Cool Summer Color Palette

What is a Cool Summer?

Cool Summer, sometimes called True Summer, is the coolest of the Summers. Its main quality is temperature: everything about the coloring leans blue rather than gold. Hair is often ash brown, mousy brown or ash blonde, and may gray early to silver. Eyes are commonly gray-blue, soft blue, cool gray or gray-green, and skin often shows pink, rosy or cool neutral tones.

Unlike a Cool Winter, a Cool Summer has a softness to it. Colors look best when they’re cool but a little gentle, more like a rose garden than a jewelry box. Many Cool Summers notice that golden, orange or camel shades make them look tired, while rosy pinks and blues bring color back to the face.

The cool summer color palette, color by color

The core colors are cool, medium and softly saturated. Icy Red is a cool, rose-leaning red, and Crisp Raspberry is a gentle berry pink. Icy Fuchsia and Crisp Violet bring soft purples with a blue base. Icy Cobalt and Crisp Azure are the blues of the set, classic cornflower and periwinkle territory. Icy Teal and Crisp Teal give you cool blue-greens that work beautifully in summer clothing.

Because they share a blue undertone, these shades mix freely. Crisp Azure with Crisp Raspberry, or Icy Teal with Crisp Violet, looks coordinated and calm.

Neutrals and accents for Cool Summer

Cool Summer neutrals are Snow, a blue-toned Dove Gray, a cool Slate and Charcoal. Charcoal and Slate replace black, and Snow replaces stark white. Navy is another excellent neutral for this season, so a soft navy coat or trousers are always a safe choice.

The accents are Cool Raspberry, Cool Azure, Cool Violet and True Azure, slightly stronger than the core colors. Use them where you want definition, like a berry lip, a statement blouse or a pair of earrings.

Makeup ideas for a Cool Summer

Cool Summers tend to glow in rosy, berry and mauve makeup. Cool pink and soft berry blush, lips in rose, raspberry, mauve and soft plum, and eyeshadow in taupe, plum, slate, soft navy and silvery gray all suit this season. Brown-black or navy liner often looks softer than true black. Orange corals, golden bronzers and warm browns can make cool skin look sallow.

For foundation, many Cool Summers find cool or neutral-pink undertone shades blend best. If your skin has redness, a light color corrector under a cool foundation keeps the finish even without adding warmth.

Hair color ideas for Cool Summer

Ash brown, cool light brown, mushroom brown, ash blonde and soft silver are flattering on many Cool Summers. When gray starts appearing, many of them look striking letting it grow into a soft silver. Golden, copper and red tones can clash with cool coloring.

A cool-toned gloss or toner helps keep brown hair from turning brassy in the sun, which is handy in Florida. If you’re planning a change before an event, our wedding beauty timeline planner can help you schedule it.

A cool summer color palette for your wedding

Cool Summer brides often look stunning in soft white, pearl or gowns with a hint of blush or silver. The palette suits romantic, cool-toned weddings: bridesmaids in Crisp Azure, Icy Teal or Crisp Raspberry, florals in garden roses, hydrangeas and lavender, and silver, platinum or white gold jewelry.

For bridal makeup, a rosy, luminous base, cool pink cheeks, plum and taupe eyes, and a rose or berry lip suit this season well. Our bridal hair and makeup page shows how we tailor looks, and the bride hair and makeup package covers everything on the morning.

Colors to be careful with

For a Cool Summer, the colors to be careful with are warm and golden: Tangerine, Neon Marigold, Neon Mustard and Rust. These have strong yellow undertones, so they can make cool skin look yellow or tired. If you love them, wear them in accessories or lower on the body, and keep a cool color near your face.

Camel and golden beige can be tricky too. Swap them for cool taupe, soft gray or navy when you want a neutral.

Cool Summer or Cool Winter?

Both seasons are clearly cool, so the difference is softness. Cool Summer suits colors that are cool but slightly gentle, like rose and cornflower. Cool Winter suits colors that are cool and crisp, like fuchsia, royal blue and pure white, and usually has more contrast between hair, skin and eyes.

Try Crisp Raspberry next to a vivid magenta in daylight. If the softer berry looks right and the magenta feels loud, Cool Summer is likely. If the magenta makes your eyes sparkle, compare the cool winter color palette.

Building outfits with Cool Summer colors

A simple formula is a cool neutral plus one or two palette colors. Navy trousers with an Icy Teal top, or a Dove Gray dress with a Crisp Raspberry cardigan and silver earrings, both look polished. Tonal outfits, like several shades of blue together, often look especially elegant on Cool Summers.

Jewelry, metals and finishing touches

Silver, white gold, platinum and pewter usually suit Cool Summers, along with pearls, amethyst, sapphire and rose quartz. Soft, satin finishes often look better than very shiny ones. For glasses, try rose, plum, navy or gray frames. These small cool touches near your face make a big difference for this season.

Patterns work best when they’re medium in contrast and cool in tone, like a navy and white stripe softened with gray, a blue floral, or a rosy watercolor print. Very high contrast black and white prints, or prints full of orange and gold, can pull attention away from your face.