Cool Winter Color Palette

Crisp and cool — clear blue-based colour with icy contrast.

Cool Winter — also called True Winter — is the purest, coolest member of the Winter family. Your undertone is unmistakably cool: skin with a rosy, blue or porcelain cast, cool dark hair, and clear cool eyes. Your colours are blue-based and crisp — true blue, blue-red, emerald and icy brights against clean white and black.

Temperature: Cool
Depth: Medium-deep
Clarity: Bright

Cool Winter colors to wear

These 27 shades are the heart of the Cool Winter palette. Save them to your phone and use them as a reference when shopping for clothes, accessories and makeup.

True Blue

Royal Blue

Cobalt Indigo

Royal Purple

Cool Violet

Magenta

Blue Red

Cherry

Cool Wine

Cool Pink

Bright Rose

Emerald

Bright Jade

Teal Blue

Cool Turquoise

Cornflower Blue

Plum

Icy Aqua

Icy Lavender

Icy Pink

Lemon Ice

Pure White

Cool Grey

Slate Grey

Cool Navy

Soft Black

True Black

Colors to avoid

Warm, earthy and golden colours fight Cool Winter's clean, blue-based brightness and make the skin look sallow. Anything with an orange or golden base — rust, camel, pumpkin — works against you.

Warm Peach

Pumpkin

Honey Gold

Camel

Olive

Rust

Cream Beige

Best neutrals & metals

Neutrals

Pure White

Cool Grey

Slate Grey

Cool Navy

True Black

Soft Black

Metals

Gold ✕ Silver ✓ Rose gold ✕

Bright silver, platinum and white gold are your metals — clean and cool like your colouring. Yellow gold looks warm and muddy against cool skin.

Cool Winter makeup

Choose makeup in the same family as your clothing palette so your face and outfit work together. These shade families flatter Cool Winter colouring:

Lipstick

Blue RedMagentaCherryCool Berry

Blush

Cool PinkBright RoseCool Berry

Eyeshadow

Cool TaupeRoyal PurpleEmeraldSapphire Blue

Shop Cool Winter shades

Looking for makeup and wardrobe pieces in your colors? Curated Cool Winter lipstick, blush and clothing picks make it easy to build a palette-perfect look.

See recommended Cool Winter products →

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Hair colors for Cool Winter

Cool, clear hair flatters you: cool dark brown, espresso, blue-black and true black; cool platinum if going light. Avoid golden, honey and copper tones.

Cool Winter celebrities & examples

It helps to picture the Cool Winter look on real people. Rather than show copyrighted photos, here are the kinds of colouring that typify this season:

Cool-toned actors with dark hair and porcelain or rosy skinClear, cool complexions suited to true blue and blue-redCool clear-eyed performers who shine in jewel tones and icy brights

Outfit color combinations

Three flattering ways to combine Cool Winter colors in an outfit:

True blue with pure white

Magenta with emerald

Black, blue-red and cool grey

Not quite you?

Cool Winter sits in the Winter family. If the palette doesn't feel right, you may be one of its neighbours — compare:

Deep Winter → Bright Winter →

Cool Winter FAQs

Is Cool Winter the same as True Winter?

Yes. Cool Winter and True Winter are the same season — the most clearly cool member of the Winter family, where a blue undertone leads over depth or brightness.

Can Cool Winters wear warm colours?

Warm colours are the hardest for Cool Winter. If you love a warm shade, choose its coolest version — a blue-red instead of tomato, or a cool emerald instead of olive.

What white is best for Cool Winter?

Pure, optic white is ideal — it echoes your clean contrast. Cream and ivory look dull and slightly muddy against cool skin.

Not sure you're a Cool Winter?

Take the free Color Analysis Quiz to confirm your season — 8 questions, instant results, no email.

Take the quiz →