All seasons Summer family
Soft Summer Color Palette
Muted and misty — gentle, smoky cool tones.
Soft Summer sits between Cool Summer and Soft Autumn, with softness — low contrast and muted colour — as its defining trait, on a cool-neutral base. Your colouring is blended and smoky: medium skin with a cool or neutral cast, soft greyed hair, and gentle hazel or grey eyes. Your colours are dusty, muted and elegant; clear brights overwhelm you.
- Temperature: Cool-neutral
- Depth: Medium
- Clarity: Soft
Soft Summer colors to wear
These 27 shades are the heart of the Soft Summer palette. Save them to your phone and use them as a reference when shopping for clothes, accessories and makeup.
Colors to avoid
Pure, saturated brights and stark black-and-white contrasts overwhelm Soft Summer's muted, blended colouring. Your features get lost beside intense colour — keep everything gently greyed.
Best neutrals & metals
Neutrals
Metals
Soft, matte-finish silver and antiqued rose gold flatter your muted colouring. Avoid high-shine yellow gold, which looks too bold and warm.
Soft Summer makeup
Choose makeup in the same family as your clothing palette so your face and outfit work together. These shade families flatter Soft Summer colouring:
Lipstick
Blush
Eyeshadow
Shop Soft Summer shades
Looking for makeup and wardrobe pieces in your colors? Curated Soft Summer lipstick, blush and clothing picks make it easy to build a palette-perfect look.
See recommended Soft Summer products →
Some links may be affiliate links. See our disclosure.Hair colors for Soft Summer
Soft, slightly cool brown tones suit you: ashy medium brown, soft mushroom blonde and cool light brown. Avoid high-contrast platinum or jet black and bright copper, which break up your blended look.
Soft Summer celebrities & examples
It helps to picture the Soft Summer look on real people. Rather than show copyrighted photos, here are the kinds of colouring that typify this season:
Outfit color combinations
Three flattering ways to combine Soft Summer colors in an outfit:
Not quite you?
Soft Summer sits in the Summer family. If the palette doesn't feel right, you may be one of its neighbours — compare:
Soft Summer FAQs
What is the difference between Soft Summer and Soft Autumn?
Both are soft and muted, but Soft Summer is cool-neutral (dusty roses, blue-greys, muted teal) while Soft Autumn is warm-neutral (muted golds, sage, soft terracotta). Soft Summer's palette feels cooler and mistier.
Can Soft Summers wear black?
Pure black is usually too harsh and overpowering. Soft navy, charcoal grey or a deep muted plum are far more flattering near the face.
Why do bright colours look bad on Soft Summer?
Soft Summer's natural colouring is low-contrast and muted, so highly saturated colours overpower the face and make features recede. Greyed, blended shades let your face stay the focus.
Not sure you're a Soft Summer?
Take the free Color Analysis Quiz to confirm your season — 8 questions, instant results, no email.
Take the quiz →