similar lightness and intensity. Notice which one makes your skin look more even and which makes it look gray, sallow or flushed.
- Ask someone else to look too, or compare two photos taken in the same light.
What this quiz can’t tell you
Self-assessment depends on your light, your mirror and how you remember past outfits. A trained analyst drapes fabric on you and sees what a quiz cannot.
Season systems also disagree with each other. A 2007 paper by Tracy Cassidy on personal colour analysis, consumer preferences and colour forecasting found that, although the systems claim to use hue, saturation and value, “these were rarely applied to the individual colour palette types.” It did not test whether season results are right. Albert Munsell’s A Color Notation, first published in 1905, describes colors by hue, value and chroma; this quiz uses simplified season scales, not measurements in that system.
Treat your season as a starting point for trying colors, not a rule about what you may wear.
Frequently asked questions
Is this color analysis quiz free, and do I need a photo or email?
It is free, with no photo, email or sign-up. You answer eight questions, and the result appears on the page.
Why 12 seasons instead of 4?
Four seasons group palettes into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, each with a set mix of warm or cool, light or deep, and bright or soft. The 12-season system splits each family into three by its strongest quality (light, deep, warm, cool, bright or soft), so people between two families get a closer palette. Systems and season names vary.
What does it mean if my result is a tie?
Two or more seasons got the same nearest-distance score in this quiz. With two, use the draping check on the result to compare them in daylight. With three or more, the quiz does not pick one: it names the qualities the tied seasons differ on, so you can check those answers again, starting with your undertone in the undertone test.
What is the difference between undertone and color season?
Undertone describes your skin’s underlying coloring. Warm, cool and neutral describe temperature; olive is a green-gray cast that can go with either a warm or a cool lean. A color season also uses depth and how soft or bright your coloring is. To check your undertone, take the undertone test, then bring the answer back to this quiz.
How do I know my result is right?
Compare your result and runner-up with the draping check: two fabrics under your chin in daylight, without makeup. If several comparisons favor the runner-up, try its colors too; if the difference stays unclear, keep both as possibilities.