What Colors Look Good on Me? How to Find Your Best Shades

If you are asking "what colors look good on me?", the short answer is: colors that match your natural coloring on three scales. Those scales are temperature (warm or cool), value (light or dark) and chroma (clear or muted). A color that matches you on all three makes your skin look even and your eyes look brighter. A color that clashes on even one can make you look tired. This guide shows you how to test each scale at home, then turn the results into a short list of colors you can shop for.

What colors look good on me? The three scales that decide it

Every color can be described by three traits. You have the same three traits in your skin, hair and eyes. The closer a color's traits are to yours, the better it tends to look.

Temperature. Warm colors have a yellow or golden base: tomato red, camel, olive. Cool colors have a blue base: raspberry, navy, icy pink. Your skin's undertone points to which side suits you, and many people sit near the middle.

Value. This is how light or dark a color is. If your hair, skin and eyes are all pale, light colors such as powder blue or peach usually suit you. If your coloring is deep, dark shades such as espresso or emerald hold their own next to you.

Chroma. This is how clear or greyed a color is. Clear colors look pure and saturated, like cobalt or hot coral. Muted colors look as if a little grey was mixed in, like sage or dusty rose. People with soft, blended coloring usually look best in muted shades. People with crisp, vivid features can carry clear ones.

Most people have one trait that matters more than the other two. That strongest trait is what the 12 color seasons are built around.

Quick tests with fabric in daylight

You do not need special drapes. Collect a few tops, scarves or towels and stand by a window during the day. Skip makeup, pull your hair back and hold each piece under your chin. Judge your face, not the fabric.

Test 1: warm or cool

Hold something orange-red, such as a tomato or rust shade, next to something blue-red, such as raspberry or cherry. Then try gold jewelry against silver. If the warm pieces make your skin look smooth and the cool ones make it look grey, you lean warm. If the warm pieces bring out yellow or redness and the cool ones look fresh, you lean cool. For a guided version, take our undertone test.

Test 2: light or dark

Compare a pale top, such as cream or light grey, with a very dark one, such as black or charcoal. Notice which one your face seems to match. If the dark top makes your face look washed out and floating, lighter values suit you. If the pale top makes you look faded, go deeper.

Test 3: clear or muted

Compare a saturated color with a dusty version of the same hue. Kelly green against sage works, as does fuchsia against dusty rose. If the bright one looks like it is wearing you, go muted. If the muted one makes you look dull, go clear.

Write down which side won each test. Three answers already narrow your options a lot.

Colors that suit you by undertone

Undertone is the color under the surface of your skin. It does not change with a tan. Use it as your temperature guide.

Warm undertone

Your best colors have a golden base. If you lean warm, try camel, terracotta, olive and warm teal in place of black and icy pastels.

• Camel#C49358
• Terracotta#C4683F
• Olive#6E6B2F
• Warm Turquoise#3E8C84
• Warm Cream#F3E3C3

Cool undertone

Your best colors have a blue or pink base. Try navy, raspberry, slate blue and soft white. Orange and mustard often fight with cool skin.

• Grey-Blue#8798A6
• Soft Raspberry#B07587
• Royal Blue#2346A0
• Icy Pink#F3D3E3
• Soft White#F5F3F0

Neutral undertone

You can borrow from both sides. Shades that sit between warm and cool are your safest bets: jade, soft teal, rose, taupe and off-white. Let value and chroma decide the rest.

Olive undertone

Olive skin has a green-grey cast that can look warm or cool. Muted greens, plum, teal, deep berry and bronze tend to work well. Very yellow shades such as mustard can make olive skin look sallow, so test them first.

Colors by contrast

Contrast is the difference between your hair, skin and eyes. Squint at a photo of yourself in black and white to see it clearly.

• Low contrast (hair, skin and eyes close in depth): wear tonal outfits, such as oatmeal with camel or lavender with dove grey. A black-and-white outfit will overpower you.
• Medium contrast: pair a mid tone with a light or dark one, such as slate blue with soft white or olive with cream.
• High contrast (for example, dark hair with fair skin, or bright eyes with deep skin): you can wear sharp pairs like navy with white or emerald with black. Too many muted, similar shades can look flat on you.

If you dye your hair, judge contrast by your current hair color, since that is what frames your face now.

Colors by color season

Combine your three test results with your contrast level and you will usually land in one of four families, then one of three seasons within it.

• Spring (warm and clear): Light Spring for peach and aqua, Warm Spring for golden yellow and kelly green, Bright Spring for coral red and turquoise.
• Summer (cool and soft): Light Summer for powder blue and lavender, Cool Summer for slate blue and raspberry, Soft Summer for dusty rose and muted teal.
• Autumn (warm and muted): Soft Autumn for sage and camel, Warm Autumn for rust and mustard, Deep Autumn for burgundy and forest green.
• Winter (cool and clear): Deep Winter for emerald and plum, Cool Winter for royal blue and fuchsia, Bright Winter for hot pink and cobalt.

Not sure which one fits? The color analysis quiz scores your answers on all three scales and gives you a best match plus a runner-up.

Build a small palette you can actually wear

A full season palette has dozens of shades. You need far fewer to get dressed well. Start with this simple formula.

1. Two neutrals for big pieces like coats, trousers and bags. Warm types might pick camel and chocolate. Cool types might pick charcoal and navy.
2. One light to replace stark white near your face, such as cream, soft white or ivory.
3. Two or three accent colors you love from your season, for tops, scarves and knits.

Here is one example for a soft, cool coloring: slate, soft white, dusty rose and muted teal. A warm, deep example is chocolate, antique cream, rust and deep teal. Every piece goes with every other piece, so ten items give you many outfits.

Put your best accent color closest to your face: a top, scarf or earrings. Colors that suit you less can still work further away, as trousers, skirts or shoes. That one rule lets you keep favorite pieces that fail the tests.

Finally, re-check in daylight before you buy. Store lighting is often warm or harsh and shifts how fabric looks. If a color passes the window test, it will pass everywhere else. For skin tone basics, see our guide to what your skin tone is.