Undertones
Determining your undertone is one of the hardest tasks. Wash your face, use no makeup, wear bleached white clothes and take a step outside to look at yourself in natural daylight. You can also try placing a white piece of paper near your face. Warm skin has a golden or yellow undertone, while cool skin has red or blue.
It's also possible for you to have neutral undertones, or have different undertones depending on how much sun you get or on different parts of your body. The color of the veins through your skin is also a sign (green = yellow undertones, blue = red). Usually one should focus on the undertones of the face, since it's where people look first.
If you had your skin shade matched at MAC, you may already know whether you are warm or cool. However, try to get matched several times by different people, you may notice differing opinions.
MAC classifies skin undertones into NC and NW. As an example, my face requires MAC NW25. "NW" stands for "Needs Warmth", which is for someone who has cool undertones. The "warmth" will neutralize the "Cold". The opposite is "NC" shades, for those with yellow undertones.
Eye Pattern
This isn't about the color of your eyes, but the patterns and shapes found within them. In a brightly lit room, place a mirror right in front of one eye and close the other eye. If the room isn't bright enough, try shining a light near your eye and using a magnifying mirror.
Does the pattern of the black and colored parts look like: barely visible cracked glass (Summer), straight defined spokes of a wheel (Winter), a round sunburst (Spring), or a swirly bordered aztec sun that may have flecks on the outside (Autumn)?
Keep in mind it's also possible to have two seasons blended in your eye. I have an open space all around the pupil like a Spring and wheel spokes like a Winter - it's called Striking Spring.
Hair and Eye Color Combination
It's fairly easy to determine your Season now that you have taken a good look at yourself. In my example I'm a natural Winter like most Asians or African Americans are, however, with tanning and a hair colour change - I am actually an Autumn.
If you are still not sure, try our Color Season Quiz that includes personality traits or the Season Checklist Chart.
Summer hair is ash blonde or light ash brown without highlights, while eyes are blue gray or blue green. Winter hair is black or ash black brown without highlights, while eyes are blue, brown, hazel, or green. Spring hair is golden blonde, golden brown, or red, while eyes are blue, blue gray, blue green, or light turquoise green. Autumn hair is golden brown, red, auburn, or chesnut, while eyes are dark brown, hazel, or green.
Your Exact Color Season
Now that you know your coloring and eye pattern, you can figure out exactly which season blend you are and what colors look best on you. Keep in mind that sometimes your season is not what you expect. For example, many Asians and freckled Red Heads are Autumns. In general, Winters are usually brunettes whose hair contrasts with skin, Summers are naturally blonde and their hair doesn't contrast much with skin, Springs have pale eyes, and Autumns have dark eyes.
You'll also notice that you may already gravitate towards certain colors naturally. On the chart below, the vertical columns from left to right represent colors that look good on a) Summers, b) Winters, c) Springs and d) Autumns.
Summer Blends
ABSOLUTE SUMMER usually light brown hair, it could also be gray
MOONLIGHT SUMMER (Summer - Winter) dark ash brown to brunette or silver gray hair
SUNSHINE SUMMER (Summer - Spring) golden blonde highlights in ash brown hair
INDIAN SUMMER (Summer - Autumn) light red or copper, ash blonde hair
Summer characters: Eva (Metal Gear Solid), Sonya Blade (Mortal Kombat), Leon Kennedy (Resident Evil), Siegfried Schtauffen (Soul Calibur)
Summer celebrities: Denise Richards, Eva Habermann, Jeri Ryan
Winter Blends
ABSOLUTE WINTER dark hair and light skin or very dark hair and dark skin
SNOW FROST WINTER (Winter - Summer) light brown hair
FIRELIGHT WINTER (Winter - Spring) blonde, almost white blonde hair
SUNSET WINTER (Winter - Autumn) auburn or medium red hair
Winter characters: Xiuying Hong (Shenmue), Farah (Prince of Persia), Sephiroth (Final Fantasy), Darril (Front Mission)
Winter celebrities: Alicia Keys, Rosario Dawson, Kristin Kruek
Spring Blends
ABSOLUTE SPRING usually blonde hair and spring personality traits match
PASTEL SPRING (Spring - Summer) brunette or ash blonde hair
STRIKING SPRING (Spring - Winter) black to dark brown hair, porcelain to dark olive skin
GLORIOUS SPRING (Spring - Autumn) red to light blonde red or blonde with freckled skin
Spring characters: Joanna Dark (Perfect Dark), Sarah Bryant (Virtua Fighter), Simon Belmont (Castlevania), Yuri Hyuga (Shadow Hearts)
Spring celebrities: Gillian Anderson, Lindsay Lohan, Evangeline Lily
Autumn Blends
ABSOLUTE AUTUMN copper red hair or neutral beige hair, warm toned skin
GENTLE AUTUMN (Autumn - Summer) lighter hair colors, personality traits more subtle
GOLDEN AUTUMN (Autumn - Spring) blonde hair, often found wearing intense colors
STRIKING AUTUMN (Autumn - Winter) very dark hair with warm undertones
Autumn characters: Lara Croft (Tomb Raider), Jade (Beyond Good and Evil), Hwoarang (Tekken), Eddie Gordo (Tekken)
Autumn celebrities: Jessica Alba, Natalie Portman, Aishwarya Rai
Choosing Colors
It's possible to wear colors from other seasons if you know your range, but a guideline is never a bad thing.
Summer Colors
Summer is a cool tone with blue or pink undertones and a low level of contrast between their hair, eye color and skin tone. They need soft neutrals and pastels, as well as muted colors with cool undertones. Powder blue, dusty pink, mauve, lavender, plum, and pale yellow will complement them. Avoid intense, vivid hues because they will look harsh. Earth tones, black and orange will also drown out the skin.
Winter Colors
Winter profiles have a lot of depth to their coloring and a lot of contrast between their hair color, eye color and skin tone. Winters need hues that are sharp, stark and clear to complement their skin. They look best in intense, rich colors, like black, navy blue, red, and hot pink. For lighter colors, wear bright white or icy pastels, such as cool blues, pinks and yellows. Avoid earthy tones and subdued colors like beige, orange and gold as they will make the skin look unhealthy.
Spring Colors
Springs can wear very pale, soft colors, such as peach, camel, golden yellow, golden brown, and aqua. They also look good in ivory, bright greens, true reds, clear blues and coral. Avoid colors that are too dull and muted or too dark. Avoid black and white, which are also too contrasting.
Autumn Colors
Autumn profiles have a lot of depth to their warm skin tone. Rich golden, spicy, and earthy colors will accent the complexion. Autumns can wear both muted and rich warm colors that are seen in autumn leaves such as camel, beige, olive, orange, gold, and dark brown. They also look great in a rich warm grey.
Links
Find Your Color Season
Color Me A Season
Carol Thompson Cosmetics
Matching Colors and Skintones