Bright Winter Color Palette: A Complete Guide

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Interested in the bright winter color palette? This guide will teach everything you need to know for how to dress a bright winter.

A bright winter color palette is one of the 12 seasonal color analysis classifications. Seasonal color analysis uses a combination of a person’s skin tone, hair color, eye color, and feature contrast to determine one’s best colors.

When it comes to styling, the wrong colors can make a person look washed out, sickly, and blotchy. You may recall a time where you thought you looked great, but received unexpected commentary from others such as “Are you sick?”, “What happened?”, “Do you feel okay?”. It may be because you were dressed in unflattering colors.

On the other hand, the right colors can make your skin look brighter, fresher, younger, and more even. They harmonize with your natural features, having the opposite effect on everyone around you. “Did you do something different?” or “Wow, your skin looks amazing”.

Color analysis has been around for centuries. American fashion designer, Suzanne Caygill, took things to the next level through her specialized courses and seminars on color. Seasonal color analysis books hit the shelves in the 1980s and the fashion world ran with it.

Carole Jackson’s book, Color Me Beautiful, made seasonal color analysis available to the everyday woman, offering a simplified approach to finding one’s preferred color palette.

In this post, you’ll learn about the bright winter characteristics, how to determine whether you’re a bright winter, bright winter color analysis, what colors to avoid, and bright winter outfits.

This post is all about the bright winter color palette.

Bright Winter Color Analysis

What Is A Bright Winter?

A bright winter color palette consists of colors on the bright and cool side of the spectrum. In general, the colors of the winter season are cool with an emphasis on contrast. From a chronological standpoint, bright winter occurs in the last third of winter. This is a time when temperatures are warming up during the day, the snow’s beginning to melt, and days are growing longer and lighter.

Bright winter emphasizes the tapering off of winter and it’s transitional period into spring, which is the brightest time of winter. Because of this it is the brightest of the three, winter color palettes.

In contrast, a true winter color palette lives in the middle of the season, emphasizing stark cool tones where the ground is frozen and covered in snow. Dark winter starts at the beginning of winter, embodying the darkest time of the year.

Bright Winter Color Characteristics

The 12 seasonal color palettes are defined through the following characteristics: hue, value and chroma. Bright winter may also be referred to as clear winter.

A color’s hue defines how cool or warm the color is. Warm tones contain a yellow or beige undertone while cool tones contain a pink or blue undertone. True hues are colors that are neutral, neither warm nor cool, such as the primary colors red, blue, and yellow.

A color’s value defines how dark or light the color is.

A color’s chroma or intensity defines how soft/muted or bright/clear the color is.

bright winter color season — These pictures represent the contrast between each color characteristic.

Bright winter colors are moderately cool, generally medium in value, and bright and clear.

Bright Winter Characteristics

There are several features that define someone as a bright winter. In general, bright winters are classified as having neutral to cool skin undertones, high contrast facial features, and bright, clear eyes. The overarching characteristic of a bright winter is bright, followed by cool.

Remember, if you’re not an exact match to these characteristics it doesn’t mean you can’t style with a bright winter color palette if you find that the colors suit you. Every person is unique, so experimentation in fashion is the only way to find your best colors.

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bright winter color palette hair — Bright winter isn’t specific to a particular race or ethnicity.

Bright Winter Features: Skin Undertone

Since bright winter is considered a cool season, a bright winter’s skin undertone is neutral-cool or neutral. Cool colors suit you better than warm colors due to the coolness of your other facial features.

You can perform the following tests to determine your skin undertone. Do these tests in natural light without wearing makeup.

Test 1: Blank Sheet Of Paper

Hold a blank sheet of paper next to your face. Does it brighten your face or make it look dull and drab? If it brightens, your skin’s undertone is cool. If it dulls, your skin’s undertone is warm. You may be neutral if you can’t tell.

Test #2: Color Of Your Veins

Examine the veins on the underside of your wrist. Blue or purple veins indicate a cool undertone and green veins indicate a warm undertone. If you can’t tell, you may be neutral.

Test #3: Silver Vs. Gold Jewelry

Compare holding gold and silver jewelry against your face. Try to find a large, thick piece of jewelry for this test. The metal that shines and brightens your face is the winner. Gold jewelry looks best on warm skin tones while silver jewelry looks best on cool skin tones. If you’re not sure, you may have a neutral skin undertone.

Lastly, does your skin usually tan or burn out in the sun? Skin that tans easily is typically warm while skin that always burns is typically cool.

Side note: I score in the middle for the first three tests (meaning I can’t tell either way) and my skin burns if I don’t wear SPF, but also develops a nice tan. My skin has a neutral undertone, but it’s cool-leaning. With the rest of my features being cool, I find I look best in silver jewelry and cool colors.

soft autumn color palette — Facial features are bright and high-contrast as opposed to soft and muted.

Bright Winter Features: Eye Color

Bright winter eye colors are striking and cool-toned. Colors include electric blue, blue, cyan, hazel, brown, and very dark brown. There is typically a ring bordering the iris, which creates a sharp contrast against the whites of the eyes, making the overall appearance bright and clear.

bright winter colors — Eyes may have spokes around the iris. No matter what color the eye is, the overall appearance is cool and bright against the face.

Bright Winter Features: Contrast

The overarching characteristic of a bright winter is brightness, which means their facial features are high-contrast. The colors and features of the face such as hair, eyebrows, eyes, and lips contrast against the skin. Features are striking instead of being blended and muted. There is also high contrast between the iris and whites of the eyes.

You can take a photo of yourself and edit it to grayscale to determine your level of contrast.

bright winter seasonal palette — Both ladies have high contrast facial features.

Bright Winter Features: Hair Color

Your natural hair color is also used to determine your color season. Bright winter hair is relatively dark and has neutral, cool, or ashy undertones. There are no natural warm, golden, or red highlights. Hair includes the following colors:

Black
Dark Brown
Dark Ash Brown
Medium Brown
Medium Ash Brown
Silver, Cool Gray, or White (without yellow or brassy undertones)

While it isn’t common for a bright winter to have light hair, a dark ash blonde without any warmth would fall into this category.

Bright Winter vs. True Winter

What’s the difference between a bright winter and a true winter? Both color seasons are defined as cool, having similar color palettes. Both seasons look great in black and white. However, a bright winter’s overarching feature is bright while a true winter’s overarching feature is cool.

True winters have completely cool features, including their skin tone, without an ounce of warmth. The brightest of bold colors would overwhelm the complexion of a true winter. True winters can handle the coolest of colors without the brightness or need to add brightness into their outfit.

While cool colors also complement bright winters, they look best in bright, bold colors including unnatural tones, such as electric pink and neon green.

These two color seasons are next to each other on the 12-season color wheel, where true winter embodies the stark, coolness of the season while bright winter embodies the brightness of longer days at the end of the season.

Still, this can be confusing if you’re new to color analysis and trying to determine whether a bright winter color palette suits you. Honestly, this comparison can be quite tricky.

bright winter vs true winter — True winters are completely cool, while bright winters contain a hint of warmth to their skin. A true winter’s skin is slightly softer than a bright winter’s. Bright winter skin tends to be luminescent. Differences may be hard to discern through photo comparison. Both seasons can borrow colors from each other, but the brightest shades will shine on a bright winter.

The best way to determine whether you’re a bright winter or a true winter is with the draping method (draping at the neckline with large fabric swatches in indirect sunlight).

Bright Winter vs. Bright Spring

Bright winter can also be confused with bright spring due to the brightness and high contrast features. However, the difference lies in their hue. Bright winter is cool while bright spring is warm. Bright winters shine in bright, cool and neutral-cool hues; and silver jewelry looks best.

The overall appearance of a bright spring is warm, with golden undertones. The warmth of spring also brings slightly softer features than would be for a bright winter, but still no less contrasting. Bright springs shine in bright, warm to neutral-cool warm hues; and can wear either jewelry, though gold looks best.

The neutral-warm hair and skin undertone highlight the difference on a bright spring. Bright winters may be able to wear colors from the bright spring palette that aren’t too warm.

Bright Winter Celebrities

These celebrities have characteristics that classify them as candidates for a bright winter color palette.

Kristen Ritter

Awkwafina

Megan Fox

Maria Borges

Jessica Gomes

Cassandra Freeman

Zooey Deschanel

I’d love to see Zooey in a bright fuchsia or electric blue dress; she’d look absolutely radiant!

Laura Harrier

Bright Winter Color Palette

The colors for bright winter are bright and cool-neutral, with a mix of dark and light shades. This color palette is striking and sparkling, complimenting the features and complexion of a bright winter. The emphasis is always on pigmented, high contrast versions of these colors as opposed to soft and muted shades.

Unnatural colors such as neons, glowing hues, galaxy tones, and shiny metallics look natural and classy on a bright winter.

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The following colors make up the bright winter color fan at a high level:

Black
White
Cool cream
Light gray
Charcoal
Eggplant brown
Jewel tones
Cobalt blue
Electric shades
Bright colors
Neons
Bright pastels

bright winter palette — Colors are bright and cool, which help reflect the brightness of your complexion and features.

Bright Winter Neutral Color Palette

When planning a new wardrobe for a bright winter, contrasting neutrals are the way to go. Your features shine in true black and white, in addition to cool-leaning neutrals styled in a contrasting way (light vs dark or bright vs dark).

Black
White
Cool cream
Light gray
Taupe
Greige
Stone
Mocha
Purple-brown
Gray-brown
Charcoal
Silver
Bright navy

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bright winter neutral colors — Accent colors look best when contrasted with neutrals (i.e. light vs dark, bright vs dark). Bright winters can go with darker accents when mixed with bright neutrals (whites, milks, and light grays).

Not all bright winters have the same “best colors”. I always recommend the draping technique to determine your own. It must be performed in indirect, natural light for the most accurate results.

Your best colors will always brighten your face and features, making you look refreshed and youthful with a more even skin tone. Your teeth may even appear whiter. On the other hand, if a color makes your face look dull, washed out, or blotchy, it isn’t a good color for you.

Bright Winter Colors To Avoid

Bright winter’s focus is on brightness, coolness, and contrast and thus, the color palette reflects these same qualities. Without the same level of balance, a bright winter can look aged and dull.

Warm tones should be avoided, especially warm greens, browns, and yellows (e.g. fall colors). Stick to neutral, neutral-cool, and cool color tones. Classic neutrals should be completely neutral-toned or cool-toned.

Soft, muted colors and low-contrast combinations will also dull the complexion. Highly pigmented and saturated colors are recommended when styled with lighter colors. High-contrast looks are best whether it’s black and white or a neutral plus an accent.

Bright Winter Color Analysis

The best method for styling a bright winter is with solid brights or high-contrast colors. Bold, one-color outfits look great with shiny jewelry and bright makeup. A bright winter’s complexion can also handle bold combinations, galaxy colors, neons, and highly-pigmented shades.

Bright Winter Color Combinations

Let’s look at some classic color combinations that will shine on a bright winter. A contrasting outfit is a great method for how to put an outfit together. Choose one or two colors for your main outfit and one extra as an accent, such as in your handbag, shoes, belt, scarf, or headband.

bright winter color palette wardrobe — Classic prints and patterns in contrasting colors look amazing on a bright winter.

bright winter inspiration — Tonal dressing in dramatic, high contrast colors is key for a bright winter.

bright winter color season swatches — Pair saturated, unnatural colors with neutral-cool pastels for winning tonal outfits.

Bright Winter Personality

These color palettes reflect the bright winter personality. Color blocking, prints, and patterns look great on a bright winter as long as the color scheme reflects brightness in some way. This includes bright winter makeup in bold eye shadows and dark mascaras that make the eyes pop, and high-contrast cool to neutral-cool shades on the lips and cheeks.

bright winter aesthetic — Top Palette: Black, Shocking Pink, Electric Sky, White
Bottom Palette: Cobalt Blue, Bright Purple, Sunny Yellow, Royal Magenta.

bright winter accent colors — Top Palette: Bright Blue, Bright Cherry Red, Deep Taupe, White
Bottom Palette: Deep Blue Purple, French Violet, Seafoam Green, Almost Neon Yellow

clear winter color palette — Top Palette: Almost Black, Cherry, Hot Pink, Electric Violet
Bottom Palette: Deep Forest Green, Cool Kelly Green, Hot Magenta, Light Icy Magenta

Bright Winter Outfits

Bright winter outfits should always contain something bright because brightness is the season’s leading feature. If styling a dark outfit, use bright accents, colorful makeup, or shiny silver jewelry to add brightness back into your look.

Bright winter outfit inspiration includes different color schemes, styles, and prints to create a well-rounded wardrobe.

Bright Winter Dresses

bright winter color palette clothing — Jewel tones styled with black, white, or silver are perfect for dressy outfits.

Bright winters can handle sheen and shine. Jewelry includes shiny silver, platinum, white gold, and some complexions can wear a light gold (more white than yellow). Jewels that sparkle and shine (light reflectors) or colorful beads are also great for adding the necessary pop to an outfit.

winter colour palette colour me beautiful — Bright solids styled with classic black or white are perfect for the office.

Create chic office outfits with classic silhouettes in bold colors with structured handbags, totes, and streamlined footwear. Opt for a colored silk shirt, patterned silk scarf, or a shiny brooch for a more professional office setting. Black heels effectively ground bold outfits at business events.

bright winter capsule wardrobe — Add dimension and contrast to neutral outfits with accents colors, textures, prints, or a bright lip color.

Styling with a dark color? Try a satin or silk fabric that has a sheen to it to instantly add a touch of brightness into your outfit. Patent leather shoes also do the trick. Either of these style tips is great for taking that LBD up a notch!

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Bright Winter Casual Looks

bright winter outfits — Contrasting separates create stylish casual outfits for everyday wear. Keep neutrals and metal hardware cool-toned.

Bright winter nails, makeup, hair accessories, handbags, sunglasses, and footwear are great ways to add a pop of color and brightness into a basic outfit, especially if you’re wearing mostly neutrals.

bright winter wardrobe — Incorporate bright winter colors into streetwear, workout clothes, and yoga outfits to always look your best.

Bright Winter Going Out Outfits

Going out outfits are a great way to experiment with all different color combinations and patterns.

bright winter color palette clothes — High-contrast outfits are key for bright winter. Black is such an easy color to ground a bold outfit with.

Bright Winter Dresses For Spring & Summer

bright winter color palette makeup — Bold colors, prints, and contrasting accessories look great all season long.

Two bright colors styled together create an amazing bright winter look. Choose one color as your main while the other color is a supporting piece through accents or accessories. The rule of thirds is a great method to follow where 2/3 of the main color is showcased in your outfit while the supporting color makes up the rest.

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