The Different Types of Autumns

The Autumn palette is warm, rich, earthy and vibrant, and stretches from leaf greens to old gold, and from every shade of peacock to soft clay pinks. Knowing your seasonal sub-type means knowing which of these colours from your wider palette with work best for you, and give you guidance on the best way for you to combine colours to feel your most authentic, confident self.

Let’s explore the sub-types within the Autumn palette, and discover how knowing your sub-type can open up even more amazing colours for you.

Do remember that your seasonal type is a guide. It doesn’t mean you can’t ever go near colours from other areas of the Autumn palette, just that the particular area of your sub-type is the very best part for your own skin tone and contrast level. Remember that all of the colours within your wider seasonal palette will also work for you, and will harmonise with your sub-type ‘wow’ colours.

True Autumn

This is the classic Autumn palette. Also called Autumn Leaf, the True Autumn person (and their palette) has an even mix of Autumns warm, soft and deep characteristics.

True Autumns often (although not always!) look like the ‘classic’ Autumn - they can have warm brown or red hair, hazel or green eyes, and very often have pink cheeks. Their skin tone can be deeper, and there is very a warm golden glow to non-Caucasian skin tones when flattered by their best colours.

Because you sit right in the middle of the Autumn palette - there there is no ‘leaning’ towards any of the other three seasons, by being deeper, softer, warmer or cooler - the best colours for True Autumns are, simply the colours of the Autumn palette! Cheating on your palette by shopping from colours in another palette is never going to work as well for you as one of the other types of Autumns, who can push into their neighbouring season. The flip side is that you look the best in the widest range of Autumn colours, as you really do sit bang in the middle of this palette. This means that it isn’t often helpful to add a tonal direction to the shopping filter on the Shop by Colour page, as adding in colours from other seasons rarely helps you - simply choose from the full Autumn palette and you’ll never go far wrong!

You still have your own very best core of colours though. They are, unsurprisingly, the most definitively Autumn colours. They heavily feature warm mustard yellows and mossy greens, alongside mid tone browns and rusts, and they all share that equal balance of warmth, depth and softness that you also hold.

When it comes to colour combining, the classic Autumn technique of layering up similar colours is usually your best look - browns and rusts, or greens and yellows, for instance. Brighter shades are usually best worn as an accent in a tonal look.

Warm Autumn

Also known as Vibrant Autumn (which can be used as something as a catch all phrase for Autumns who need more saturation, so it’s possible to be a Vibrant Autumn and also sit in the Deeper end of the Autumn palette), the most noticeable characteristic of Warm Autumns is the warmth in their skin, hair and eye colour, although they still retain a small degree of Autumn’s softness and depth of colouring too.

Warm Autumns often (again, not always) have a real warmth to their hair, with red or auburn tones even with brown or blonde hair. Eye colours is often green, blue or light hazel, and whatever their skin colour, they have a real golden warmth to their look when wearing the right colours.

Warm Autumn falls at the very warmest, most yellow toned end of the Autumn palette, and if you viewed all four seasonal palettes as one continuous spectrum of colour, then Warm Autumn colours would fall nearer to Spring (which shares warmth with Autumn) than to Winter or Summer.

Warm Autumn’s best colours are usually warm greens, yellows, orangey reds, very peachy (yellowed) pinks and every shade of golden brown from warm chocolate tones through to light tan.

While most Autumns suit tonal looks when combining colours, your tendency to sit towards the Spring end of the Autumn palette can mean that you prefer a little more contrast in your look, often by combining unexpected vibrant colours rather than through light and dark contrast. Be led by what feels best here though!

The dominant tonal direction for this seasonal sub-type is Warm, so you can visit Shop by Colour and filter for the Warm dominant tonal direction for more colours which you might love (if you want to read more about how tonal directions relate to seasons, this post is a great starting point).

Soft Autumn

Also known as a Soft Blue Autumn, the most dominant characteristic of Soft Autumn is the soft, tonal look they hold, more than the depth or warms of Autumn (which they also hold, but to a lesser degree).

Soft Autumns very often look like they might be Summers, with ashy toned hair and soft grey, blue or grey-hazel eyes. Whatever their skintone or eye colour, there is generally very little contrast between hair, skin and eye colour (a black and white photo would show no extremes in colouring).

Soft Autumn falls at the coolest, softest end of the Autumn palette, and if you viewed all four seasons as one continuous spectrum of colour, then Soft Autumn’s colours would fall nearer to Summer than Winter or Spring.

Soft Autumn’s colours are usually those which look like they might just belong to summer - clay or brown toned pinks, soft purples, greyed teals and warm taupes.

When it comes to colour combing, the classic Autumn technique of layering up similar colours is usually your best look - taupes and soft purples, or soft greens and teals, for instance. Brighter shades are usually best worn as a small accent in a tonal look.

The dominant tonal direction for this seasonal sub-type is Soft, so you can visit Shop by Colour and filter for the Soft dominant tonal direction for more colours which you might love (if you want to read more about how tonal directions relate to seasons, this post is a great starting point).

Deep Autumn

Also known as Blue Autumn, Dark Blue Autumn, and Dark Autumn, the most dominant characteristic of these Autumns is the depth of their look. They still retain Autumn’s warmth and softness, but depth is the most predominant trait.

Dark Autumns often look like Winters, with a wide range of skin tones and dark hair relative to their skintone, and eyes that have a degree of brightness to them, whether brown, hazel, blue or green.

Similarly to Soft Autumns, Deep Autumns also sit at the less warm end of their palette, but this time if you were to view all four seasons as a continuous spectrum of colour, instead of sitting towards the soft Summer palette, Deep Autumns sit towards the Winter palette. This means that all of Deep Autumn’s colours are beginning to acquire the saturation and depth of Winter’s colours.

Deep Autumn’s colours are very often shades (colours with black added, which makes them deeper and more intense). Neutrals are warm navy and soft white rather than chocolate and beige, and bold shades of red, green and teal abound.

Since colour combining is very often about reflecting our own features, you may well find that sticking to a higher contrast look than most Autumns works well for you. Rather than a soft, tonal look, Winter’s guideline of two neutrals and a colour pop can work better for you.

The dominant tonal direction for this seasonal sub-type is Deep, so you can visit Shop by Colour and filter for the Deep dominant tonal direction for more colours which you might love (if you want to read more about how tonal directions relate to seasons, this post is a great starting point).

To read about the other seasons, use the links below:

This is the third of four blog posts, exploring the different 'types' of each season. When discussing each season I will try to use the most commonly understood terms of each type, but please do contact us if you feel we've and missed out a term that would help colour analysis clients understand their season.

Week three already! We've already explored the different types of Spring and Summer, so this week is Autumn's turn.

As I always say, it's important to note that your seasonal type is a guide, not a rule book. If you fall at one end of, say, the Summer palette, it doesn't mean you can't ever wear colours from other areas of the palette you may have been given, just that this particular area is the very best part of the best palette for your personal skin tone and contrast level.

This week, we'll be looking at Autumn colours.

True/Leaf Autumn

This is the season we think of as the 'typical' autumn colours - the ones you see on an autumn tree in leaf or the ready to harvest fields of corn and wheat. Neither too bright nor too muted.

Often a True Autumn will look like a 'typical' autumn, with reddish toned hair, light brown or green eyes and fair celtic skin that goes golden in summer. Your best colours are rust red, mustard yellow, medium olive green and mid-browns and camels.

Your best Kettlewell colours: paprika, chilli, light sand, tan, chocolate, chestnut marl, russet, peacock, moss, turtle green, dark olive, old gold, ochre, yellow ochre.

Soft Autumn

Soft Autumn is influenced by the summer palette, since it sits at that end of the Autumn spectrum. This influence lends the Autumn colours an even more muted tendency, and lightens them up.

Soft Autumns might look like Summers, with more ashy tones in their hair or softer eye colour, but they will be brought to life by slightly warm toned soft shades rather than the cool Summer ones. Your best colours as a Soft Autumn are sage green, oyster white, palest old gold and warm grey.

Your best Kettlewell colours: cream, mellow rose, light coral, rose taupe, mole, taupe, mocha, aubergine, heliotrope, peacock, antique teal, blue jade, soft teal, new lime, pebble grey, old gold.

Deep/Dark/Blue Autumn

Deep Autumn is the darkest of the Autumn palettes, sitting at the darkest and least warm end of the Autumn spectrum, without drifting into the cool Winter palette.

Deep Autumns are often initially mistaken for Winters, and may have either a very dark or high contrast look compared to other Autumns. Your best colours are the deep teals, aubergine purples and dark olive greens, contrasted with oyster white or a brighter Autumn colour to add interest.

Your best Kettlewell colours: geranium, true red, poppy, soft white, dark mole, dark chocolate, cassis, aubergine, blackberry, purple, antique teal, marine blue, forest green marl, dark olive, pebble grey.

Vibrant/Warm Autumn

This is the end of the Autumn palette with the most vibrancy and brightness, with many colours that initially look like they belong to Spring, but on closer inspection have the added depth and golden undertones of the Autumn palette.

Much like their colours, vibrant autumns often look like Springs until they are properly analysed, and often have a very light bright look compared to other autumns. Your best colours are vibrant grass green, warm tomato red and the brightest golden browns.

Your best Kettlewell colours: coral, orange spice, geranium, poppy, tan, chocolate, russet, purple, blue jade, aquamarine, soft teal, moss, turtle green, lime, new lime, leaf, saffron, yellow ochre.