Season comparison
Soft Autumn vs Deep Autumn: 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.
Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn are both warm seasons; they split on depth and clarity: Soft Autumn is medium in depth and muted, Deep Autumn is deep and moderately clear. Their palettes overlap on 2 of Soft Autumn’s 16 colors and 2 of Deep Autumn’s; the widest gaps are Soft Autumn’s Buttermilk and Deep Autumn’s Aubergine Brown.
What’s the difference between Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn?
The 12-season system runs on three axes — undertone, depth and clarity. Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn are both warm seasons, so everything below the two rows marked as the split is common ground.
| Undertone | Soft Autumnwarm (golden/yellow-based) Deep Autumnwarm (golden/yellow-based) Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
|---|---|
| Depth — the split | Soft Autumnmedium Deep Autumndeep This is where the two seasons part company. |
| Clarity — the split | Soft Autumnsoft and muted Deep Autumnmoderately clear This is where the two seasons part company. |
| Best metals | Soft AutumnBoth, leaning gold Deep AutumnGold Different verdicts, but both still lean gold — jewelry cannot settle this pair. Judge on depth and clarity instead. |
| Signature neutral | Soft AutumnOat #E6D8BF Deep AutumnDark Chocolate #3E2A1A The color each season reaches for instead of black. |
| Palette lightness (mean L*) | Soft Autumn65 Deep Autumn34 Mean L* of each 16-color palette. Soft Autumn runs 31 points lighter. |
| Palette saturation (mean C*) | Soft Autumn27 Deep Autumn34 Deep Autumn runs 6 points more saturated. |
| Palette warmth (mean b*) | Soft Autumn+21 Deep Autumn+22 Positive is yellow, negative is blue — the numeric version of warm versus cool. |
Soft Autumn vs Deep Autumn: 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 Soft Autumn palette
Soft Autumn coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), medium in depth, and soft and muted.
Toasted Almond#C9A47E Salmon Dust#D08E76 Olive Moss#8A8B5C Warm Sage#A3A87B Terracotta Haze#BF7051 Honey Beige#D6B78B Faded Coral#D68A74 Khaki Green#9A9463 Soft Teal#6D9A93 Buttermilk#EBDCB2 Copper Rose#B67865 Warm Taupe#AE9884 Marsh Green#7E8E6B Muted Gold#C7A855 Cinnamon Milk#C99578 Dusty Turquoise#79A8A4
The Deep Autumn palette
Deep Autumn coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), deep in depth, and moderately clear.
Oxblood#71261F Burnt Copper#9C4A1E Deep Forest#2F4A2C Aubergine Brown#4E2A33 Dark Mustard#A8791C Brick#8E3B22 Deep Teal#16535C Olive Night#4A4A22 Garnet#7C2432 Tobacco#7A5427 Spiced Wine#813038 Bronze#8C6A2B Pine#25573D Rust Deep#9B441D Warm Charcoal#443B33 Molasses#59331D
Where the Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn palettes agree
Every color in one palette was measured against every color in the other in CIELAB. 2 pairings came back close enough to call the same color: 2 of Soft Autumn’s 16 have a near-identical counterpart in Deep Autumn’s palette, and 2 of Deep Autumn’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: Soft AutumnRight: Deep Autumn
Terracotta Haze#BF7051 Brick#8E3B22 13.1 ΔE apart
Olive Moss#8A8B5C Olive Night#4A4A22 15.9 ΔE apart
Where Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn split
This is the section that decides it. 14 of Soft Autumn’s colors and 14 of Deep Autumn’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.
Soft Autumn only — 14 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Deep Autumn palette:
- Buttermilk#EBDCB2Nearest Deep Autumn color: Tobacco — 35 ΔE away
- Warm Taupe#AE9884Nearest Deep Autumn color: Warm Charcoal — 26 ΔE away
- Honey Beige#D6B78BNearest Deep Autumn color: Tobacco — 25 ΔE away
- Salmon Dust#D08E76Nearest Deep Autumn color: Tobacco — 24 ΔE away
- Dusty Turquoise#79A8A4Nearest Deep Autumn color: Deep Teal — 23 ΔE away
Deep Autumn only — 14 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the Soft Autumn palette:
- Aubergine Brown#4E2A33Nearest Soft Autumn color: Warm Taupe — 34 ΔE away
- Garnet#7C2432Nearest Soft Autumn color: Copper Rose — 26 ΔE away
- Warm Charcoal#443B33Nearest Soft Autumn color: Warm Taupe — 26 ΔE away
- Spiced Wine#813038Nearest Soft Autumn color: Copper Rose — 23 ΔE away
- Deep Teal#16535CNearest Soft Autumn color: Soft Teal — 22 ΔE away
Can a Soft Autumn wear Deep Autumn colors?
Partly, and the split is measurable rather than a matter of taste. 2 of the 16 Deep Autumn colors sit close enough to something in the Soft Autumn palette to borrow freely — starting with Deep Autumn’s Brick (#8E3B22), which measures 13.1 ΔE from Soft Autumn’s Terracotta Haze (#BF7051). The remaining 14 are where Deep Autumn pulls away along depth and clarity, and those are the ones that read as almost-right on a Soft Autumn.
It runs the same way in reverse: 2 of Soft Autumn’s colors are fair game for a Deep Autumn, and 14 are not. Neither palette is the better one — they are different answers to different faces.
How do I know if I’m Soft Autumn or Deep Autumn?
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 Soft Autumn’s deepest color, Terracotta Haze (#BF7051), against Deep Autumn’s, Aubergine Brown (#4E2A33). 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 Soft Autumn’s most saturated color, Muted Gold (#C7A855), beside Deep Autumn’s, Dark Mustard (#A8791C). 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 Soft Autumn’s Buttermilk (#EBDCB2) next to Deep Autumn’s Aubergine Brown (#4E2A33). 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 — Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn 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.
Soft Autumn — the test colors
Deep Autumn — the test colors
What a Soft Autumn and a Deep Autumn 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 | Soft Autumnwarm rosewood, terracotta nude and brick rose — soft-matte Deep Autumnoxblood, brown-berry and spiced brick — depth is your signature |
|---|---|
| Blush | Soft Autumnmuted apricot Deep Autumndeep terracotta, used as sculpt as much as color |
| Foundation | Soft Autumnwarm-neutral; skin-like finish, zero flashback white Deep Autumnwarm undertone with depth honored — never lightened out |
| Hair color | Soft Autumnsoft golden depth: bronde, caramel balayage, warm light brown — avoid platinum and blue-black Deep Autumnespresso, black-brown with warmth, deep auburn — richness over lightness |
| Jewelry | Soft AutumnBoth, leaning gold Deep AutumnGold |
| Wardrobe | Soft Autumnearthy tonal outfits; olive and camel are your power neutrals Deep Autumndeep earth column dressing; one ember accent (garnet, rust) near the face |
Deeper on each: Soft Autumn makeup and Soft Autumn hair, or Deep Autumn makeup and Deep Autumn hair.
Soft Autumn vs Deep Autumn: common questions
What is the difference between Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn?
Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn are both warm seasons, and they split on depth and clarity: Soft Autumn is medium in depth and muted, Deep Autumn is deep and moderately clear. In palette terms that shows up as 14 of Soft Autumn's 16 colors and 14 of Deep Autumn's having no near equivalent on the other side — for example Soft Autumn's Buttermilk (#EBDCB2) and Deep Autumn's Aubergine Brown (#4E2A33).
Can a Soft Autumn wear Deep Autumn colors?
Some of them, and the count is exact: 2 of the 16 colors in the Deep Autumn palette have a near-identical counterpart in Soft Autumn's, so those are safe to borrow. The other 14 are where Deep Autumn pulls away — wearing those is what makes a Soft Autumn look slightly off rather than lit. Borrow the overlap, skip the rest.
How do I tell if I'm Soft Autumn or Deep Autumn?
Test the axis that separates them, which is depth and clarity. Hold Soft Autumn's Terracotta Haze against Deep Autumn's Aubergine Brown and watch whether the deeper one grounds your face or swallows it. Hold Soft Autumn's Muted Gold against Deep Autumn's Dark Mustard: 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 Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn palettes share any colors?
Yes — measured in CIELAB, 2 of Soft Autumn's 16 colors have a near-identical match in Deep Autumn's palette, and 2 of Deep Autumn's have one in Soft Autumn's. The closest single pairing is Soft Autumn's Terracotta Haze (#BF7051) against Deep Autumn's Brick (#8E3B22), 13 ΔE apart. Those are the colors you can wear either way while you decide.
Does a Soft Autumn or a Deep Autumn wear gold?
Soft Autumn: both, leaning gold. Deep Autumn: 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 Soft Autumn and Deep Autumn?
That is a normal place to land — these two are on this list precisely because they are confused constantly. Live in the overlap: the 2 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 Soft Autumn rather than Deep Autumn?
Soft Autumn should steer clear of jet black, icy pink, electric blue; Deep Autumn should steer clear of icy pastel blue, baby pink, cool lilac. 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.