You are a Cool Summer type if the undertones of your hair, skin, and eyes are distinctly cool, and the contours blend softly together. When you look in the mirror, the first thing you notice is your cool undertones. If you’re unsure whether you’re a Cool Summer, feel free to book my Online Course for your DIY Seasonal Color Analysis.
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Cool Summer is the coolest color type of the muted and cool Summer palette. Its main characteristic is “Cool,” with secondary characteristics being “Muted” and “Light.”
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 Cool Summer:
If you need help determining your characteristics, click here.
Cool Summer is a Summer type that leans slightly towards Winter. Its most important criterion is the cool undertone. Contrasts between eyes, hair, and skin can exist but are not as noticeable as in Winter types.
Skin: Cool beige, gray-beige, neutral beige, or blue-black, often doesn’t tan or tans with difficulty
Hair: Medium to dark ash brown, gray, or very light ash blond, without warm highlights
Eyes: Gray, blue, or slate
There are also many atypical types among Cool types. If you suspect you are one of these or if the characteristics described above only partially apply to you but another color type doesn’t fit better, read on: Atypical Cool Types
The Colors of the Cool Summer
Colors to avoid for Cool Summer:
Cool Summer types should avoid warm colors. Cool Summer types will never be able to borrow colors from the Spring palettes. Although the Cool Summer is the least muted of the Summer palette, the colors of the Spring palettes would not only be too warm but also too clear and saturated. The same applies to the Autumn palette. These colors are muted, but they are also too dark alongside the warmth. Also, the clear and darker colors of the Deep and Clear Winters typically don’t work. While these palettes are cool in varying degrees, both are too dark and have the clarity of colors as their main or secondary characteristic.
Pure black and white unfortunately don’t flatter the Cool Summer type. Instead, opt for dark brown-gray and light gray tones.
Color types from which Cool Summer might borrow:
Cool Summer types can borrow from Soft and Light Summer as long as the colors are cool enough and not too light and muted. So, the darker colors of the Light Summer palette and the cool blue tones of the Soft Summer palette are suitable. Colors can also be borrowed from the Cool Winter palette, as long as they are not too clear.
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 Cool Summer!
Digital Color Palette 12 Seasons
Color Type: Cool Summer
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Cool Summer Make up
The optimal Cool Summer makeup is rather subtle to match the cool and soft overall impression of the color type. Avoid black eyeliner and eyeliner, as it could look too harsh and “painted on” quickly. Warm colors, shimmer, and glitter also look unflattering and stand out unnaturally.
*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. Cool Summer types usually have a cool complexion with bluish undertones and/or a hint of pink. A cool shade of beige often works well.
Opt for a matte foundation with a cool undertone.
Finishing Powder
You don’t have to forgo a flawless and durable finish for your makeup. There are matte finishing powders that perfectly match your appearance. Avoid shimmer or silk powder.
Bronzer, Contouring & Highlighter
Unfortunately, Cool Summer types don’t tolerate bronzer well. Bronzer is supposed to emphasize warmth in the skin. Since there is no warmth present in the Cool Summer type, bronzer will make you look sick. Also, avoid shimmering highlighters.
Product Recommendations for Cool Summer 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, cool eyeshadows with little or no shimmer and glitter that complement your appearance. Warm and very dark colors can make you look too made up. For accents, you can use the colors from the Cool Summer color palette, and as base colors, use the colors from the Neutral Colors for Cool Summer color palette. Further suggestions can be found on the Cool Summer makeup card. If you use different eyeshadow colors, blend them well together so that no harsh lines are created.
Mascara
Strictly speaking, I would recommend not using black mascara, as it emphasizes 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 on very long, dense lashes that would look overloaded if mascaraed in black. In that case, opt for a dark gray or a cool chocolate brown instead.
Eyeliner & Kohl
Choose an eyeliner or kohl pencil color that is not much darker than the color of your eyeshadow to avoid harsh lines. With a special eyeliner & smudge brush, you can also use your eyeshadows as eyeliner and blend too harsh lines.
Product Recommendations for Cool Summer Eye Makeup*
Blush
Prefer cool, matte colors in pink and plum tones for your blush and blend it well for a natural look.
Lipstick
Cool pink, red, and plum tones suit you best. Lipsticks with the addition of “Glossy” or “Brilliant” in the name are less suitable for you, as they bring the lips to the forefront and the rest of your face to the background. However, a slight gloss or pearl effect is allowed.
Product Recommendations for Cool Summer 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 gray tones and darker plum tones for the lips create a dramatic look for the Cool Summer type.
You can learn how to put together clothing, accessories, and jewelry suitable for your color type below.
Cool Summer Clothing and Accessories
The main characteristics of the Cool Summer are its cool overall impression and not very high contrasts. Color selection and combination of Cool Summer clothing and accessories should reflect and complement these main characteristics to make the Cool Summer type look lively.
This works best with monochrome color combinations. Monochrome colors are colors of the same hue in different shades, also called tone-on-tone.
Also advantageous for this type is to combine analogous colors. These are color tones that lie directly next 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 Cool Summers Should Avoid
All color combinations that have high contrasts to each other 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 that are evenly distributed on the color circle.
I have described which colors you should generally avoid further up.
Patterns and Prints for Cool Summer Clothing
For patterns and prints, the same applies as for color combinations. The best are patterns that consist exclusively of Cool Summer colors. If only a very small part of the pattern consists of a color from a disharmonious color palette, the pattern will certainly flatter you. Avoid patterns with a predominant amount of colors from other color palettes.
Patterns with medium contrasts suit you, but too high contrasts make you fade into the background. Choose patterns that look like they were painted with watercolors and floral prints. The patterns should not be too delicate and small but loosely arranged. Geometric and large patterns with large contrasts and hard lines should be avoided.
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 Cool Summer Type
Only cool jewelry suits you. Silver, white gold, and platinum work well. Avoid metals with yellow undertones and make sure your jewelry is matte. Suitable gemstones are lapis lazuli, London topaz, and amethyst.
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.