Blog / Palettes
Light Summer: colors, jewelry, makeup and what to avoid
A practical guide to dressing a Light Summer palette — the colors that carry it, the metals and gemstones that suit it, makeup shades, and the shades to leave on the rail.
Light Summer is a watercolor palette: cool, light and gently blended. Nothing here shouts, and the colors sit close together in depth, which is exactly how the coloring itself works.
In the twelve-season system, Light Summer is cool in undertone, light in value and soft in chroma. Its dominant characteristic is light, which is the quality to protect when you are deciding between two versions of the same color. The full reference lives on the Light Summer palette page; this is the practical version.
The colors that work
Soft, cool and light. Watercolor pastels with a blue undertone and low contrast. The sixteen below are the working set. Powder Blue is the one to reach for when you want the palette to do the most work — it is the shade people will remember the outfit by.
Neutrals first. Light Gray, Soft White and Rose Brown are the shades to buy well: coats, trousers, bags, shoes. They carry everything else and they are the hardest to replace. Then accents. Keep the strongest shades near your face, where they do the most — tops, scarves, collars and knitwear.
A Light Summer outfit that always works: a powder-blue shirt with soft white trousers and pearl earrings.
Jewelry
Metal matters more than most people expect, because it sits closest to the face and you wear it every day. For Light Summer the metals that work are silver, white gold and rose gold. Polished or softly brushed, and delicate. Pearls are a natural fit. Go easy on brassy yellow gold and chunky dark metals.
Stones that echo the palette: pearl, rose quartz, aquamarine, moonstone, lavender amethyst and blue topaz. If you own one good piece, make it silver and wear it near your collar. There is a fuller set on the Light Summer jewelry shop.
Makeup
The same three rules apply: match the undertone, respect the depth, and keep the clarity. For Light Summer that means lips in rose pink, soft berry and pink nude, cheeks in cool pink and soft rose, and eyes in taupe, lavender and blue-grey. Liner in grey-brown finishes it without fighting the rest.
Pieces worth looking for
None of this requires a new wardrobe. The quickest wins are the things that touch your face: a powder blue shirt, a soft watermelon sweater, or a lavender scarf over whatever you already own. A light gray coat is the slower, more useful purchase, and the one worth taking time over.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Every "Shop on Amazon" button below is an affiliate link, and buying through one costs you nothing extra. We pick items by how well their color fits the palette, not by commission.
Powder Blue silk blouse
Soft Watermelon cardigan
Light Gray tailored coat
Lavender knit scarf
More, filtered by garment and color, in the Light Summer shop.
What to avoid
Orange, mustard and warm browns, plus black. Heavy darks break the low-contrast harmony that makes this palette work. The palette on the opposite side of the seasonal wheel, Deep Winter, is the least flattering set overall — if something feels wrong and you cannot say why, check whether it belongs there.
Two caveats worth keeping. First, this applies most strongly to what sits near your face; trousers, shoes and bags are far more forgiving. Second, a palette is a guide, not a rule — if you love a color outside it, wear it lower down or in a small dose.
One thing most people get wrong
Build outfits from two or three colors that are close in lightness. High contrast is what tends to overwhelm Light Summer, more than any single color.
Not sure this is your palette?
Light Summer sits next to True Summer and Light Spring on the seasonal wheel, and those are the two it is most often confused with. If you are between them, the colors they share are the safe place to start. Our free Find My Season tool estimates your palette from a selfie and four quick questions, and the complete guide explains how the twelve seasons are built.