About their colours
The colours that suit Clear Springs best are bright and clear, not dusty or muddy or pale. The colours look cooler, though still warm, when compared to the Warm Spring palette. True blue, true red, and true green, ie. shades that have an equal amount of yellow and blue inside, make them look at their best. Only Winters can take such colours as well as Clear Springs do. The difference is, perhaps, what they look like in these colours: Winters look energetic and powerful, Clear Springs sparkle, and their eyes stand out like jewels.Black is only good for Clear Springs with very dark brown hair. The others should go up to navy or coffee brown, depending on their eye colour, for they will look much better. Really, only Winters and Deep Autumns look good in black.
Beware of muddy colours, like beige and tan, and of dusty browns!
Clear Springs' eye colour is important:
- Blue-eyed Clear Springs look best wearing blues, grays, and emerald green.
- Hazel-eyed Clear Springs look best wearing dark olive and coffee brown.
Best neutrals
- For hazel eyes: Coffee brown and dark olive green.
- For blue eyes: Charcoal and navy.
Other colours
- Red blues from light and deep periwinkle, violet and purple.
- Very happy, vibrant, reds and pinks.
- True red, true blue, true green.
Colour combinations
- Charcoal and pink.
- Deep Periwinkle and clear red.
- Black brown and coral.
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| Clear Spring palette: Blues, greens, and yellow by Caroline Grant. Vivid shades of green and luminous blues all suit Clear Springs well. |
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| Clear Spring palette: Purples, reds and pinks by Caroline Grant. More shades that show how full of energy this palette is. Again, think about your eye colour to choose your best shades. |
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| Clear Spring palette: Navy, black and grays by Caroline Grant. Clear Springs can wear all grays from the lightest to charcoal. Black is only good if your hair colour is very dark, try instead navy or coffee brown, depending on whether your eyes are blue or hazel (respectively), for much better results. |
MORE?
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ReplyDeleteHi Mary!,
ReplyDeleteClear Springs with green-blue eyes best neutrals are greys from charcoal to light gray), and navy for winter and stone for summer. By "neutral" I mean the colours you would choose for a suit, or investment pieces in solid colours, but really that very much depends on your occupation and your personal preferences: a Clear Spring would look great in a turquoise suit, but that isn't necessarily what she feels comfortable with. Perhaps a charcoal grey suit with a coral pink or mint blouse would be more conservative, but equally flattering.
I hope this helps, advice without more information about yourself is not easy!
Kind regards,
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThank you!
DeleteThis post is so fascinating! I've been trying to weed clothes out of my closet to make sure my wardrobe suits me well and I'm having so much trouble finding out if I am truly a clear spring or a winter. I'm pretty sure I'm a clear spring, though. I have an ivory complexion, medium to dark brown hair, and hazel eyes (bluish with amber around the pupil)
ReplyDeleteI am having trouble distinguishing which colors are best for me other bright blue (which dominates my wardrobe!)
Hello, I was always under the impression that I am a winter, but I look great in gold & many other warm colors, much better than cool tones!
ReplyDeleteMy colors are those:
Natural Hair: Dark Brown almost black,
Eyes: Brown, not dark, either hazel, brown with golden highlights. But they seem clear, they are bright.
Skin: Ivory - Porcelain, my husband tells me peaches & cream, but I don;t know to be honest, what I know is that it is light & I look great with strawberry blonde hair color & beige platinum hair color.
& i have few freckles, but they are almost unnoticeable.
While my dominant color at clothes is black, people tell me I look great in red & gold, other colors are orange, blue, pink, brown & white.
Rarely I will wear green or violet & some other colors.
I think I go towards clear spring, but the eye color at most articles says hazel. So im confused as to which pallet I belong....
email: mcharis@rocketmail.com
Thanks,
Charis
NOTE: I contacted Charis through her mail. Sometimes I follow up privately with Q&A :)
DeleteI am the same as Charis and am curious what the outcome was.
ReplyDeleteHi Shannon...
DeleteCharis turned out to be a Deep Atumn in love with Clear Spring colours... and in need of some guidance. You don't seem to be one from your profile photo... but it's tiny!
Regards,
Caroline
Thank you for the reply Caroline! I have had such a difficult time really seeing myself clearly. I don't think I'm a deep autumn as brown, mustard, pumpkin, etc. are all my worst colors. I have medium brown hair naturally, with gold tones. My eyes are a mix of olive and amber and I have porcelain skin with freckles. Anyway, I'm lost, lol. I own way too much black and am intimidated by color, so I was hoping to start with a few complimentary colors for my complexion. If you would rather talk through email, mine is bruntshannon@yahoo.com. :)
ReplyDeleteShannon and I are continuing this conversation through mail.
DeleteLike your blog!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I'm a clear/bright, and am just wondering how to narrow the choice down to winter or spring. Based on my fairness (white-blond hair as a child, and now mousy to mid brown), I should be a spring. But while the clear spring colours suit, the cooler tones of the clear winter look better.
Getting into this has made me realise that I can handle a lot of colour. I thought I couldn't wear red lipstick, but I can, in fact I look much better, and less pale. I've always loved bold coloured clothing, and hated pastels. When considering colour palette, I took a bunch of selfies draping myself with various pale colours - because my first thought was light spring or, alternately, light summer. They looked terrible! When I go back to my preferences of bold reds, pinks, greens and blues, the effect is much better. I even tried flourescent pink and it looked great, and lime green and deep orange. Those three colours I had no idea I could wear. Still no luck with yellow though - unless it's a nice mustard yellow.
Colette
Hi Colette,
DeleteCongratulations on your colour epiphany!
I"m a bright spring and want to buy fabric swatches in my palette...Can you suggest where to go buy it?
ReplyDeleteHi there,
DeleteI'm awfully late with this, I know, but I have been travelling a lot. Maybe Anette Henriksen (one of my readers) can help you with that, I'll ask for you.
Regards,
Caroline
Hi
ReplyDeleteI have pretty much narrowed my colors to either bright winter or bright spring, but I can't tell which. All the way through high school I had red highlights in my hair (which have since gone away), but I have very pale translucent skin and clear hazel eyes. Make up artists are always saying I have a cool undertone, but I'm finding I can take warmth alright if the pigment is clear/bright enough, so I am a little confused... Thanks!
Hi Carolynne,
DeleteCould you please send me photos of yourself so I can help. Go to the Contact Caroline page on top of the blog.
Caroline
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DeleteI have pale skin, freckles, crystal blue eyes - I currently have blonde highlights..naturally brown hair...trying to change up hair color a bit...what color should I try...stick with blonde, go brown...thanks :)
ReplyDeleteHi there,
DeleteGo ahead and send me some photos of yourself to my address.
Caroline
Hi Caroline,
ReplyDeleteI'm having trouble deciding if I am a Clear Spring or a Deep Autumn. I originally thought Autumn because I have dark brown eyes, but my natural hair colour is golden blonde and since I've gone darker it doesn't look as good. My skin has a neutral undertone but with a little more warmth than cool to it. I can pull off black but pure white washes me out - ivory is better. Oranges, corals and greens (most tones, especially lime and emerald) brighten me, but browns, camels and beiges don't do anything for me. Any help would be appreciated as I've been having a hard time working it out. I don't seem to fit into one category.
Thanks,
Steph.
Hi Steph,
DeleteThanks for your message. Helping people determine their season palette is a service I provide now for a small fee. If you are interested, you can read the "Ask Caroline" page at the top of the blog and send me an email to redandlipstick(at)gmail(dot)com.
Kind regards,
Caroline
Hi Caroline..Loved this article of yours. I am 19 year old brunette with coffee brown eyes. Since a long time I thought I was a cool winter bc I had a flush of pink on my cheeks most of time and I completely ignored the yellow undertones on the rest of my body. But then I have doing some reading on my own and I figured I was a BSp.
ReplyDeleteCan you please take a look once just to help me out? I can mail you my pictures.
Hi GirlGeek! I'm afraid you wrote at a period when I was not working on the blog...
DeleteHi! I love your advice for colour palettes! I also could never pick out my season before until I knew that they could be broken down into three categories each! I have a question about wedding dress colours. I believe I am a clear spring (topaz/green eyes, medium brown hair, light warm to neutral skin). I am trying to decide whether a white or ivory coloured dress would suit me best, as a clear spring. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Samara! I would go with a luminous ivory. Avoid muted or muddy shades. Look at your face with the dress on and think: Do my eyes sparkle? ;)
DeleteThank you! I ended up going with an ivory dress with a sparkly beaded top.
DeleteI had an additional question about clear spring metallics. Is it possible that a clear spring would look better in silver instead of gold? I've heard that, being a neutral season but more on the warm side, they can wear both but look best in gold. But I've always thought I look better in silver, but I'm still certain I'm a clear spring, not a winter - I don't wear icy colours or white as well as I wear black. Bright true yellow gold overwhelms me, but I can get away with a paler gold. I just don't don't know if the pale gold or silver is better, as I have always worn silver the most, and as such have more silver jewellery. What are your thoughts on this?
What happens to bright / clear springs as they age ? Very few older people can carry vivid colours.
ReplyDeleteAs you point out, as we grow older vivid colours are too strong, as your general skin tone is less warm. Some women, accordingly, can start wearing cooler colours. A Clear Spring would look better in softer Spring colours (Light Spring), as the contrast between hair, eye and skin becomes less so. This is an excellent idea for a post, thank you.
DeleteHi Caroline! Thankyou so much for this amazing blog, I have introduced all my friends to it! I was just wondering if you have ever considered doing posts about hair dye colours for the various seasons and subsets. I really want to dye my hair a vibrant orange, but as a clear spring Im not entirely sure if its a good colour for me.
ReplyDeleteBest, and thanks,
Belinda
Hi Belinda! Thanks for your comment :)... and for spreading the word ;)! That's a great idea for a post. Bright orange sounds possibly too much... If you write to me at redandlipstick at gmail dot com telling me about yourself (and your hair ;)) and include a photo, we can brainstorm about possible hair colours for you :).
DeleteAll the best,
Caroline