Deep Winter Color Palette: The Complete Guide

Deep winter is the darkest season in the whole system, and the winter that borders autumn. It keeps winter's coolness, clarity and contrast and turns the depth all the way down: every color in the deep winter color palette is dark, rich and jewel-like, like a velvet box of gemstones opened by candlelight, sapphire, emerald, ruby and amethyst against black. If black is the one color that has always made you look sharp rather than tired, if a berry lip looks like it was made for you, and if camel, peach and beige have always made you look faintly unwell, there is a good chance this is your season.

You will also see it called dark winter, and the dark winter color palette is the same thing under another name. This guide uses deep winter throughout. It covers what deep winter means in color terms, and it starts by answering the reaction many people have when they are first typed into it, which is disappointment. Then it gives you a feature-by-feature description with five at-home tests, the full palette by color family with hex codes, the colors to avoid and why, and the silver-or-gold question. It explains how deep winter differs from deep autumn, true winter, cool winter, bright winter and soft summer, and translates all of it into a wardrobe, a makeup bag and a hair color. It also covers the cases most guides skip: deep winter men, deep winters who want to go blonde, and deep winter in the full range of skin tones, from very fair to very deep.

What is a deep winter?

Deep winter is one of the 17 seasons in modern seasonal color analysis, and the deep winter color season describes people whose natural coloring, meaning skin, hair and eyes together, is primarily dark and secondarily cool, with high contrast between features.

That order matters. The defining trait of a deep winter is depth: your hair and eyes are dark, and your palette's center of gravity sits well below the middle of the value scale. Coolness comes second. You lean blue rather than gold, but only slightly: deep winter is neutral-cool, the least cool of the winters, which is why a deep winter can wear a dark, antique gold or a deep teal that would look wrong on a cool winter. Clarity comes third: deep winter colors are rich and saturated, but dark rather than dazzling. Deep winter sits on the border between winter and autumn, which is why it shares so much with its warm twin, deep autumn, and why the two are so often confused.

The easiest way to picture it is as a position on the seasonal flow. The winter family has four seasons in the system MySwatches uses. Cool winter borders summer and is the iciest. True winter sits at the center. Bright winter borders spring and is the most vivid. Deep winter borders autumn and is the darkest. A deep winter stands with one foot on the autumn line: dark enough to wear black-brown and a forest green, still winter enough that camel, rust and golden mustard are a step too far.

Deep winter is also the most diverse season in the system. It covers people with very fair skin and black hair, people with olive skin and dark brown hair, and people with deep brown or near-black skin and dark eyes. What unites them is not a skin tone but a combination: dark, cool-leaning coloring with strong contrast, somewhere in the face.

Where deep winter sits on the color wheel

Every season is defined by where it falls on three scales: hue, value and chroma. The deep winter color palette is defined mostly by the second.

Hue (temperature): how warm or cool you are. You are neutral-cool. There is a little more blue than yellow under the skin, but not much, and your palette tolerates a touch of warmth at its darkest end. A black-brown, a deep teal or a dark antique gold can work on you where they would not on a cool winter.
Value (depth): how light or dark you are. This is your defining trait. You are dark: dark hair, dark eyes, and a palette dominated by deep shades, with a few icy lights, pure white and pale pastels, used purely for contrast.
Chroma (saturation): how bright or muted you are. You are medium-high. Deep winter colors are saturated and rich, clearer than any autumn's, but they read as deep rather than neon. Think of a jewel, not a highlighter.

If you take one thing from this section, take this: deep winter is not about being cool. It is about being dark, with a cool lean and a rich finish. If you start from "I am a winter" and reach for icy pastels and electric brights, you will look washed out or overpowered. Start from "I am dark" and reach for black, midnight navy, emerald and burgundy, then add a clear, cool jewel tone, and everything falls into place.

Typed deep winter and disappointed? Why the palette is richer than you think

One of the most visible threads in the search results for this season is titled "Typed as a deep winter and soo bummed!", and it captures a reaction that analysts hear constantly. People expect their palette to be fun, and when they hear "deep winter" they picture a wardrobe of black, charcoal and navy, the color equivalent of a funeral. It is worth tackling that before anything else, because it is wrong on three counts.

The palette is full of color. Deep winter contains emerald, sapphire, ruby, amethyst, magenta, cranberry, teal, cobalt and a whole run of icy pastels. It is the palette of a jewelry shop window, not a mourning wardrobe. Most deep winters who feel bummed have only ever seen the neutrals.

The darks are an advantage, not a limit. Deep winter is the season that owns black, and black is the easiest, most elegant, most available color in every shop in the world. Where every other season spends years hunting for their version of black, you already have it. Midnight navy, charcoal, black-brown and deep aubergine are all yours too.

The contrast is the fun part. A deep winter's best looks are high contrast: black with a clear emerald, white with burgundy, charcoal with magenta, navy with icy pink. These combinations are dramatic, striking and memorable, and they only work on a face with the depth and contrast to carry them. Most seasons would disappear in them. You look like the most intentional person in the room.

If you were typed deep winter and felt disappointed, try this: put on something black, add one clear jewel tone near your face, a ruby lip or an emerald scarf, and look in the mirror in daylight. That is your season.

Deep winter characteristics: how to know if you are one

Here is what deep winter coloring looks like, feature by feature, followed by five tests you can do at home in daylight.

Skin

Neutral to neutral-cool, from very fair and porcelain through olive and medium beige to deep brown and near-black. The deep winter skin tone is the widest range of any season. Fair deep winters often have the "Snow White" look: pale, cool skin against very dark hair. Olive deep winters have a cool, slightly greenish or neutral cast that looks grey next to gold and clear next to silver. Deep-skinned deep winters have a cool or neutral brown skin with a clarity that comes alive in jewel tones. What every deep winter skin tone has in common is how it reacts to color: it looks sharp and even next to black, emerald and white, looks sallow or muddy next to camel, orange and beige, and looks washed out next to pale, dusty colors worn alone.

Eyes

Dark: dark brown, black-brown, near-black, very dark hazel, dark olive and occasionally a deep, cool blue or dark grey-green. Deep winter eyes almost always show strong contrast between the iris and the white of the eye, and many have a defined dark ring around the iris or visible spokes. Light, soft or golden eyes usually point to another season.

Hair

Dark brown, dark cool brown, espresso, brown-black and black, neutral or slightly ashy. Deep winter hair does not lighten much in the sun and shows little or no golden or red highlight; if it does lighten, it goes to a cool, ashy brown rather than a copper one. If your dark hair turns visibly red or gold in summer, you are more likely a deep autumn.

Contrast

High. In a black and white photo, a deep winter shows either dark hair and eyes against noticeably lighter skin, or dark coloring throughout with striking contrast between the whites of the eyes and teeth and everything else. Features do not blend; they stand out. This is why a deep winter can wear black and white together, and why low-contrast, tonal outfits in mid-tones look dull on them.

Five tests to do at home

Do these in natural daylight, without makeup, in front of a mirror.

The black and brown test. Drape pure black near your face, then a warm chocolate brown. On a deep winter, black makes the face look sharper, the eyes brighter and the skin clearer, and the brown looks a little muddy or flat. If the chocolate wins, you are a deep autumn. This is the most important single test for the season.

The white test. Hold a pure, optic white near your face, then a warm cream. A deep winter looks crisp and bright in the optic white and slightly yellow or sallow in the cream. If the cream looks better, you are an autumn.

The berry and brick test, for deep winter versus deep autumn. Hold a blue-red berry or a cool cranberry near your face, then a brick red or a rust. On a deep winter the berry looks natural and the brick makes the skin look slightly orange or tired. On a deep autumn it is the reverse.

The emerald and olive test. Hold a cool, clear emerald near your face, then a moss or olive green. A deep winter looks alive in the emerald and dull in the olive. If olive looks as good as emerald, you are warmer than a winter.

The icy and dark test, for deep winter versus the other winters. Hold an icy pastel, a pale icy blue or an icy pink, near your face on its own, then the same icy color with a black jacket over it. A cool or true winter can wear the icy color alone. A deep winter looks a little washed out in the icy color alone and striking in it once the black is added. If you need a dark anchor to wear the lights, you are the deep one.

If you want to skip the guesswork, the free MySwatches palette quiz walks you through this with your own photos and tells you which of the 17 seasons matches. Take the free palette quiz

Deep winter color palette swatches

Here are the deep winter color palette swatches, organized by how you actually get dressed: neutrals first, because they will be most of your closet, then the colors you build around them. You will notice that the palette is heavily weighted toward dark shades, with a handful of icy lights for contrast, and that almost every color in it is a jewel tone.

Deep winter neutrals

Deep winter neutrals are the darkest in the whole system, plus a few crisp lights to set them off.

• Darks: black, off-black, brown-black, midnight navy, ink blue, charcoal, deep slate, espresso (the cool, dark kind), deep aubergine, blackened green.
• Mids: medium charcoal, cool grey, steel grey, cool taupe, dark cool brown.
• Lights: pure white, optic white, icy grey, pale silver, cool light beige.

Your version of black is black. It is one of the few seasons that can say that without qualification, and a black coat, a black dress and a black suit are all safe, flattering staples for you. Your version of white is pure white, and it looks best next to a dark. The deep winter neutrals to be careful with are the warm ones: camel, tan, beige, cream, khaki and warm brown will all make you look sallow.

Deep winter colors by family

• Reds: true red, blue-red, ruby, cool cranberry, burgundy, oxblood, wine, deep cherry. A true red and a deep burgundy are two of the most flattering colors a deep winter can wear.
• Deep winter pinks: magenta, fuchsia, raspberry, deep rose, berry, cool hot pink, and icy pink for contrast. Pink on a deep winter is either deep and saturated or icy and pale, never dusty in between.
• Purples: amethyst, royal purple, blackberry, aubergine, plum, deep violet, and icy lilac for contrast. Purple is arguably the best color family in the whole palette.
• Blues: sapphire, cobalt, royal blue, ink blue, midnight navy, deep teal, petrol blue, and icy blue for contrast.
• Greens: emerald, deep emerald, pine, bottle green, forest green with blue in it, deep jade, and icy mint for contrast. Every deep winter green is cool and clear; a warm olive or moss is not yours.
• Yellows: a clear, icy lemon is the only yellow, and it works as a small accent against a dark rather than on its own. There is no orange at all.

The through-line of the deep winter palette colors is that every color looks like it has been mixed with a drop of black and polished. If a color looks warm, dusty, earthy or faded, it is not yours. If it looks like a gemstone, a dark velvet or ink, it almost certainly is.

Deep winter jewel tones

If you remember one phrase from this guide, make it "jewel tones". The deep winter best colors are, almost without exception, the colors of precious stones: sapphire blue, emerald green, ruby red, amethyst purple, garnet, tourmaline pink. They are dark, saturated and cool, which is exactly what your coloring is. When in doubt in a shop, ask yourself whether the color could be the name of a gemstone. If it could, it is probably yours.

Twelve deep winter colors with hex codes

People ask for deep winter color palette swatches and hex codes to build mood boards and capsule wardrobe plans. These twelve are approximate reference points for the signature colors, not an official palette, and screens vary. Use them to recognize the family, not to match fabric.

• Black: #0D0D10
• Midnight navy: #1B2A49
• Sapphire: #1F3F9A
• Deep emerald: #0B6B4F
• Burgundy: #6D1A36
• Ruby red: #B3122E
• Blackberry: #4B1E3F
• Amethyst: #6B3FA0
• Magenta: #C2185B
• Charcoal: #36454F
• Icy pink: #F5DDE8
• Pure white: #FFFFFF

Sister palettes, and what you can borrow

Deep winter has one direct neighbor on the autumn side and the rest of the winter family on the other, and you can borrow carefully from both.

From deep autumn, the warmer side: a black-brown, a deep teal, a dark plum, a forest green, a deep burgundy. These share your depth. Pick the coolest version of each, and skip anything with visible orange or gold in it.

From the center of the winter family: a true red, a royal blue, a clear emerald, a crisp white. These share your coolness and clarity. Pick the darkest version of each.

From cool winter, the icier side: a sapphire, an icy blue, a cool raspberry. These work well, but keep them paired with a dark.

From bright winter, the more vivid side: a hot fuchsia, a bright cobalt, an electric emerald. These work as accents against black, but on their own they can look a little loud on a deep winter.

The rule for borrowing from autumn is to cool it; the rule for borrowing from the rest of winter is to darken it. If an autumn color looks golden on the hanger, or a winter color looks icy or electric on the hanger, pair it with black or put it back.

Deep winter colors to avoid, and why

The People Also Ask box asks what colors a deep winter should not wear, and the list is consistent, because the deep winter worst colors are anything warm, anything earthy or anything faded.

• Orange, peach, coral, apricot, rust: the whole warm-orange family. They make deep winter skin look sallow and muddy.
• Camel, tan, beige, khaki, warm brown: the autumn neutrals. On a deep winter they look like the color has drained out of the face.
• Cream, ivory, warm off-white: they look yellow next to cool skin. Your white is pure white.
• Golden yellow, mustard, gold: warm and heavy. Your only yellow is an icy lemon.
• Olive, moss, khaki green, warm lime: yellow-based greens. Your greens are emerald and pine.
• Dusty, muted mid-tones: sage, dusty rose, mauve, greige, mushroom, slate blue. These are soft summer and soft autumn colors. On a deep winter they look flat and grey.
• Warm pastels: peach, butter yellow, warm mint. They wash you out and add warmth where you have none.
• Faded and washed-out anything: faded denim, vintage washes, sun-bleached colors. They lack the clarity your coloring needs.

None of these is forbidden. If you love one, wear it away from your face, in trousers, a skirt, shoes or a bag, and keep your best colors at the neckline. A deep winter in camel trousers and a black knit can carry them off. The one place to be strict is the neckline, because this is the season where warmth and dust show fastest.

Deep winter colors to avoid, as swatch pairs

Many people search for deep winter colors to avoid swatches, because the easiest way to understand what fails on you is to see it next to what works. Here are the pairs that make the difference clearest, with your color first and its warm or dusty lookalike second:

• Black instead of chocolate brown.
• Pure white instead of cream.
• Midnight navy instead of warm navy or denim.
• Emerald instead of olive.
• Berry instead of brick.
• True red instead of tomato or orange-red.
• Charcoal instead of taupe or greige.
• Icy lemon instead of mustard.
• Magenta instead of coral.
• Icy pink instead of peach.

Is deep winter silver or gold?

The People Also Ask box asks this directly, and the answer is more interesting than for most seasons. Deep winter leans silver, but it is the one winter that can also wear a certain kind of gold.

Silver first. Silver, platinum, white gold, pewter and gunmetal are your most flattering metals, and they suit both shiny and matte finishes. A deep winter in silver looks crisp and clear. Heavy, dark metals like gunmetal and blackened silver suit you better than any other season, because they echo your depth.

Dark, antique gold second. Because deep winter is neutral-cool rather than fully cool, and because it borders autumn, a dark, antique, slightly bronzed gold can work, especially when set with cool stones like sapphire, emerald or ruby. What fails is a bright, orange-toned, high-shine yellow gold, which makes the skin look sallow. If a gold piece looks like it belongs in a museum rather than a shop window, it probably works on you.

A quick test. Hold a silver chain and a bright yellow gold chain against your neck in daylight. On a deep winter, silver makes the skin clearer and the eyes brighter, and bright gold makes the skin look yellowish. Now try a dark, antiqued gold. If it looks fine, you have the neutral-cool flexibility of a deep winter; if even that looks wrong, you are more likely a cool or true winter.

Deep winter versus the seasons it gets confused with

Getting the season right is what makes the palette work, and deep winter has look-alikes on every side, because dark hair and eyes send analysts in several directions.

Deep autumn vs deep winter

This is the most searched comparison for this season, the one people type as deep autumn vs deep winter, deep winter vs deep autumn and dark winter vs dark autumn, and it is the most consequential, because the two palettes look similar on a screen and feel completely different on a face. Both seasons are dark, with dark hair and eyes and strong contrast, and both can wear burgundy, forest green, dark plum and deep teal. The difference is temperature and clarity. Deep winter is neutral-cool and clear: its darks are black, charcoal and midnight navy, its accents are jewel tones and icy lights, and its best metal is silver. Deep autumn is neutral-warm and slightly softened: its darks are chocolate, olive and rust, its accents are earthy, and its best metal is gold. One analyst put the difference neatly: deep winter colors are mixed with blue-black, deep autumn colors are mixed with red-black and brown. The black and brown test and the berry and brick test above settle it.

True winter vs deep winter

True winter is the center of the winter family: fully cool, crisp and icy, with the sharpest black-and-white contrast of any season. Deep winter is darker, softer and slightly less cool. People searching for a true winter deep winter palette are usually trying to decide between the two, and the tell is the lights and the temperature. A true winter can wear icy pastels on their own and looks best in pure, cold colors like true red, royal blue and icy pink. A deep winter needs a dark anchor for the lights, looks best in deeper jewel tones like burgundy, emerald and sapphire, and can tolerate a touch of warmth. If a black-brown looks fine on you, you are the deep one.

Cool winter vs deep winter

Cool winter is the winter that borders summer: the iciest and most strongly cool of the four, with a palette of icy blues, cool fuchsia, silver grey and blue-black. Deep winter is the winter that borders autumn: darker and slightly warmer. A cool winter looks best in cool, icy colors and can look a little heavy in the deepest darks. A deep winter looks best in the deepest darks and can look a little washed out in icy colors on their own. If you can wear a deep teal or a dark antique gold, you are a deep winter; if they look wrong and silver grey looks right, you are a cool winter.

Bright winter vs deep winter

Bright winter is the winter that borders spring: the most saturated and vivid, with electric fuchsia, bright cobalt and clear lemon. Deep winter prioritizes depth over brightness. Both have high contrast. If vivid, electric colors make you glow and the deepest darks look heavy, you are a bright winter. If the deepest darks are your best colors and electric brights look slightly loud, you are a deep winter.

Soft summer vs deep winter

The deep winter vs soft summer mix-up surprises people, but it is common, especially among people with dark ash-brown hair. Soft summer is muted and medium, with a palette of dusty rose, slate and sage. Deep winter is dark and saturated. A soft summer looks tired and harsh in black; a deep winter looks sharp in it. A deep winter looks flat and grey in dusty colors; a soft summer looks calm in them. If black makes you look older and charcoal makes you look better, you are more likely a soft summer, however dark your hair is.

Deep summer vs deep winter

Deep summer is the darkest of the summers: cool, soft and deep, with a palette of burgundy, deep slate and blackened blue that looks similar to deep winter's on a screen. The difference is clarity. Deep summer's darks are softened and greyed; deep winter's are clear and jewel-like. If pure black and a clear emerald look sharp on you, you are a deep winter. If they look a little harsh and a softened charcoal and a smoky teal look better, you are more likely a deep summer.

Building a deep winter wardrobe

How to combine your colors: deep winter color palette outfits

High contrast is the guiding principle for deep winter outfits, because high contrast is what your own coloring has. Deep winter color palette clothing, and deep winter color palette fashion in general, looks best when it is dark, rich and defined, with at least one strong contrast in every look. The deep winter outfit ideas below all follow that rule.

• Best: a dark neutral with a clear jewel tone. Black with emerald. Charcoal with magenta. Midnight navy with ruby. Black-brown with sapphire.
• Best: a light neutral with a dark accent. Pure white with burgundy. Icy grey with deep purple. White with midnight navy.
• Good: all-dark outfits with one clear color. Black with black and a ruby lip. Navy with charcoal and an emerald scarf. This is the season where head-to-toe dark actually works.
• Good: black and white together, a classic that very few seasons can wear and deep winter wears beautifully.
• Avoid: all-light outfits in pastels, tonal outfits in mid-tones, neutrals-only outfits in greys and beiges, and extreme complementary pairs like bright orange with bright blue, which are too electric even for you.

A quick check before you leave the house: squint at the mirror. You should see a strong, defined picture with clear darks and at least one clear light or jewel tone, and your face as the focal point. If everything reads as one grey mid-tone, add black or white. If everything is dark with nothing clear, add a jewel tone near the face.

A deep winter capsule wardrobe

These fifteen pieces cover most of life and combine in almost any order, because every one is in the deep winter color palette. Think of them as the deep winter clothes you will actually reach for.

• A black blazer and a midnight navy blazer.
• Black trousers and charcoal trousers.
• Dark indigo or black jeans and a crisp white shirt.
• A white t-shirt and a black t-shirt.
• An emerald knit and a burgundy knit.
• A sapphire or royal blue blouse.
• A magenta or amethyst top for color.
• A black dress, the one season where the little black dress is genuinely the best choice, and a ruby or deep emerald dress for evenings.
• A black or charcoal coat, and a black leather jacket.
• Shoes and bag in black, oxblood, burgundy or midnight navy.

Deep winter dresses deserve a note. A dress is a large block of color next to the face, and the safest deep winter dress colors, and the safest deep winter clothing colors in general, are black, burgundy, emerald, sapphire and ruby, with a bold, high-contrast print on black as the safest pattern.

Deep winter in summer

Deep winter summer outfits are a common search, because a palette built on black and burgundy feels heavy in July. The answer is to flip the contrast. Lead with your lights, pure white, icy grey, icy pink and icy blue, in light fabrics, and add one dark or jewel tone for anchor: a white linen shirt with black shorts, an icy blue dress with a black belt and silver, a white t-shirt with an emerald skirt. Keep the jewel tones for swimwear and accessories, a ruby swimsuit or a sapphire sarong, and your face will still have the contrast it needs.

Denim

Dark, clean washes are your friend. Deep indigo, raw denim, black denim and a crisp white denim all work. Skip faded, light, vintage, distressed and yellow-tinted washes, which look washed out against your coloring.

Patterns and prints

The best prints for a deep winter use deep winter colors at high contrast, in bold, defined shapes: geometric prints, abstract prints, bold stripes in black and white, houndstooth, graphic florals on a black ground, stylized botanicals, color-block, animal prints in black and white. The elements should be medium to large and clearly defined. What to skip is faded watercolor prints, small dense ditsy prints, naturalistic florals in soft colors and anything earthy or warm.

Metals and deep winter jewelry

Deep winter jewelry color is covered in full in the silver-or-gold section above. In short:

• Best metals: silver, platinum, white gold, pewter, gunmetal, blackened silver, in shiny or matte finishes.
• Also fine: a dark, antique, bronzed gold, especially set with cool stones.
• Avoid: bright, orange-toned, high-shine yellow gold.

Stones and materials for deep winter jewelry: sapphire above all, then emerald, ruby, amethyst, garnet, black onyx, jet, hematite, black diamond, clear diamond, tanzanite, deep tourmaline, white and black pearls. Skip warm, earthy stones like amber, citrine, tiger's eye and carnelian.

Glasses: frames in black, dark tortoiseshell with no gold in it, midnight navy, burgundy, deep purple or silver. Deep winter is one of the few seasons where a heavy black frame is genuinely flattering.

For work

A deep winter's professional wardrobe is the easiest in the system, because the standard corporate palette of black, charcoal, navy and white is already yours. Build it on black, charcoal and midnight navy for suits and trousers, with white, icy grey and icy blue for shirts, and accent with burgundy, emerald or sapphire. A black or charcoal suit with a white shirt and a burgundy lip is the deep winter power look, and it looks more authoritative on you than on almost anyone.

Weddings and occasions

• As a bride: pure white or optic white, the brightest white on the rail, rather than ivory or champagne, which can look yellow on you. A white gown with silver or diamond detail and a deep burgundy or emerald bouquet is the classic deep winter look.
• As a guest: emerald, sapphire, ruby, burgundy, amethyst, magenta, and black for evening, which on you never looks like mourning.
• For the groom or a suit: black, charcoal, midnight navy, with a white shirt and a tie in burgundy, emerald, sapphire or silver.

Deep winter for men

Deep winter is very common in men, and the deep winter color palette men need is one of the easiest to put together, because the default men's wardrobe of black, charcoal, navy and white is already the right one. A deep winter man has dark brown or black hair, dark eyes and neutral-cool skin at any depth, and his beard grows in dark, with no red in it. The fixes are small and mostly subtractive. Drop the camel, tan, khaki and olive, which make a deep winter look tired. Keep black and navy. For color, burgundy, emerald, sapphire and a clear berry are the easy wins: a burgundy knit over a white shirt, an emerald overshirt with black jeans, a sapphire tie on a charcoal suit. Metals should be silver or gunmetal, and a black frame suits you. A black overcoat is the most flattering thing a deep winter man can own.

How to use your palette in the store

Deep winter is the palette of close calls in the dark, and dark colors are the hardest of all to judge under store lights. The "black" that is really a brown-black and makes you look tired. The "burgundy" that is a warm oxblood-brown. The "emerald" that turns out to be an olive-tinted forest green. The "navy" that is a warm, dusty blue. Everything dark looks the same shade of dark until you get it home, and memory is not a reliable judge of whether a dark is cool or warm.

That is exactly what the MySwatches Personal Swatch Card is for. It is a transparent, credit-card-sized card printed with your deep winter color palette, so you hold it directly against the fabric and see at once whether the color belongs. Because the card is see-through, you are comparing the actual dye to the actual shade rather than a photo to a memory. It is waterproof, scratch resistant, and lives in your wallet. See the Deep Winter card

Deep winter makeup

The mistake most deep winters make with makeup is under-doing it. Because "natural" makeup is sold in warm beiges, peachy blushes and nude lips, deep winters end up with a face that disappears next to their own dark hair and eyes. The second mistake is warmth: bronzer, peach and gold all make deep winter skin look muddy. Deep winter makeup should be defined, cool-leaning and a little dramatic: your face can carry a dark lip and a strong eye better than almost any other season's. Everything below applies equally to dark winter makeup, since the two names describe the same season.

Foundation and base

Neutral to neutral-cool, matched in daylight, with a neutral, rosy or olive base rather than a golden or peachy one. Avoid anything labelled warm or golden, which turns yellow on you. Skip warm bronzer; if you want dimension, use a cool, taupe-brown contour. Highlighter should be silver, icy pink or cool champagne, never gold.

Blush

Deep rose, berry, raspberry, cool plum, fuchsia, cranberry. A deep winter can wear a strong, clear blush, and a berry blush is one of the most flattering products for the season. Avoid peach, coral, apricot, terracotta and anything with orange in it.

Lips and deep winter lipstick colors

The lip is where a deep winter gets to shine. Your best deep winter lipstick colors are true red, blue-red, burgundy, wine, blackberry, cranberry, deep berry, plum, fuchsia and a cool, deep rose nude. A true red or a deep berry lip with otherwise simple makeup is the deep winter signature, and a blackberry or wine lip for evening is one of the most dramatic looks in the whole system. Matte, satin and cream all work; deep winter can wear a strong matte better than almost any season. Avoid peach, coral, brick, orange-red, terracotta and warm, beige nudes, which will make your lips disappear and your skin look sallow.

Eyes and the deep winter eyeshadow palette

• Shadows: charcoal, black, deep plum, aubergine, midnight navy, deep emerald, silver, gunmetal, cool taupe, icy white for highlight. A deep winter eyeshadow palette of icy white, cool taupe, deep plum and charcoal covers day and evening, and those four shades are the core of any deep winter makeup palette. A smoky eye in charcoal and plum is close to a deep winter signature. The deep winter makeup colors to avoid on the eyes are gold, bronze, copper, warm brown, peach and orange.
• Liner: black, charcoal, midnight navy, deep plum, deep emerald. Black liner is not just allowed on a deep winter; it is flattering, and a sharp black wing suits the season better than almost any other.
• Mascara: black. Nothing else.
• Brows: dark cool brown to black, defined. A deep winter face can carry a strong, full brow, and a weak brow lowers the contrast that suits you.

Deep winter nail colors

Black, burgundy, oxblood, true red, deep berry, wine, midnight navy, deep emerald, amethyst, magenta, crisp white and silver. The best deep winter nail polish colors are the deep, saturated ones, and a black, burgundy or deep red nail is flattering on you rather than edgy. Skip coral, peach, orange, mustard, beige nudes and gold glitter.

The MySwatches Personal Makeup Card takes the same deep winter palette and translates it into lipstick, blush and eyeshadow shades, so you can hold it up to a tester and know.

Deep winter hair color

Your natural hair is already in your palette, which is why the best deep winter hair colors, and the best hair color for deep winter, stay close to nature: dark, cool and rich, with no gold, copper or brass anywhere.

• Best: espresso, darkest chocolate with a cool cast, dark cool brown, brown-black, soft black, blue-black.
• Good for a change: a deep burgundy or black-cherry tint, cool plum lowlights, a violet-black gloss, or a deep "cola" brown with no red in it. These are the deep winter hair color ideas that add richness without adding warmth.
• Avoid: golden brown, caramel, honey and copper (too warm, and they make the skin look sallow), red and auburn with orange in them, warm balayage, and light brown or dark blonde, which lower the contrast your face depends on.

If you add dimension, choose cool, dark lowlights or a burgundy or plum gloss rather than warm, light highlights. Ask your colorist for "cool and dark, no warmth" with an ash or violet-based toner, and use a blue or purple shampoo to keep brass away. For the best hair colors for deep winter in one phrase: "espresso or blue-black, and never caramel".

Deep winter blonde hair: can you go blonde?

Deep winter blonde hair is a common search, usually from deep winters who have been blonde for years and want to know whether they should stop. The honest answer is that blonde is the hardest color change a deep winter can make, because it removes the dark frame around the face that creates your contrast, and it usually adds warmth as well. On most deep winters, blonde makes the skin look paler and the eyes look less intense, and the face can look strangely unfinished. If you are set on going lighter, a cool, icy platinum on a very fair deep winter can work, because it creates a different kind of contrast against dark brows and eyes, but it needs dark, defined brows and a strong lip to hold the look together. Golden, honey, caramel and beige blondes almost never work. For most deep winters, the answer is to keep the hair dark and get the drama from color, makeup and contrast instead.

Deep winter in every skin tone

Deep winter is the most diverse season in the system, and it is common among East Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American, Mediterranean and Black people, as well as among very fair people with dark hair. The advice is the same at every depth, but the emphasis shifts. Very fair deep winters look striking in black and jewel tones against their pale skin, and need to be careful with very pale colors worn alone. Olive deep winters look best in cool jewel tones and silver, and need to be especially careful with olive, khaki and gold, which pull the green in the skin toward sallow. Deep-skinned deep winters can wear the full range of jewel tones and icy lights spectacularly well, and a pure white or an icy pink next to deep skin is one of the most striking looks in the whole palette.

Greying needs a plan for deep winters, because grey hair lowers contrast and your coloring depends on it. The good news is that grey is cool, so it suits your undertone. A crisp silver or a salt-and-pepper blend, kept clean and bright, can look spectacular on a deep winter, especially with dark brows and a strong lip. If you cover it, stay dark and cool rather than going lighter or warmer. As the hair silvers, the icy lights of the palette usually become a little more flattering and the deepest darks are best kept a little further from the face.

Deep winter celebrities and examples

Nobody has draped these people in person, and celebrity typing from photos is never certain, so treat these deep winter examples as a visual reference rather than a verdict. The names that come up most often in deep winter color palette celebrities lists, and in dark winter celebrities lists, which describe the same season under its other name:

• Anne Hathaway: the classic reference. Very dark hair, dark eyes and fair, cool skin, a textbook high-contrast deep winter, and famously at her best in black, red and jewel tones.
• Lucy Liu: black hair, dark eyes and neutral-cool skin, and a long history of looking her best in black, ruby and sapphire.
• Viola Davis: deep, cool brown skin, dark eyes and a face that comes alive in jewel tones, emerald, magenta and royal blue, often cited as a deep-skinned deep winter.
• Kim Kardashian: dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin, and a signature look built on black, one of the most-cited deep winter examples.
• Sandra Bullock: dark brown hair, dark eyes and neutral skin, often cited as a deep winter who looks better in black and navy than in warm neutrals.
• Lupita Nyong'o: deep skin, dark eyes and a red-carpet history of wearing saturated, cool jewel tones and icy lights with spectacular effect.
• Keanu Reeves and Henry Cavill: the two most common deep winter men. Dark hair, dark eyes, neutral-cool skin, and famously at their best in black and navy.
• Idris Elba: the contested one. He is typed deep winter and deep autumn in different places, because his coloring sits right on the border between the two. If you have had two analysts disagree about you, he is proof that it happens at every level.

What they have in common is not a skin tone, which ranges from very fair to very deep. It is depth and contrast with a cool lean: dark hair, dark eyes, clear skin, and a face that looks sharp in black and jewel tones and faded in camel and beige.

Beyond the closet

Once you know your palette, it tends to spread. Deep winters often find that the colors that flatter their face are the ones they want to live with: a black or midnight navy wall, emerald velvet, a deep burgundy armchair, chrome and silver, white marble, black-and-white tiles, jewel-toned glass. It is not a coincidence. Colors that harmonize with you are easier on the eye, yours and everyone else's, and a room in your palette photographs you well too. The deep winter palette is also the palette of most "moody luxe" and "art deco" interiors, so there is no shortage of inspiration.

Frequently asked questions about deep winter

How do you tell if you are a deep winter?

Look for three things: dark hair and dark eyes with strong contrast against your skin or the whites of your eyes; black looking better on you than chocolate brown; and cool jewel tones like emerald and berry beating warm ones like olive and brick. If all three are true, you are a deep winter. The five tests earlier in this guide walk you through it.

Is deep winter the same as dark winter?

Yes. Deep winter and dark winter are two names for the same season, and people search deep winter vs dark winter expecting a difference that does not exist. The palette, the characteristics and the advice are identical.

What colors look good on deep winters?

The deep winter best colors are the dark, cool, saturated jewel tones: black, midnight navy, sapphire, emerald, ruby, burgundy, amethyst, blackberry, magenta and true red, with pure white and icy pastels as contrast. The best colors for deep winter near the face are black, emerald and berry. If you only ever bought those, you would never wear anything wrong.

What colors should a deep winter not wear?

Orange, peach and coral, camel, tan and beige, cream and ivory, golden yellow and mustard, olive and moss, dusty mid-tones like sage and mauve, warm pastels, and anything faded. In one sentence: if a color is warm, earthy or dusty, it is probably not yours.

Is deep winter silver or gold?

Silver first: silver, platinum, white gold, pewter and gunmetal. A dark, antique gold can also work, especially with cool stones, because deep winter is neutral-cool. Bright, orange-toned yellow gold does not. The full explanation is in the section above.

Can a deep winter wear black?

Yes, and it is one of your best colors. Deep winter is the season that owns black, and a black dress, suit or coat is a flattering, safe staple for you. For the most striking look, add one clear jewel tone or a red lip near the face.

Can a deep winter wear brown?

Only the darkest, coolest browns: espresso and brown-black. Warm chocolate, caramel, camel and tan make a deep winter look sallow. The deep winter browns are close enough to black that they read as a softer black.

What is the difference between deep winter and deep autumn?

Temperature and clarity. Both are dark with high contrast, but deep winter is neutral-cool and clear, with black, navy and jewel tones and silver, and deep autumn is neutral-warm and softened, with chocolate, olive and rust and gold. If black beats chocolate, you are a deep winter.

Deep winter vs true winter: what is the difference?

Depth and temperature. True winter is fully cool and crisp and can wear icy pastels on their own. Deep winter is darker, slightly softer and slightly less cool, needs a dark anchor for the lights, and can wear a black-brown or deep teal.

Deep winter vs cool winter: what is the difference?

Depth and temperature. Cool winter is the iciest, most strongly cool winter and looks best in icy blues and silver grey. Deep winter is darker and slightly warmer and looks best in the deepest jewel tones.

Deep winter vs bright winter: what is the difference?

Which trait comes first. Bright winter prioritizes saturation and looks best in electric, vivid colors. Deep winter prioritizes depth and looks best in dark jewel tones.

What is the best lipstick color for a deep winter?

True red, blue-red, burgundy, wine, berry and blackberry. A true red or a deep berry lip is the deep winter signature.

What is the best hair color for deep winter?

Espresso, dark cool brown, brown-black, soft black and blue-black. Avoid golden brown, caramel, copper, warm highlights and most blondes.

How does deep winter color analysis work?

Deep winter color analysis looks at three things: hue, value and chroma. Value is depth, and it is the defining trait: deep winter is dark, with dark hair and eyes and high contrast. Hue is temperature, and deep winter is neutral-cool, the least cool of the winters. Chroma is saturation, and deep winter is medium-high: rich and jewel-like rather than electric. Because the season is defined by depth first, the most useful home tests compare darks side by side, black against chocolate, berry against brick, emerald against olive, and then check the lights with the icy and dark test.

Is deep winter a rare season?

No. Deep winter is one of the most common seasons worldwide, and the most common winter among people with dark hair and eyes across East Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American, Mediterranean and Black populations. Because it borders autumn, it is also frequently confused with deep autumn, and because it is dark, it is sometimes mistyped as soft summer or deep summer when the analysis was done in poor light.

Does my color season change as I get older?

Your season is set mostly by your undertone, which does not change. What can shift is which end of the palette flatters you most, and for deep winters that shift usually comes with grey hair, which lowers contrast. Most deep winters stay deep winter for life and find that the icy lights become a little more flattering as the hair silvers, while the deepest darks work best a little further from the face.

Find your season, then carry it with you

If this guide sounded like a description of you, the next step is to confirm it. The free MySwatches palette quiz uses your own photos to place you in one of the 17 seasons. Take the free palette quiz

And once you know, the Deep Winter Personal Swatch Card puts the whole deep winter color palette from this guide in your wallet, transparent so you can hold it up to any fabric, waterproof and scratch resistant so it lasts. No more guessing whether a dark is cool or warm under store lights. See the Deep Winter card