Season comparison
True Spring vs True Autumn: how to tell the difference
Both palettes side by side, the colors they genuinely share, and the one thing that actually decides it — clarity.
True Spring and True Autumn are both warm, medium-depth seasons; the only axis that separates them is clarity — True Spring is clear, True Autumn is moderately clear. Their palettes overlap on 5 of True Spring’s 16 colors and 9 of True Autumn’s; the widest gaps are True Spring’s Warm Violet and True Autumn’s Forest Olive.
What’s the difference between True Spring and True Autumn?
The 12-season system runs on three axes — undertone, depth and clarity. True Spring and True Autumn are both warm, medium-depth seasons, so everything below the one row marked as the split is common ground.
| Undertone | True Springwarm (golden/yellow-based) True Autumnwarm (golden/yellow-based) Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
|---|---|
| Depth | True Springmedium True Autumnmedium Identical — this axis cannot tell you apart. |
| Clarity — the split | True Springclear and true True Autumnmoderately clear This is where the two seasons part company. |
| Best metals | True SpringGold True AutumnGold Same verdict — jewelry cannot settle this pair. Judge on clarity instead. |
| Signature neutral | True SpringWarm Cream #F8ECD4 True AutumnCream Caramel #EFDDBC The color each season reaches for instead of black. |
| Palette lightness (mean L*) | True Spring69 True Autumn52 Mean L* of each 16-color palette. True Spring runs 17 points lighter. |
| Palette saturation (mean C*) | True Spring52 True Autumn50 True Spring runs 2 points more saturated. |
| Palette warmth (mean b*) | True Spring+27 True Autumn+39 Positive is yellow, negative is blue — the numeric version of warm versus cool. |
True Spring vs True 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 True Spring palette
True Spring coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), medium in depth, and clear and true.
Coral Rose#F2706A Marigold#F5C95A Leaf Green#8FC36B Warm Peach#F4A26B Chartreuse Bud#E8D24B Jade Pool#5BC2A8 Clear Ocean#5BB6D6 Shell Pink#F2A6B0 Watermelon#E86A8A Terracotta Sun#C9602F Tomato Red#E04B3A Golden Apricot#F0A040 Kelly Green#3FA45B Turquoise#2FB5B0 Warm Violet#8E6BC0 Daffodil#FFD44F
The True Autumn palette
True Autumn coloring is warm (golden/yellow-based), medium in depth, and moderately clear.
Rust#B4531F Mustard Gold#D19A2A Forest Olive#5F6E33 Pumpkin Spice#C46A1B Tomato Bisque#BF3E1D Moss#7A7B33 Teal Pine#22646B Burnt Sienna#A24E30 Golden Olive#98862F Paprika#AD3B21 Amber Honey#D89A3D Deep Salmon#C96F4A Turmeric#C98A16 Fern#5E7A3A Warm Turquoise#2E8578 Marmalade#D97836
Where the True Spring and True Autumn palettes agree
Every color in one palette was measured against every color in the other in CIELAB. 10 pairings came back close enough to call the same color: 5 of True Spring’s 16 have a near-identical counterpart in True Autumn’s palette, and 9 of True 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: True SpringRight: True Autumn
Terracotta Sun#C9602F Rust#B4531F 4.3 ΔE apart
Golden Apricot#F0A040 Amber Honey#D89A3D 9.5 ΔE apart
Terracotta Sun#C9602F Marmalade#D97836 10.3 ΔE apart
Golden Apricot#F0A040 Turmeric#C98A16 10.5 ΔE apart
Tomato Red#E04B3A Tomato Bisque#BF3E1D 11.0 ΔE apart
Golden Apricot#F0A040 Mustard Gold#D19A2A 11.9 ΔE apart
Marigold#F5C95A Mustard Gold#D19A2A 12.3 ΔE apart
Terracotta Sun#C9602F Paprika#AD3B21 13.2 ΔE apart
Warm Peach#F4A26B Deep Salmon#C96F4A 14.6 ΔE apart
Golden Apricot#F0A040 Pumpkin Spice#C46A1B 15.5 ΔE apart
Where True Spring and True Autumn split
This is the section that decides it. 11 of True Spring’s colors and 7 of True Autumn’s have no near equivalent in the other palette — and because the gap runs along 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.
True Spring only — 11 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the True Autumn palette:
- Warm Violet#8E6BC0Nearest True Autumn color: Teal Pine — 67 ΔE away
- Watermelon#E86A8ANearest True Autumn color: Burnt Sienna — 46 ΔE away
- Shell Pink#F2A6B0Nearest True Autumn color: Burnt Sienna — 45 ΔE away
- Clear Ocean#5BB6D6Nearest True Autumn color: Teal Pine — 28 ΔE away
- Kelly Green#3FA45BNearest True Autumn color: Fern — 25 ΔE away
True Autumn only — 7 of 16
The 5 furthest from anything in the True Spring palette:
- Forest Olive#5F6E33Nearest True Spring color: Leaf Green — 27 ΔE away
- Moss#7A7B33Nearest True Spring color: Leaf Green — 26 ΔE away
- Golden Olive#98862FNearest True Spring color: Marigold — 26 ΔE away
- Teal Pine#22646BNearest True Spring color: Turquoise — 25 ΔE away
- Fern#5E7A3ANearest True Spring color: Leaf Green — 22 ΔE away
Can a True Spring wear True Autumn colors?
Partly, and the split is measurable rather than a matter of taste. 9 of the 16 True Autumn colors sit close enough to something in the True Spring palette to borrow freely — starting with True Autumn’s Rust (#B4531F), which measures 4.3 ΔE from True Spring’s Terracotta Sun (#C9602F). The remaining 7 are where True Autumn pulls away along clarity, and those are the ones that read as almost-right on a True Spring.
It runs the same way in reverse: 5 of True Spring’s colors are fair game for a True Autumn, and 11 are not. Neither palette is the better one — they are different answers to different faces.
How do I know if I’m True Spring or True 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. Does bright read vivid or harsh?
Hold True Spring’s most saturated color, Tomato Red (#E04B3A), beside True Autumn’s, Tomato Bisque (#BF3E1D). 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.
2. The head-to-head
The cleanest single test on this page: put True Spring’s Warm Violet (#8E6BC0) next to True Autumn’s Forest Olive (#5F6E33). 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 — True Spring and True 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 clarity once it is answered.
True Spring — the test colors
True Autumn — the test colors
What a True Spring and a True 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 | True Springtrue coral, warm poppy and peachy red — clear, never muted True Autumnbrick red, warm terracotta and spiced brown-rose |
|---|---|
| Blush | True Springfresh coral or warm peach True Autumnterracotta or warm apricot bronze |
| Foundation | True Springgolden undertone; a touch of warmth beats a touch of pink True Autumngolden undertone; bronzy warmth reads as health on you |
| Hair color | True Springgolden — honey, copper-kissed caramel, warm chestnut; skip ash tones and blue-black True Autumnauburn, copper, golden chestnut — the richer and warmer, the better |
| Jewelry | True SpringGold True AutumnGold |
| Wardrobe | True Springclear warm color as the main event; camel and warm cream as your "blacks" True Autumnhead-to-toe earth tones; chocolate replaces black, cream replaces white |
Deeper on each: True Spring makeup and True Spring hair, or True Autumn makeup and True Autumn hair.
True Spring vs True Autumn: common questions
What is the difference between True Spring and True Autumn?
True Spring and True Autumn are both warm, medium-depth seasons, and the only axis that separates them is clarity — True Spring is clear, True Autumn is moderately clear. In palette terms that shows up as 11 of True Spring's 16 colors and 7 of True Autumn's having no near equivalent on the other side — for example True Spring's Warm Violet (#8E6BC0) and True Autumn's Forest Olive (#5F6E33).
Can a True Spring wear True Autumn colors?
Some of them, and the count is exact: 9 of the 16 colors in the True Autumn palette have a near-identical counterpart in True Spring's, so those are safe to borrow. The other 7 are where True Autumn pulls away — wearing those is what makes a True Spring look slightly off rather than lit. Borrow the overlap, skip the rest.
How do I tell if I'm True Spring or True Autumn?
Test the axis that separates them, which is clarity. Hold True Spring's Tomato Red against True Autumn's Tomato Bisque: 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 True Spring and True Autumn palettes share any colors?
Yes — measured in CIELAB, 5 of True Spring's 16 colors have a near-identical match in True Autumn's palette, and 9 of True Autumn's have one in True Spring's. The closest single pairing is True Spring's Terracotta Sun (#C9602F) against True Autumn's Rust (#B4531F), 4 ΔE apart. Those are the colors you can wear either way while you decide.
Does a True Spring or a True Autumn wear gold?
True Spring: gold. True Autumn: gold. Same verdict — jewelry cannot settle this pair. Judge on clarity instead.
What if I'm somewhere between True Spring and True 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 10 near-identical pairings between the two palettes work either way. Then judge yourself on 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 True Spring rather than True Autumn?
True Spring should steer clear of jet black, dusty mauve, icy grey; True Autumn should steer clear of icy pink, jet black, cool fuchsia. 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.