The True Winter Seasonal Color Palette

In the 12 Seasonal Color System, True Winter (or Cool Winter) is a season dominated by crystalline contrast, darkness, and coolness (Cool and Dark).True Winter falls between Dark Winter (Dark and Cool) and Bright Winter (Bright and Cool). The palette focuses on colors with darker value, high chroma (far from very muted) with an emphasis on the cooler hues (blues, blue-greens, purples, reds, and pinks).

Overall, the palette is crisp, stunning, and visually impactful. This is not a subtle season- its beauty lies in its sharpness.

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True Winter Skin Tone and Hair Color

True Winter natives can possess cool skin with an obvious silvery glow and alabaster, rose, olive, cocoa, and tan undertones. Their hair is richly pigmented with tints of dark charcoal, blue-black, silver, and darkest cocoa. Overall, True Winter contrast is very high and the most prominent aspect to their overall coloring is the starkness and clarity of their pigmentation. Their beauty tends to be shocking and visually high impact.

Compared to Dark Winter, True Winter is cooler and clearer. Dark Winters can look good with a bit of gold or warmth, but the icy and pristine landscape of the True Winter suffers with any warmth. Compared to Bright Winter, True Winter is cooler and darker.

True Winter Celebrities

Possible True Winter celebrities include Amal Clooney, Jamie Lee Curtis, Liv Tyler, Janelle Monae, Jennifer Connely, Jameela Jamil, Zooey Deschanel, and Stacy London.

True Winter Seasonal Colors

True Winter Neutrals

True Winter neutrals are stark, silvery, or raven-like. Shocking navy blue or midnight blue is also a lovely option. Very dark greens can also work well to complement the reds and pinks of the palette.

True Winter Colors to Avoid

True Winters thrive in total coolness, so introducing warmth into their look will be disharmonious and will likely create a muddy or very separate image. Very low chroma or greyed out colors will be at odds with their clear, high contrast beauty.

True Winter Metals, Stones, and Materials

True Winters look best in shining silvers, cold white golds, platinum, and titanium. Very bright and polished surfaces support their high level of contrast, whereas very textured or matte finishes will look too heavy or rough for their crystalline beauty.

Highly prismatic and polished gemstones with intense tones like emeralds, rubies, sapphires, amethysts, and diamonds extend their natural color characteristics.

When considering materials, True Winters look best in light reflective and high contrast options-look into patent leathers, clear and contrasted prints like zebra skin, and very smooth satins.

Makeup Looks for the True Winter

Natural makeup looks for the True Winter require a decisive application of color- the brows, ears, and lips must be clearly defined with either pinks and pink-reds in a semi-sheer or glossy finish or a bright skin-tone shade paired with darker lipliner and gloss for dimension. The skin is best kept clear- a bit of contour shade works best to “liven” up the face more effectively than blush. True Winter blush tends to create a high visual impact that requires more definition in the eyes- this ends up looking quite dramatic.

For Dramatic makeup looks, True Winter beauties can embrace the clear cat eye and bright, opaque lips of bygone beauty eras and pin up covergirls. This high contrast approach sets the stage for any noticeable blush to look intentional and balanced. Alternatively, True Winters can lean into severity and keep the skin and lips rather nude while really defining the eyes and adding cool color. Eyes lined in black kohl with a shimmery silvery color on the waterline makes for a very hypnotizing look.

Are You a True Winter?

If you’d like a second opinion on your seasonal color, I offer a virtual color analysis service which you can book here: Virtual Seasonal Color Analysis.

xx

Nona