You are a Soft Autumn type if the contours of your hair, skin, and eyes flow softly together, leaving a harmonious, warm overall impression. When you look in the mirror, nothing particularly stands out—no bright eyes, no radiant hair. This may have bothered you at times, but if you wear the right colors, it doesn’t matter at all. If you’re unsure whether you’re a Soft Autumn, feel free to book my Online Course for your DIY Seasonal Color Analysis.
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Soft Autumn is the most muted color type within the already-muted Autumn palette. Its main characteristic is “Muted,” with the secondary characteristic being “Warm,” while the brightness of the colors plays a minor role.
As a result, there are “light” and “dark” Soft Autumn types, and determining them can sometimes be challenging. There are color systems in which these types are further divided into medium, light, and dark types. The Soft Autumn Light utilizes the Soft Autumn palette, but the colors are lighter. The “Dark” corresponds to the Deep Autumn palette, but it is only more muted, and the True or medium type corresponds to the actual Soft Autumn.
I differentiate the Soft Autumn more clearly from the other two Autumn types than is often the case. So, there is more of a muted Deep Autumn in my approach than there is a Soft Autumn Dark. This approach seems more logical to me. However, over time, I have decided to include color passes for intermediate types in my offering and to consider them in consultations as well. Especially people who seek advice often fall into In-Between-Types.
Sometimes determining your color type isn’t straightforward because you may not possess all the “typical characteristics.” That’s perfectly normal. If you are having problems, try my online course “DIY Seasonal Color Analysis“.
Characteristics of the Soft Autumn:
If you need help determining your characteristics, click here.
Soft Autumn is an Autumn slightly inclined towards Summer. The most important criterion is the muted colors, usually with low contrasts between skin, eyes, and hair. A mixture of warm and cool tones is possible, often with a yellow undertone.
Skin: ivory, neutral beige, olive, and brown, usually neutral, sometimes with a slightly warm undertone
Hair: soft golden blonde to medium brown, soft amber or strawberry blonde, little contrast to the skin
Eyes: light brown, soft Hazel Eyes, also in blue and green, blue, gray-green
Based on the Soft Autumn, there are also some atypical color types and intermediate types. If the characteristics listed above do not apply to you correctly, but you still believe that your main characteristic is “Soft,” continue reading: Atypical Soft Types.
The Colors of the Soft Autumn
Colors to avoid for Soft Autumn:
You should definitely avoid colors that are clear and cool at the same time. A Soft Autumn will never be able to borrow colors from the Clear Winter and Cool Winter palettes. They would swallow up the soft contours of this type and always stand out. Also, the warm and clear colors of the Warm and Clear Springs usually don’t work. While these are warm in varying degrees, both have clarity of colors as their main or secondary characteristic. Similarly, the colors of the Cool Summers are not only cool but also less muted due to their proximity to Winter.
Pure black and white unfortunately do not flatter the Soft Autumn type at all. Instead, opt for a dark warm brown and light beige and off-white tones.
Color types from which Soft Autumn might borrow:
As described above, you can borrow from neighboring types Warm and Deep Autumn, as long as the colors are muted enough and correspond to your respective brightness and temperature. Colors can also be borrowed from the sister type Soft Summer, as long as they are not too cool. Generally, these are the berry tones and the more neutral green tones of Soft Summer.
After this wealth of information, you’re probably wondering how you can put it all into practice. Read on here about make-up and clothing for Soft Autumn!
Digital Color Palette 12 Seasons
Color Type: Soft Autumn
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Soft Autumn Make up
The optimal Soft Autumn makeup is rather subtle, matching the soft overall appearance of the color type. Avoid black eyeliner and eyeliner, as it could appear too harsh and quickly “painted on.” Shimmer and glitter also look unflattering and unnatural.
*In this post, you’ll also find product suggestions that suit your color type. Please note that there can be no guarantee that all the suggested products will universally flatter you. Often, certain features may be a little “atypical” – for example, you may be clearer or lighter than average. So, choose your favorite products from my suggestions, taking your uniqueness into account. If you’re unsure, it’s better to order sample sizes first or take my online course to find out if you’re atypical.
Foundation & Concealer
Choose foundation and concealer according to your skin tone. Soft Autumn types usually have a neutral to warm skin tone, often a shade of neutral or warm beige. It’s best to choose a satin foundation with neutral or warm undertones.
Finishing Powder
You don’t have to compromise on a perfect finish for your makeup. There are matte or satin finishing powders that complement your appearance wonderfully. Avoid shimmer powders.
Bronzer, Contouring & Highlighter
Autumn types are made for bronzer. Bronzer should highlight the warmth in the skin. Since the Soft Autumn still has enough warmth, you can use bronzer, tailored to your skin tone, very well. However, since the Soft Autumn is very muted, the bronzer should not shimmer. For contouring, you can choose a bronzer or a matte foundation that is two shades darker than your normal one. Avoid shimmering highlighters. Always blend bronzer and contouring well to create soft transitions.
Product Recommendations for Soft Autumn Makeup Base*
*To keep the number of products manageable, I recommend only selected brands that I particularly like. If you prefer other brands, you can surely find corresponding colors with a little research. When you click on the link, you will be directed to my Pinterest board where I have listed the products for you. On the computer, you can hover over your desired product with the mouse and click on the link that appears. On your mobile device or in the app, first click on your desired product, and after it opens, click on “Visit”. This will open the corresponding shop in a new window. If you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission as a thank you for the recommendation. You won’t incur any extra costs, and I can maintain my free offering on color types.
Eyeshadows
Use matte eyeshadows without shimmer and glitter that complement your soft appearance. Clear or very warm colors can make you look quickly overdone. For accents, you can use the colors from the Soft Autumn color pass; for base colors, use the colors from the Neutral Colors for Soft Autumn color pass. You can find more suggestions on the makeup card for Soft Autumn. If you use different eyeshadow colors, blend them well so that no harsh lines are created.
Mascara
Strictly speaking, I should recommend not using black mascara here, as it highlights the lashes very strongly. However, this is usually the purpose of mascara, so feel free to use black if you feel comfortable with it. I would only advise against black for very long, dense lashes. These could look overloaded when tinted black. In that case, opt for a dark gray or a soft brown instead.
Eyeliner & Kohl
Choose an eyeliner or kohl pencil color that is not much darker than the color of your eyeshadow. This way, you avoid harsh lines. With a special eyeliner brush, you can also use your eyeshadows as eyeliner and blend out harsh lines.
Product Recommendations for Soft Autumn Eye Makeup*
Blush
Prefer colors in soft tones for your blush, such as peach pink and light salmon pink. A little shimmer is allowed, but blend it well for a natural look.
Lipstick
Matte, soft tones that resemble your natural lip color work best for you. Lipsticks with the addition of “Glossy,” “Pearly,” “Shiny,” or “Brilliant” in the name are less suitable for you, as they bring the lips to the forefront and push the rest of your face into the background. Avoid too bright or too cool tones like fuchsia and magenta.
Product Recommendations for Soft Autumn Cheeks and Lips*
Daytime Makeup
The “Natural Makeup Look,” consisting of minimal eye makeup and lipstick similar to your natural lip color, works best for your daytime makeup.
Evening Makeup
Soft smokey eyes with brown tones and darker tones for the lips create a dramatic look for the Soft Autumn type. For evenings, you can also use a little shimmer, as the light is usually not strong enough to reflect it unfavorably.
You can learn how to put together clothing, accessories, and jewelry suitable for your color type below.
Soft Autumn Clothing and Accessories
The main features of the Soft Autumn type are its soft overall impression and low contrasts. Color selection and combination of Soft Autumn clothing and accessories should reflect and complement these main features so that the Soft Autumn type looks vibrant.
This works best with monochromatic color combinations. Monochrome colors are colors of the same hue in different shades, also called tone-on-tone. Other color types may look pale and washed out with this combination, but the Soft types are flattered by the tone-on-tone combo.
Also advantageous for the Soft Autumn type is combining analogous colors. These are hues that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.
Another harmonious option would be to combine a light color from your “Neutral Colors” with a slightly darker one from your accent colors. Both you can find in your Digital Color Palette.
Color Combinations Soft Autumn Should Avoid
All color combinations that have high contrasts like complementary colors (opposite on the color wheel), triadic, tetradic, or square color systems are not suitable. The latter consist of three or four colors evenly distributed on the color circle.
I have described which colors you should generally avoid further up.
Patterns and Prints for Soft Autumn Clothing
For patterns and prints in Soft Autumn clothing, the same applies as for color combinations. Soft patterns consisting exclusively of Soft Autumn colors are best. If only a very small part of the pattern consists of a color from a disharmonious color palette, the pattern will surely flatter you as well.
Soft patterns are gentle and delicate patterns that look like they were painted with watercolors. Floral prints and natural elements such as birds, vines, and feathers arranged in small and loose arrangements are excellent choices.
Avoid geometric and large patterns with high contrasts and harsh lines.
You can find examples of patterns and prints in your Digital Color Palette.
Appropriate Clothing
You’re best off choosing appropriate clothing with the help of a color palette. You always have your Digital Color Palette with you. Simply place it on the garment you’ve chosen and see if the colors harmonize. At first, this may be a bit difficult for you, but over time, you’ll develop a good eye for which colors match and which don’t.
For color combinations and matching patterns, my Digital Color Palette also help you further. If you want regular suggestions for clothing that suits your color type, feel free to follow me on Instagram.
Jewelry for the Soft Autumn Type
Soft Autumn types usually have many neutral undertones, so both silver and gold jewelry suit you. However, the undertones are generally neutral-cool, so avoid warm, deep gold tones that tend towards orange. White gold and rose gold with a high pink content are more suitable.
Whether you choose silver or gold jewelry: it should always be matte.
If you opt for pearls, make sure they are not too white. Semi-precious stones such as fluorite, charoite, and jade are more suitable. Again, pay attention to matte stones and soft combinations.
If you want to set up your wardrobe sustainably and always find something to wear, my article on the capsule wardrobe or minimalist wardrobe will help you.