Why You Look Washed Out in Winter: Colors by Color Season

Quick Answer

If colors that looked great in summer suddenly make you look tired in November, your color season hasn't changed.

Two things around you have changed:

• Your summer tan fades. As your skin returns closer to its usual untanned appearance, colors that worked with a warmer summer complexion may feel different.
• The light changes. Winter brings shorter daylight hours and, in many places, more overcast days and indoor lighting. That can change how both your skin and your clothes appear.

The answer isn't to switch to another color season. Instead, try different parts of your own palette near your face: often lighter, clearer or softer shades, while keeping your deepest colors lower in the outfit. Don't know your season yet? Take the free color season quiz. It takes about four minutes, with no sign-up.

Your Summer Tan Fades

A tan is caused by increased melanin in the skin. The outer layer of skin is continually renewed, with new cells replacing older ones over time.

As a summer tan fades, your skin may look lighter or less golden than it did in August. That can change the visual relationship between your face and the colors you wear.

A warm summer color that looked easy with a tan may suddenly feel stronger or heavier in late autumn.

Winter Light Changes How Colors Look

Winter has fewer daylight hours, and the sun sits much lower in the sky. In London, for example, the day around the December solstice has roughly eight hours of daylight, compared with much longer summer days.

You may also spend more of the day under indoor lighting. Warm bulbs, cool LEDs and overcast daylight can all make the same clothing color appear different.

That's why a color can look perfect in a summer mirror selfie and strangely dull in a winter one.

What Doesn't Change: Your Color Season

Your color season is a way of describing the overall relationship between your coloring and color characteristics such as temperature, depth, clarity and contrast.

Your skin can become lighter or darker with sun exposure, but that doesn't mean you suddenly become a different seasonal palette.

A Soft Summer in July is still a Soft Summer in January. You may simply find different colors within that palette easier to wear at different times of year.

For more on changes in skin appearance, see Does Your Skin Tone Change With Pregnancy, Sun, or the Seasons?

Why Some of Your Colors Suddenly Look "Tired"

When your skin becomes lighter or less warm after summer, the relationship between your face and your clothes can change. You may notice that:

• Very deep colors feel heavier near your face.
• Strongly warm colors feel more noticeable once your summer warmth has faded.
• Lighter or clearer shades from your own palette suddenly look fresher.
• A color that still works beautifully in a coat or trousers may feel too strong as a top or scarf.

This isn't a rule for everyone. Think of it as something to test in the mirror, rather than another fashion law handed down from the mountain.

Your Winter Colors, Season by Season

These are Malileh's winter styling picks from your own seasonal palette.

For each season, the first two colors are suggestions to try near your face. The third is a deeper shade that can work particularly well lower in the outfit, such as in trousers, skirts, coats, bags or shoes.

The Springs and Summers

Light and soft palettes can feel especially different after a summer tan fades.

Light Spring, Light Summer and Soft Summer may find their lighter, softer colors particularly useful near the face in winter. Their deepest neutrals can still work beautifully, especially in coats, trousers and accessories.

The Autumns

Autumns may notice a stronger change because summer tanning can add warmth to the overall appearance.

In winter, try bringing some of that warmth back with apricot, peach, camel, rust or other warm shades from your palette. Save your deepest browns for coats, boots, trousers or other larger pieces when they feel too heavy near your face.

The Winters

Winters may find winter styling relatively straightforward. If the skin becomes lighter while the hair remains dark, the overall contrast can appear stronger.

That makes black, icy shades and jewel tones natural options to test near the face.

How to Check Your Colors in Winter Light

You don't need complicated equipment. Your mirror is doing enough unpaid labor already.

• Check in natural daylight. Stand near a window rather than judging a color under warm indoor bulbs.
• Compare two shades at once. Hold a lighter and a deeper color from your palette under your chin.
• Look at your skin, not the fabric. The stronger color may make your complexion look more even, while the weaker one may make shadows or unevenness more noticeable.
• Try the same color more than once. Daylight, indoor lighting and camera screens can all change how it appears.

Malileh's free See It On You tool (malileh.com/try-on) lets you view your seasonal colors under your face using your camera or a photo. It works best in daylight, and your photo never leaves your device.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my color season change in winter?

No. Your skin's appearance can change with sun exposure and your surroundings change with the season, but you don't need a new seasonal palette every winter. Instead, explore different shades within your existing palette.

Should I switch to "winter colors" in winter?

Not if that means borrowing another season's palette. Start with your own colors. In winter, you may simply prefer the lighter, clearer or softer end of your palette near your face and use deeper shades elsewhere in the outfit.

How long does a summer tan take to fade?

It varies from person to person. Skin is continually renewed, with the epidermis producing new cells as older ones are shed. A summer tan can therefore fade over time rather than disappearing overnight.

Why do I look pale on video calls in winter?

Winter daylight, overcast skies and indoor lighting can all affect how your face appears on camera. Your camera also changes exposure and white balance, so the color you see on screen may not match what you see in a mirror. See What to Wear on Video Calls, Based on Your Color Season for more ideas.

Can makeup help?

Yes. A lipstick or blush from your seasonal palette can add some of the color and brightness you feel is missing in winter. Each color season page includes everyday, professional and evening lip shades.

HEX codes are digital color references. The same color can look different depending on lighting, fabric, material and screen.