What Is 4 Season Colour Analysis? Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter Explained

Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter are the four main colour families behind 12- and 24-season colour analysis.

Before trying to decide whether you are a Soft Summer, Deep Autumn or one of many other subtypes, it helps to understand these four broader colour directions first.

What is a 4 Season Colour Analysis?

Four-season colour analysis groups colours into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Spring and Autumn are the two warm seasons.
Summer and Winter are the two cool seasons.

The other main difference is how colours appear:

  • Spring is warm and clear

  • Summer is cool and soft

  • Autumn is warm and muted

  • Winter is cool and clear

Rather than treating the seasons as four rigid categories, think of them as four overall colour directions. They provide a foundation for understanding which types of colours may feel more balanced with your natural colouring.

Our free 4 Seasons Colour Analysis Quiz helps you narrow down whether your colouring aligns most closely with Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter.

Find My Colour Season →

What can your colour season help with?

Knowing your general colour direction can make everyday style decisions feel less random. For:

Side-by-side close-up of two women wearing different makeup colour directions, with warm bronze and peach tones on the left and soft cool pink tones on the right.
  • Outfits, it can help you compare similar colours, create a more consistent wardrobe palette and understand why one version of a shade may work better than another.

  • Makeup, it provides direction when choosing lipstick, blush and eye colours—particularly when deciding between warmer, cooler, clearer or softer shades.

  • Hair colour, it can help you consider whether warm or cool tones, softer blends or stronger contrast feel more connected to your overall colouring.

Your season is not a list of colours you are forbidden to wear. It is a reference point you can use when choosing between different options.

Find your closest colour season

Woman standing in front of an open wardrobe, comparing clothing in different colours and styles as she considers which shades best suit her colour season.

Trying to determine your season from one feature can lead to conflicting answers. Dark hair does not automatically mean Winter, and skin that appears golden is not necessarily warm.

MMNine’s illustrated online quiz considers multiple clues together to help identify whether your overall colour direction is closest to Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter.

Start with the four main colour families, understand your broader direction and then decide whether you want to explore your season in more detail.

4 Seasons Colour Analysis Quiz

Find your closest colour season

Hair, skin and eye colour can appear to point in different directions. MMNine’s illustrated quiz considers several clues together to help identify whether you are closest to Spring, Summer, Autumn or Winter.

Take the 4 Seasons Colour Analysis Quiz →

Self-guided and available online.

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