Dark Winter Color Palette: Best Colors, Makeup and Hair

Deep, rich, jewel-toned. If you're a Dark Winter, depth is your strongest trait, so your best colors are deep, rich and jewel-toned with a cool-neutral lean. Think chili red, cerise, plum, sapphire and emerald against black, charcoal and icy white.

This guide pulls from the Dark Winter Complete Guide we give clients after their analysis. It covers your core colors, how to wear black and white, and how to choose makeup, hair color and jewelry.

Dark Winter at a glance

Every season is a mix of four qualities. For Dark Winter:

Undertone: cool-leaning, close to neutral.
Value: deep. This is your strongest trait.
Chroma: clear, leaning bright.
Contrast: high.

Because depth leads, richness matters more for you than temperature. A deep, saturated shade will usually flatter you more than a light or pastel one, even if the pastel is technically cool.

Your best colors

Your core colors are chili pepper, deep ruby, cerise, deep plum, dark purple, violet indigo, deep indigo, sapphire, deep teal, alpine green, emerald and icy lavender.

Your foundation neutrals are jet black, asphalt, navy peony, cappuccino, charcoal gray and bright white.

Black, white and your neutrals

You don't need a substitute for black. True black and crisp white are some of your best neutrals. Wear them with your jewel tones for depth and drama. Your wider neutrals add silvery grays, cool taupes like greige and cappuccino, and deep darks like deep aubergine and midnight navy.

For denim, go for clean, deep washes: white, indigo, dark rinse, gray-blue, gray and black. Skip faded or yellowed vintage washes.

Color combinations that work

Try the 60/30/10 rule: one main color for most of the outfit, a second for about a third of it, and a small accent in jewelry, a bag or a scarf. Go for medium to high contrast in deep, rich colors.

Deep ruby, icy aqua and jet black: a deep ruby coat over an icy aqua shirt with black boots.
Emerald, jet black and bright white: an emerald dress with a black blazer and crisp white accents.
Deep wine, charcoal gray and silver: a deep wine knit, charcoal trousers and silver jewelry.
Deep purple, alpine green and jet black: a deep purple coat over an alpine green dress with black heels.

Low contrast works only in deep, rich colors, so avoid light-on-light combinations.

Your palette through the year

Spring: chartreuse and emerald with icy aqua, lavender and watermelon, grounded by dark navy.
Summer: electric blue with bright teal, amethyst and hot pink on bright white, grounded by deep spruce.
Fall: deep forest and deep teal with indigo, deep purple, plum and burgundy.
Winter: deep ruby, dark berry, midnight blue and pine with true black, lifted by icy white.

Fabrics, prints and metals

Smooth, crisp or lustrous fabrics suit your rich coloring: structured wool, crisp cotton, silk, satin, velvet, patent leather, taffeta and smooth cashmere. Skip nubby, heathered or dusty-matte textures that can dull you. For prints, choose bold, clean patterns with medium to high contrast, like geometrics, graphic stripes, animal prints in deep tones and jewel-toned florals on black or a dark ground. Aim for a print that's mostly your palette.

Your best metals are cool, polished silver, platinum, pewter and white gold. A light gold works too, and higher-contrast hammered metal adds depth. For gemstones, go deep and saturated, like ruby, emerald and amethyst.

Makeup for Dark Winter

Lips: rose, pink, mauve, berry, plum and blue-red.
Blush: pink, mauve, berry, burgundy and raspberry.
Eyes: silver, champagne, pearl, charcoal, brown, gray and pink shadows.
Liner and mascara: black, navy, charcoal or plum liner, with brown or black mascara.

For foundation, match your undertone and your current depth. If the color you see on the surface of your skin reads differently from your undertone, a neutral foundation is often the easiest match.

Hair color for Dark Winter

Your most flattering hair color usually sits within one to two levels of your natural roots. For Dark Winter, the sweet spot is deep, cool and glossy shades such as ash brown, espresso, brown-black, true black, black cherry and plum-violet. Skip honey, golden, caramel and copper tones.

Going gray? Dark Winter gray is typically silvery, sometimes with a touch of warmth or with white streaks. Silver or violet toning glosses keep it bright and glossy, so avoid yellow or brassy tones.

Colors to skip, and what to try instead

Warm, muted and light colors can work against your deep, cool coloring. Pastels and pale tints can make you look faded, and golden, dusty or earthy shades tend to look dull. Think butter yellow, peach, light camel, mustard, rust, olive, baby blue and dusty rose.

A few easy swaps:

Peach → deep rose
Butter yellow → icy yellow
Baby blue → sapphire
Lilac → amethyst
Sand → cappuccino

Your sister season: Dark Autumn

Dark Winter and Dark Autumn share depth as their main trait, so you can often borrow Dark Autumn's deep shades that stay cool enough for you, like burgundy, black cherry, plum, deep spruce, cobalt and espresso. Skip its golden, earthy side: camel, khaki, peach, mustard, copper, terracotta and yellow-greens. Read more in the Dark Autumn color palette.

Not sure you're a Dark Winter?

Dark Winter sits close to Dark Autumn, Cool Winter and Bright Winter, and lighting, hair color and what you're wearing can all change what you see in the mirror. A professional draping compares colors directly against your face, so you can see the difference for yourself.

Book an in-studio color analysis in St. Louis Park, or start a virtual color analysis from anywhere. Private sessions include your own Complete Season Guide, digital swatches and three outfit checks by email afterward.

Color analysis is a professional opinion, and individual results vary.