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Do you find that some colors suit you better by the season?


Do you find that some colors suit you better by the season? Does your skin tone change as the seasons change at all?

I think I naturally get a bit warmer/darker in the summer and then less warm and a touch lighter by winter. I don’t feel like it changes drastically, though, and as a result, colors seem to work year-round. I like certain colors more by the season, but more because some feel like summer, others feel like winter.

Thanks to Jade for today’s question! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.

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Rachel Avatar

I’m equally pale and pasty any season, so nothing really changes 😛 The only thing I find is that my finger tips get quite red in the heat, so in summer I tend to avoid nail polishes that emphasise that.

xamyx Avatar

No, not really; I live in SoCal, and we don’t really have seasons. Besides, I try very hard to maintain my pallor year-round (I’m Greek & Irish, so I pale, yet tan very easily), and the clothing I wear is either black or some other dark color, so my makeup pretty much stays the same.

I’ve spent alot of time & money over the years settling on a personal aesthetic that I find suits me best, and I really don’t care what time of year it is.

jo Avatar

Saw your post and wanted to reply. I am of Irish heritage (my kids are Greek-Irish) It is so important to keep your pallor as you mentioned. The sun will ruin your skin, folks who are pale also burn so easily.
Although I am pale, I just love wearing black (which drives some people nuts) I try to break it up with a scarf once in a while but not very often. I think everyone looks better in black!

freshpinklips Avatar

I regretted getting MAC Captive, a dark plummy berry color, without swatching it at a MAC store because I confused it with MAC Rebel which is that beautiful berry lipstick which got itself a lipglass and nail polish version last summer. It just could not wear it in the spring or summer. It was so reminiscent of the dark lipsticks in the 90’s and the overall look just comes out dated (at least in the warm months) so it kind of just stayed in the back of my drawer. Then fall came and I had a gorgeous sweater and I couldn’t find a perfect lipstick to go with it. Dark pinks/fuchsia/berries for some reason clashed with it. So I pulled out Captive and I was surprised how beautiful it looks on me during fall and winter. It has gotten more love after that.

Mariella Avatar

I avoid the sun like the plague but still find that in summer, coral tones (most of which I’ve purchased in a frenzy that wasn’t wise or that I’ve received free) do look somewhat better on me. And in the cooler weather, darker shadows like Stila’s La Douce look better (though I think the latter has more to do with “feel” and with clothing styles/colours, rather than how I look…heavy, dark shadow in summer doesn’t seem to fit the lighter makeup looks that seem to say “summer”). Other than that, I’m pretty much the same all year ’round. The colours that suit me are ones I wear 12 months of the year.

Carrie Avatar

Not really. I’m the kind of pale that doesn’t tan at all, so as a result there’s never really a change in what looks good on me throughout the year.

Dawn Reed Avatar

My best colors don’t change with the season but with my hair color. My normally dark brown hair gets red/auburn highlights with the sun. The same makeup colors that I had been wearing don’t work AT ALL. I have to switch between cool and warm to suit.

Maya Avatar

I have to admit that during the winter months I completely forget about some of my beloved Dior quints that are my staples in the summer months. There’s something about the sun and the warmer air that naturally drives me towards some colours and textures like bronze and gold.

becca Avatar

I’m pale in the summer and even paler in the winter (NW10 or maybe lighter). bright corals that i was able to wear lightly in the summer are not flattering at all when i have my winter color. I have to stick to pinks in the winter but in the summer i can wear anything.

Danielle Avatar

My skin color really doesn’t change per season & I definitely make sure to have on high SPF in the summertime. But I’d say that I really prefer certain colors depending on the season, not that they suit me better depending on the time of year. Although now I’m ready for summer & I’m getting sick of all the darker colors – BRING ON THE BRIGHTS!

Jennie Avatar

I tend to gravitate toward brighter, bolder shades during the summer and more earth tones during the winter, but not on purpose, lol. It’s just a pattern that I’ve noticed. I try to just go with whatever I feel like wearing.

Chester Avatar

In general I use whatever I want to use, no matter the season. The only exception is my brow highlighter – I use MAC Brulé in general but reach for MAC Blanc Type exclusively during the winter months because it blends in easier with my skin tone.

Shelby Avatar

I don’t let my skin tone change at all, religiously slather myself with sunscreen in the summer time so it’s not that things would better suit me, I just tend to enjoy using corals and brighter/warmer colours when it’s warmer out.

QuinnFace Blog Avatar

I am perpetually covered in SPF, so my skin tone is pretty much the same all the time unless I am on some sort of vacation where a tan is inevitable. I also don’t change my hair color often, so I can’t say that certain colors LOOK better or worse depending on the season, as I usually look the same lol.

There are however certain colors that feel to me like they fit the moods and the fashion choices of some seasons better than others for sure.

Then again, sometimes you can make things work for any season, it all depends on how you pair it and of course, confidence.

Brenda Avatar

I am outside a lot in the summer so I get 2-3 shades darker and find I wear brights better. I have slight olive undertones that really don’t work with some colours in the winter when I am just barely NC20. (I don’t use MAC foundation so that is the closest estimation I could give)

t_zwiggy Avatar

Definitely! My skin is basically the same color/shade all year (somewhere between NW20-25). I find that plum and berry colored blush and lipsticks look much better on me in the winter and corals suit me better in the summer. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the natural light outside, which is much whiter, brighter and cooler in the winter months.

VickyM Avatar

I wear colors without any care for the season. Make up is pure fun to me and I hate the idea of leaving some colors out only bacause of season. 😀

Mimi Avatar

I love purple, berry and cool pinks the best. In Fall and Winter, I’ll choose darker lipstick and blush. I like my skin to be as pale as possible so I’ll wear a paler foundation and powder also. If it’s too ghostly, I use my Tom Ford Terra bronzing powder to warm up my skin in a very natural way. You wouldn’t think that a pale person could wear this bronzer but it works out beautifully. Then, in Spring and Summer I wear pinky-peach lip color and blush just to switch things around a little. The blush or lip gloss must have a lot of pink in it or else my skin turns really yellow. Something that would qualify as Shrimp Pink would work. I thank you Christine for identifying what a yellow-pink is. To my eye, some beautiful pale pinks just wouldn’t work on my skin and I couldn’t figure out why. I like cool, blue pinks so when you said something was yellow-pink, it clicked in my mind and now I know what to avoid. Thanks for saving me dollars and disappointment.

Jade Avatar

I’m surprised at the responses to this! I asked because I change quite noticeably, from about NC15 in winter to slightly darker/warmer than NC20 in summer. That might not sound like much but It’s a lot! In winter I notice cooler, more plummy shades look really nice on me, and in summer I favour warm, bright colours. That may well be the seasons, but honestly I feel I look quite different.

Terri Avatar

I wear what I want when I want to basically. I tend towards darker colors in the winter simply because they are more readily available but I love bright colors. Always have and always will. I figure there are enough rules in life that I HAVE to follow so when it comes to makeup, I please myself!

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