What is the difference between Deep Winter and Cool Winter?

Depth and how cool. Deep Winter sits at depth 1.00 and temperature -0.35. Cool Winter sits at depth 0.30 and temperature -1.00. Deep Winter is the darker of the two; Cool Winter is the more strictly cool.

Can a Deep Winter wear brown?

Only a very dark, cool-leaning brown, and even then it is rarely the best option. Warm mid-browns work against the palette on both temperature and clarity.

Is Deep Winter the same as having dark hair?

No. Dark hair contributes to depth and contrast but the season also depends on temperature and chroma. Plenty of people with dark hair are Deep Autumn, which is warm and muted rather than cool and clear.

What is the best red for a Deep Winter?

A deep blue-based red such as crimson, or a true burgundy. Orange-based and brick reds pull warm against a cool season, and bright cherry reds can sit slightly ahead of the face because this season is deep before it is bright. Depth first, then coolness, then clarity.

Deep Winter colour palette

Deep at 1.00 with high contrast at 1.00, on a cool base, and colours that stay clear rather than muted.

Last reviewed 2 August 2026By Sravya

Editorial saree reference for the deep winter palette

The four scores that place it

colour

Temperature: -0.35
Depth: 1.00
Contrast: 1.00
Chroma: 0.70

The palette

AubergineAubergine, #551A45
NavyNavy, #123B67
PeacockPeacock, #006B68
CrimsonCrimson, #9A1635
InkInk, #25233F
IceIce, #D8DCE8

Each axis runs from about -1 to +1 and is scored separately. These are editorial centres for a repeatable comparison, and the hex values are screen references rather than measured standards. Scoring the four apart is what lets the tool tell you which single call was the shaky one, instead of handing you a season and no reasoning.

Find my colour season

Deep Winter combines maximum depth with maximum contrast. Colouring is dark and striking: dark brown or black hair, eyes that read clearly against the skin, and a complexion that can be fair or deep but always sits sharply apart from the hair.

Temperature is a moderate cool lean at -0.35 rather than the full -1.00 of Cool Winter, so depth and contrast lead here and coolness is the tiebreaker. This is the winter season that handles the deepest colours best.

How to check whether this is your season

Check contrast first. If your hair is dramatically darker than your skin, you are in a high-contrast season and most of the twelve are already ruled out.

Confirm depth. Dark colours should look natural on you and pastels should look weak.

Then temperature, moderately. Hold a cool aubergine against your face, then a warm chestnut. Deep Winter prefers the aubergine, though not as strongly as a Cool Winter would.

What it gets mistaken for

Mistaken for
Deep Autumn
Same depth at 1.00. Deep Winter is cool at -0.35 and clear at 0.70; Deep Autumn is warm at 0.55 and muted at -0.65.
Mistaken for
Cool Winter
Cool Winter is more strongly cool at -1.00 and less deep at 0.30. If mid-depth cool brights suit better than very dark colours, look there.

Every season, every colour

12 seasons · 72 shades

Light Spring

Warm Spring

Clear Spring

Light Summer

Cool Summer

Soft Summer

Soft Autumn

Warm Autumn

Deep Autumn

Deep Winter

Cool Winter

Clear Winter

These are the actual palettes the colour tool works from, not a sample. Point at one to hold it. Twelve seasons rather than the old four, because four cannot separate someone light and cool from someone deep and cool.

The principle behind every suggestion below

Depth and clarity together. This is one of the few seasons where genuinely dark, saturated colour is the natural home rather than a risk.

Your colours

Deep Winter is the season black was made for. It is also the one most likely to be wearing black already, which means the useful advice is usually about what else works.

Worth reaching for

Aubergine, deep purple and true navy
Peacock, deep emerald and dark teal
Crimson and true blue-based red
Black and icy white as genuine neutrals

Works against it

Muted, dusty or greyed colours
Warm earth tones such as rust, camel and olive
Light warm pastels
Beige, which disappears entirely

The icy accent

Pair a very dark colour with an icy pastel rather than a mid-tone.

At contrast 1.00 the colouring is built on sharp difference. Icy pink or icy blue against deep navy repeats that structure, where a mid-tone flattens it. This pairing is specific to the winter seasons.

Where people go wrong

Wearing only black
It works, which is why it becomes the default and the wardrobe stops there. The palette has considerable range in deep jewel colours, and using them is what stops the season looking severe.
Adding warm earth tones
Camel, rust and olive are the clearest mismatch for this palette. They are muted and warm where the season is clear and cool.
Being told high contrast means black and white only
High contrast means light against dark, not specifically black against white. Deep navy with icy pink is the same structure and considerably more interesting.

Common questions

Sources and review record

Color Palette Analysis
Seasonal color analysis
The temperature, value and chroma framework behind the four season families.
Last checked 2026-07-31
Color Palette Analysis
Seasonal color analysis chart: 12 seasons
The twelve-season grouping and neighbouring season descriptions.
Last checked 2026-07-31
Color Palette Analysis
What is color analysis?
Why undertone is considered alongside depth, chroma and contrast.
Last checked 2026-07-31

Not sure this is you?

The tool scores temperature, depth, contrast and chroma separately across all twelve seasons, then shows which of the four calls was closest to a boundary. That is the honest answer to why different sites give you different seasons.