Season comparison
Light Spring vs Bright Spring: how to tell the difference
Both palettes side by side, the colors they genuinely share, and the one thing that actually decides it — depth and clarity.
Light Spring and Bright Spring are both warm seasons; they split on depth and clarity: Light Spring is light and moderately clear, Bright Spring is medium in depth and bright. Their palettes overlap on 1 of Light Spring’s 16 colors and 1 of Bright Spring’s; the widest gaps are Light Spring’s Powder Peach and Bright Spring’s Violet Spark.
What’s the difference between Light Spring and Bright Spring?
The 12-season system runs on three axes — undertone, depth and clarity. Light Spring and Bright Spring are both warm seasons, so everything below the two rows marked as the split is common ground.
| Undertone | Light Springwarm (golden/yellow-based) Bright Springwarm (golden/yellow-based) Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
|---|---|
| Depth — the split | Light Springlight Bright Springmedium This is where the two seasons part company. |
| Clarity — the split | Light Springmoderately clear Bright Springbright and highly saturated This is where the two seasons part company. |
| Best metals | Light SpringGold Bright SpringBoth, leaning gold Different verdicts, but both still lean gold — jewelry cannot settle this pair. Judge on depth and clarity instead. |
| Signature neutral | Light SpringWarm Ivory #FBF0DC Bright SpringWarm White #FBF4E4 The color each season reaches for instead of black. |
| Palette lightness (mean L*) | Light Spring82 Bright Spring65 Mean L* of each 16-color palette. Light Spring runs 17 points lighter. |
| Palette saturation (mean C*) | Light Spring33 Bright Spring66 Bright Spring runs 34 points more saturated. |
| Palette warmth (mean b*) | Light Spring+18 Bright Spring+20 Positive is yellow, negative is blue — the numeric version of warm versus cool. |
Light Spring vs Bright Spring: the two palettes side by side
Sixteen colors each, with hex values. This is the comparison most articles on these two seasons never actually show you.
The Light Spring palette
Light Spring coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), light in depth, and moderately clear.
Peach Blossom#FFB59E Buttercream#F7DC8E Spring Aqua#8FD6C6 Warm Ivory#FBF0DC Coral Pink#F99787 Melon Sorbet#FFA588 Pistachio#B8D8A0 Soft Turquoise#7CCFD0 Baby Marigold#FBC65F Powder Peach#FAD0BB Fresh Leaf#9CCB76 Clear Sky#9CCEE8 Rosy Nude#EFAF9C Honeydew#DCE8A9 Apricot Cream#FFC498 Periwinkle Mist#A9B8E8
The Bright Spring palette
Bright Spring coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), medium in depth, and bright and highly saturated.
Hot Coral#FF5A4E Lime Zest#B5D334 Electric Aqua#00B8C4 Flamingo#F6559C Clear Red#E3242B Tangerine#FF8C42 Sun Yellow#FFD02F Emerald Pop#00A86B Cobalt Splash#2A6FDB Violet Spark#7C4DFF Peony Pink#FF7BAC Kiwi#8DC63F Bright Teal#0097A7 Poppy Orange#F4581F Golden Glow#F7B32B True Turquoise#12BBB4
Where the Light Spring and Bright Spring palettes agree
Every color in one palette was measured against every color in the other in CIELAB. One pairing came back close enough to call the same color: 1 of Light Spring’s 16 have a near-identical counterpart in Bright Spring’s palette, and 1 of Bright Spring’s have one going back the other way. These are the colors you can wear whichever of the two you turn out to be.
Left: Light SpringRight: Bright Spring
Soft Turquoise#7CCFD0 True Turquoise#12BBB4 15.7 ΔE apart
Where Light Spring and Bright Spring split
This is the section that decides it. 15 of Light Spring’s colors and 15 of Bright Spring’s have no near equivalent in the other palette — and because the gap runs along depth and clarity, these are the exact swatches to hold against your face when you cannot decide. The shared colors above will look fine either way, which is precisely why they are useless as a test.
Each color below is listed with the closest thing the other season has to it, and how far apart the two measure. The bigger the number, the more that color belongs to one season and not the other.
Light Spring only — 15 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Bright Spring palette:
- Powder Peach#FAD0BBNearest Bright Spring color: Peony Pink — 52 ΔE away
- Warm Ivory#FBF0DCNearest Bright Spring color: True Turquoise — 51 ΔE away
- Peach Blossom#FFB59ENearest Bright Spring color: Peony Pink — 48 ΔE away
- Buttercream#F7DC8ENearest Bright Spring color: Tangerine — 47 ΔE away
- Apricot Cream#FFC498Nearest Bright Spring color: Tangerine — 47 ΔE away
Bright Spring only — 15 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Light Spring palette:
- Violet Spark#7C4DFFNearest Light Spring color: Periwinkle Mist — 102 ΔE away
- Cobalt Splash#2A6FDBNearest Light Spring color: Periwinkle Mist — 57 ΔE away
- Flamingo#F6559CNearest Light Spring color: Coral Pink — 54 ΔE away
- Poppy Orange#F4581FNearest Light Spring color: Baby Marigold — 52 ΔE away
- Clear Red#E3242BNearest Light Spring color: Coral Pink — 49 ΔE away
Can a Light Spring wear Bright Spring colors?
Partly, and the split is measurable rather than a matter of taste. 1 of the 16 Bright Spring colors sit close enough to something in the Light Spring palette to borrow freely — starting with Bright Spring’s True Turquoise (#12BBB4), which measures 15.7 ΔE from Light Spring’s Soft Turquoise (#7CCFD0). The remaining 15 are where Bright Spring pulls away along depth and clarity, and those are the ones that read as almost-right on a Light Spring.
It runs the same way in reverse: 1 of Light Spring’s colors are fair game for a Bright Spring, and 15 are not. Neither palette is the better one — they are different answers to different faces.
How do I know if I’m Light Spring or Bright Spring?
Only test the axis that separates them. Everything else is common ground and will give you an answer that fits both. Do this in daylight near a window, with no makeup on, and watch your skin rather than the fabric.
1. Do deep colors ground you or swallow you?
Hold Light Spring’s deepest color, Coral Pink (#F99787), against Bright Spring’s, Violet Spark (#7C4DFF). If the deeper of the two anchors your face and sharpens your features, you belong to the deeper season. If it takes over — your eyes and mouth recede and the garment arrives before you do — you belong to the lighter one.
2. Does bright read vivid or harsh?
Hold Light Spring’s most saturated color, Baby Marigold (#FBC65F), beside Bright Spring’s, Violet Spark (#7C4DFF). If the clearer color makes your eyes come forward, you are the clearer season. If it looks like it is shouting over you — the color wins, your face goes flat — you are the softer one.
3. The head-to-head
The cleanest single test on this page: put Light Spring’s Powder Peach (#FAD0BB) next to Bright Spring’s Violet Spark (#7C4DFF). Those two measure furthest from each other’s palettes of anything either season owns, so whichever one your face prefers is the strongest signal available without a full analysis.
Undertone will not separate these two — Light Spring and Bright Spring share it. If you are not yet certain you are in the right half of the system at all, settle that first with the undertone guide or the free undertone quiz, and come back to depth and clarity once it is answered.
Light Spring — the test colors
Bright Spring — the test colors
What a Light Spring and a Bright Spring wear differently
Same three axes, applied to the things you buy. Where the two seasons agree, the advice is interchangeable; where they do not, this is what changes.
| Lipstick | Light Springsheer peach, coral pink and warm rose — glossy over matte Bright Springpoppy red, hot coral, fuchsia-leaning pink — full saturation, clean edges |
|---|---|
| Blush | Light Springpeachy pink with a golden glow Bright Springbright coral, applied sparingly — your skin does the glowing |
| Foundation | Light Springwarm or golden undertone, light coverage — let the freshness through Bright Springneutral-warm; keep it luminous, never flat |
| Hair color | Light Springstay light and warm: golden blonde, honey, light caramel — avoid ashy or inky depth Bright Springkeep contrast crisp: rich warm brunette or vivid copper; avoid mousy in-betweens |
| Jewelry | Light SpringGold Bright SpringBoth, leaning gold |
| Wardrobe | Light Springlight warm layers over crisp warm-white; color near the face, softness everywhere else Bright Springone saturated hero color per outfit; sharpen with bright navy or warm white |
Deeper on each: Light Spring makeup and Light Spring hair, or Bright Spring makeup and Bright Spring hair.
Light Spring vs Bright Spring: common questions
What is the difference between Light Spring and Bright Spring?
Light Spring and Bright Spring are both warm seasons, and they split on depth and clarity: Light Spring is light and moderately clear, Bright Spring is medium in depth and bright. In palette terms that shows up as 15 of Light Spring's 16 colors and 15 of Bright Spring's having no near equivalent on the other side — for example Light Spring's Powder Peach (#FAD0BB) and Bright Spring's Violet Spark (#7C4DFF).
Can a Light Spring wear Bright Spring colors?
Some of them, and the count is exact: 1 of the 16 colors in the Bright Spring palette have a near-identical counterpart in Light Spring's, so those are safe to borrow. The other 15 are where Bright Spring pulls away — wearing those is what makes a Light Spring look slightly off rather than lit. Borrow the overlap, skip the rest.
How do I tell if I'm Light Spring or Bright Spring?
Test the axis that separates them, which is depth and clarity. Hold Light Spring's Coral Pink against Bright Spring's Violet Spark and watch whether the deeper one grounds your face or swallows it. Hold Light Spring's Baby Marigold against Bright Spring's Violet Spark: if the brighter one reads vivid you are the clearer season, if it reads harsh you are the softer one. Run it in daylight with no makeup on, and watch your skin rather than the fabric.
Do the Light Spring and Bright Spring palettes share any colors?
Yes — measured in CIELAB, 1 of Light Spring's 16 colors have a near-identical match in Bright Spring's palette, and 1 of Bright Spring's have one in Light Spring's. The closest single pairing is Light Spring's Soft Turquoise (#7CCFD0) against Bright Spring's True Turquoise (#12BBB4), 16 ΔE apart. Those are the colors you can wear either way while you decide.
Does a Light Spring or a Bright Spring wear gold?
Light Spring: gold. Bright Spring: both, leaning gold. Different verdicts, but both still lean gold — jewelry cannot settle this pair. Judge on depth and clarity instead.
What if I'm somewhere between Light Spring and Bright Spring?
That is a normal place to land — these two are on this list precisely because they are confused constantly. Live in the overlap: the 1 near-identical pairings between the two palettes work either way. Then judge yourself on depth and clarity alone, in daylight, using the colors each season does not share with the other. Those are the only colors that can actually tell you apart.
Which colors should I avoid if I'm Light Spring rather than Bright Spring?
Light Spring should steer clear of jet black, burgundy, charcoal; Bright Spring should steer clear of dusty rose, mushroom taupe, muted olive. The avoid lists are a useful cross-check: if one season's "avoid" colors are the ones you already know look bad on you, that is a vote for the other season.