Soft Summer Color Palette

What is a Soft Summer?

Soft Summer’s main quality is softness, which color analysts also call low chroma. Colors look best on this season when they’re muted, with a little gray mixed in, and cool to neutral rather than icy or golden. Hair is often ash brown, dark ash blonde or mousy brown with no strong gold or red. Eyes are commonly gray-green, soft hazel, gray-blue or muted brown, and skin is often neutral to slightly cool.

The overall look is gentle and blended, with low to medium contrast. Many Soft Summers say bright colors make them feel like they’re wearing a costume, while dusty, smoky shades look sophisticated and easy. If people often tell you that you look elegant in gray, sage or mauve, this season is worth a close look.

The soft summer color palette, color by color

The core colors are muted and cool. Dusty Red is a grayed rose red, and Hazy Raspberry is a soft, smoky berry. Dusty Violet and Hazy Cobalt bring muted purples and periwinkles. Dusty Azure is a gentle slate blue, Hazy Teal is a smoky blue-green, and Dusty Teal and Hazy Leaf are soft sage and eucalyptus greens.

All of them share the same low saturation, which is what makes this palette so easy to wear. Nothing shouts, so you can combine three or four shades at once, like Dusty Azure with Hazy Leaf and Dusty Red, and the outfit still looks calm and considered.

Neutrals and accents for Soft Summer

Soft Summer neutrals are Pearl, a soft Taupe, a muted Slate and Charcoal. Taupe and Pearl are perfect for knitwear and everyday basics, while Charcoal and Slate give you depth without the harshness of black. Soft navy and cool, grayed browns also work well as neutrals for this season.

The accents are Smoky Raspberry, Smoky Azure, Smoky Violet and Smoky Teal. They have a little more depth than the core colors, so they’re great for a lip, a coat or a dress when you want slightly more presence while staying muted.

Makeup ideas for a Soft Summer

Soft Summers usually look best in blended, diffused makeup in muted cool shades. Blush in dusty rose or soft mauve, lips in rosewood, muted berry, mauve and soft plum, and eyeshadow in taupe, gray-brown, soft plum, slate and muted olive all suit this season. Soft brown or charcoal liner, smudged rather than sharp, keeps the look harmonious.

Very bright lips, glittery eyeshadow and sharp graphic liner can overpower soft coloring, though a little shimmer in the center of the lid can look lovely. For foundation, many Soft Summers find neutral or slightly cool shades blend best, and a natural satin finish usually looks more like skin than heavy matte coverage.

Hair color ideas for Soft Summer

Ash brown, mushroom brown, soft bronde, dark ash blonde and blended, low contrast highlights tend to flatter Soft Summers. Hand-painted, soft balayage often looks more natural on this season than chunky, high contrast highlights. Very brassy golden tones, bright copper and blue-black can all look too strong.

A cool gloss between appointments keeps ash tones from fading warm in the sun. If you’re planning a change before your wedding, use our wedding beauty timeline planner to place the appointment with time to adjust.

A soft summer color palette for your wedding

Soft Summer brides often look beautiful in soft white, ivory with a gray cast, or dusty blush gowns. The palette is ideal for a romantic, muted wedding: bridesmaids in Dusty Azure, Hazy Leaf or Dusty Violet, florals in dusty roses, eucalyptus, lisianthus and muted lavender, and brushed silver or pearl jewelry.

For bridal makeup, think soft-focus skin, dusty rose cheeks, blended taupe and plum eyes, and a rosewood or muted berry lip. Our bridal makeup service tailors every look to your coloring, and your hair and makeup trial run is the place to fine-tune the softness.

Colors to be careful with

For a Soft Summer, the colors to be careful with are bright and saturated: Neon Coral, Neon Mustard, Neon Leaf and Neon Fuchsia. These have far more intensity than your coloring, so they can overpower your face and make skin look gray by comparison. If you love bright color, keep it small and away from your face, like a bag or shoes.

Stark black and pure white create more contrast than most Soft Summers need. Charcoal and Pearl usually look kinder.

Soft Summer or Soft Autumn?

Both seasons are muted and blended, so the difference is temperature. Soft Summer leans cool, so dusty rose, slate blue and gray-green look natural, and silver often suits. Soft Autumn leans warm, so camel, olive, terracotta and soft coral look better, and gold often suits.

Hold a dusty rose and a soft terracotta near your face in daylight. If the rose looks fresher and the terracotta looks muddy, Soft Summer is likely. If the terracotta warms you up nicely, compare the soft autumn color palette.

Building outfits with Soft Summer colors

Tonal, blended outfits are where Soft Summers shine. Try Taupe trousers, a Dusty Teal sweater and a Pearl scarf, or a Charcoal dress with a Smoky Raspberry cardigan. Mixing textures, like knit with soft suede or washed silk, adds interest without needing brighter color. Soft, low contrast prints suit this season much better than bold, graphic ones.

Jewelry, metals and finishing touches

Brushed silver, pewter, white gold and soft rose gold usually look best, along with pearls, labradorite, moonstone and smoky quartz. Matte and satin finishes often suit Soft Summers better than high shine. For glasses, try soft gray, taupe, smoky plum or translucent frames instead of heavy black.