No other colour type has as much diversity as the winter type. Winter types often have dark to medium-coloured hair, and when they go grey, it often takes on a silver sheen. The eyes of a Winter type can range from bright blue to deep dark brown, light brown, or even green or grey-green. The skin tone is typically cool but can sometimes lean towards warm. If this is the case, warm colours like orange, beige, and many shades of brown can give the skin a yellowish hue, which appears less fresh and vibrant. Therefore, a warm skin tone doesn’t necessarily indicate a warm colour type!
Winter types also include people of Asian descent, individuals from South America such as Colombia or Peru, people with dark skin from regions like Southern Africa, and men and women of Persian heritage. Quite a diverse mix!
The Winter Type: the level of contrast
An important aspect of the winter type is the level of contrast. This can be seen in the depth of the skin compared to the colour of the eyes, hair, and eyebrows. If you have a high level of contrast, you can reflect this in the colours of your clothing. Think of a dark base colour like black or navy blue, paired with bright colours like fuchsia, bright red, cherry red, royal blue, or billiard green. Bold prints can also look stunning, but it’s essential to consider your figure, height, and personality.
For an effective colour consultation, it’s crucial to use a broad selection of colour drapes. This involves sitting in front of a mirror (ideally in natural daylight) and assessing each colour individually. What stands out? Which shades help to soften imperfections like dark circles, spots, and fine lines? In which colours do you look more radiant, allowing your beautiful brown eyes, bright smile, or lovely hair to shine? And which hues give your face a fuller or slimmer appearance? This is the transformative power of colour! Even after 30 years of working with it, I still find colour truly magical. The right shades can enhance you in countless ways, while the “wrong” ones can have the opposite effect.
Colours for the Winter Type
In addition to dark, vivid colours like royal blue, bright red, and purple, the winter colour palette includes basic colours such as black, pure white, navy blue, and anthracite. However, this doesn’t mean that high-contrast combinations like black-white-fuchsia suit every winter type. This works well for so-called high-contrast winter types. But there are many winter types for whom slightly less intensity or reduced contrast works better. Think of navy blue instead of black, raspberry red instead of fuchsia, or softer combinations like light pink or light blue paired with black, navy blue, or anthracite. You could also choose softer fabrics like wool or suede, where the colours appear less intense.
For the winter type, cool colours are the most flattering. However, in the case above, grey is too light; navy blue looks stronger and more vibrant.
Best colours for a Winter Type
- Black, white, grey, navy, and chocolate brown
- Dark blue paired with light pink, light blue, and cherry red
- Bright colours like billiard green, royal blue, bright red, and fuchsia
- Pure white can look very fresh, especially when combined with a bright colour
- Silver often looks better, although gold can also suit darker winter types
Colour analysis for every skin tone
Every colour type is unique, making the process of giving and receiving a colour analysis fascinating. Men and women from Asia often have lower contrast: black works well, but strong contrasts like black-white-fuchsia can often look too harsh. In these cases, we may shift them towards a different type, such as Cool Bright or Cool Muted, where the colours appear softer. Personality also plays a role: those with bold personalities can often carry more vibrant colours.
There are also combined types, such as Winter-Autumn. These types can wear certain warm colours alongside winter shades, like petrol blue, coral, and tomato red. For the Autumn-Winter type, it’s the other way around, with autumnal tones being more flattering, along with a few winter colours such as navy, anthracite, rose gold, and both silver and gold.
Exploring your colour type is well worth it. We work with 16 colour types and have also specialised in darker skin tones. Traditionally, colour theory has focused on European culture, which is a shame because there is even greater diversity within darker skin tones! It’s incredibly rewarding for me as a colour stylist to discover this for you, as the nuances make the results both personal and complete.
After a colour analysis, you receive a practical colour card featuring your most flattering colours. This card is a handy tool for shopping, whether you’re buying clothes, accessories, shoes, or makeup. Your personal colour card fits easily into your bag or behind your phone case.
16 different Colour Types
The Colour Analysis Academy works with 16 distinct colour types. The foundational types—spring, summer, winter, and autumn—form the base. Beyond these, there are numerous additional types and nuances. In addition to the basic types, such as spring, summer, winter, and autumn, there are several in-between types and subtle variations. For instance, you may not fit neatly into the Winter category but could instead be Cool Bright or Cool Muted. Or perhaps you suit a mix of winter’s cool colours with a few autumn tones, making you a Dark type or Winter-Autumn.
This opens up exciting colour combinations, such as a dark blue or black blazer with olive-green trousers, or unexpected pairings like pink with burgundy and coral.
Watch the videos on our YouTube channel Hi Style Academy for inspiration.
In the webshop, you’ll find various useful materials for professional colour stylists.
Interested in a Colour Consultation or Colour Stylist training?
Colour Analysis Academy offers training courses in English and Dutch, both online and in-person. Would you like to learn more? Fill in the contact form below or book a free video call where I can personally answer all your questions.
Visit our website: www.colouranalysisacademy.com
Looking forward to hearing with you!
Best regards,
