The Cool Winter

The Cool Winter is defined by pure, icy elegance. With very cool undertones and high contrast. The Cool Winter palette brings to mind snowy landscapes, black velvet, and vibrant winter holiday colors.

What to know about the Cool Winter season

Temperature: Cool
Value: Deep
Chroma: Clear

Sister Season: Cool Summer

Best Colors: Black, White, Chinese Blue, Icy Blue, Hot Pink, Purple

Worst Colors: Orange, Golden Yellow, Warm Brown, Warm Olive

The Cool Winter does not ‘flow’ into any warm season, but it flows into the Cool Summer season. So she is 100% cool.

Some of the more full-bodied cool summer colors like raspberry, plum, and deep rose can be found in this palette, and they are particularly good colors for Cool Winter makeup.

The Cool Winter season is the 'traditional' Cool Winter found in the 12-Season color systems. Compared to the other Winter sub-seasons, she is slightly lighter and more delicate in her coloring.

Avoiding the warmest colors is its main goal.

They have high contrast in their features, but unlike Clear Winters, they thrive in pure cool, and more refined colors—without the added brightness or its slight touch of warmth of Clear Winters.

Hallmarks of the Cool Winter

Cool Winters often appear elegant, with features that stand out best in all-cool, high-contrast environments but with a slight delicate quality not found in the other Winter subseasons.

Eyes: Typically clear and sharp—cool blue, icy grey, cool green, or sometimes cool brown. While clear, they are not particularly bright.
Skin: Mostly cool-toned—ranging from very fair to very deep— but remember that anyone can have a slight overtone on the surface of their skin. Most Cool Winters, though, are quite cool.
Hair: Ranges from dark brown to true black, or even silvery grey. Natural highlights, if present, are usually ashy, not golden.

Accessories for the Cool Winter

Cool Winter woman wearing rimless glasses

Accessories offer a great way to reinforce your cool, elegant look.

Jewelry: Silver, white gold, and platinum are ideal.

Gemstones such as sapphire, amethyst, ruby, and diamond all complement your icy palette.

Eyewear: Black, deep navy, or cool-toned metal frames enhance your crisp contrast. Avoid tortoiseshell or warm browns and golden tones. Rimless glasses flatter everyone.

Other accessories near your face, like scarves and hats, choose only your best cool colors from your palette.

Building Your Cool Winter Wardrobe

Focus on mixing clean, cool neutrals with your most flattering jewel tones for maximum impact.

Core Neutrals

True black, pure white, and charcoal grey are great core wardrobe pieces. These timeless colors will pair well with all your accents colors.

Power Colors

Add variety and personality with your brighter palette colors like hot pink, classic blue, emerald green, and cool icy jewel tones. These shades will energize your neutral pieces.

Wardrobe Tips

Always choose cool colors like pure white or icy grey for your light neutrals over anything that has warmth to it like warm beige.
Choose fabrics with sheen, like satin or silk, for a touch of shimmer and shine.
Keep your closet streamlined: fewer, bolder pieces in your best colors will have more impact than a large, mismatched wardrobe.

For a guide to mastering your Cool Winter style—including a detailed palette, makeup, and hair color suggestions and more—explore my Cool Winter eBook.

More Examples of the Cool Winter

You may have noticed many images I use on this site are marked "ColorBreeze Art." This is part of my new artwork and visuals I have created with the help of AI, among other digital photo software. I will be slowly adding more images over time. Here are some for this season. Please share on Pinterest if you like them!