Characteristics

Please note: Do not worry too much if one characteristic of your appearance deviates from the below descriptions. You may still fall into this colour season if your overall appearance matches the profile.

The following images are examples of Bright Springs. You may look different but still be a Bright Spring.

You are a Bright Spring if the dominant characteristic of your overall appearance is bright, and the secondary characteristic is warm – meaning warm colours suit you better than cooler ones.

When you look in the mirror, the first thing you notice about your colouring is that there is a very high contrast between skin, eyes, and hair. This gives you a clear and crisp appearance. Your eyes will probably be clear, sparkling, and the first thing people notice.

In addition, your features have mainly warm undertones.

The Features

I. Eyes

If anything, Bright Spring eyes are intense. Because of the very high contrast with the white of the eyes, they appear bright and clear, and so stand out against skin and hair.

They can be blue, green, topaz, or even (dark) brown as long as they are vibrant. They have warm undertones and you may also notice a sunburst pattern on the iris which is typical for Spring eyes.

II. Skin

The skin is either neutral or has neutral-warm undertones – meaning both gold and silver look good against it, but gold looks better. Peach undertones are also possible. Bright Spring skin comes in a broad range of tones: from fair to dark (I-V on the Fitzpatrick scale). But the main characteristic is that it is light and bright for your ethnicity and in high contrast with your hair and eyes.

III. Hair

Like the skin, the hair is typically warm and tends to develop highlights when in the sun. Medium golden blonde to dark golden blonde with highlights are common, but also copper, auburn, and brown-black with red undertones are possible.

IV. Contrast

Bright Spring has one of the highest levels of contrast between skin, hair, and eyes among all seasons. There is even a high contrast between the iris and the whites of the eye. In the images below, you can see how the features all contrast each other rather than blending together.

Bright Spring vs Bright Winter

People who fall into the Bright Spring category are sometimes tricky to analyse – they may look like Bright Winters, with piercingly bright eyes, and often relatively dark hair. Both sub-seasons’ dominant characteristic is clear.

However, the distinguishing characteristic is the warm, yellowish undertone of Bright Spring’s features compared to Winter’s cool, blue-tinted features.

The Colour Palette

Bright Spring is the season reminiscent of vivid, wild, exotic summer holidays. From tropical waters to remote islands, these are the most vibrant colours out of the twelve seasons.

In terms of colours, the following images are representative of the saturated, vibrant colours that are part of the Bright Spring colour palette:

The Palette

Bright Spring colouring combines brightness with warmth. While this sub-season has the typical warm freshness that is characteristic of all the Spring types, it also has some of the crisp contrast of Winter.

True to this sub-season’s dominant characteristic, Bright Spring colours are clear, bright, and vibrant. They match the high level of contrast of this sub-season’s natural colouring. The colour palette includes high saturation, high contrast, and warm colours. There are bright pinks and intense burnt oranges, along with jewel-like tones – such as turquoise or lime green.

Colour Dimensions

On the three dimensions of colour, Bright Spring has the following properties:

Hue

Thanks to this sub-season’s secondary characteristic, the colours lean towards the warm end of the scale but are not extremely warm. This means they contain more yellow than blue undertones. So even if you choose blue (which is the coolest colour of all), you will find only warmer shades with a tint of yellow. Some of these are turquoise, mint, or pastel blue.

Value

The colour palette is very broad, but it does not include any truly dark colours. Although you may find darker shades of blue, grey or purple, these are supportive colours of the other light shades. Most colours are somewhere in the middle of the value scale, leaning slightly to the light end because of the greater concentration of yellow undertones.

Chroma

In line with this sub-seasons dominant characteristic, the colours are very high in chroma; meaning they are extremely bright and vibrant.

Sister Palettes

Bright Spring sits between Bright Winter and True Spring on the seasonal flow chart. It falls at the Winter end of the Spring palette, which is why the colours are brighter, slightly darker, and less warm than those of True Spring.

Compared to Bright Winter, the colours are similarly bright, but warmer and slightly lighter. Winter’s effect on Bright Spring is to turn up the saturation of Spring’s already-bright colours to maximum brightness. Winter also cools the colours somewhat. For example, warm fuchsias are introduced and True Spring’s golden browns are dropped.

As sister palettes, Bright Winter and True Spring both share Bright Spring’s characteristics of clear and warm, respectively. This means you can borrow some of their palettes’ colours as they are close enough to the Bright Spring colour palette. On the Bright Winter palette, opt for the warmer shades – such as paradise pink or beetroot purple. Whereas on the True Spring palette, choose the brighter colours – such as sun kissed coral or ultramarine.

Styling

Clothing

Even though technically you can combine any of the colours on your colour palette with each other, certain combinations will look much better than others:

The vibrancy and brightness of Bright Spring’s colour palette is best reflected when you wear your colours in high-contrast combinations. This level of contrast will mirror the intensity and high value or hue contrast that already exists in your natural appearance.

The obvious way to create contrast is to pair very light hues with very dark hues. But you will look even better if you opt for colour contrast. Don’t be afraid to combine unlike colours; i.e. those sitting opposite each other on the colour wheel. The more unusual the combination, the more striking.

Since Bright Spring flows from Winter, you can also wear black. The best versions of black for you are slightly yellowish charcoal and a slightly greenish black. These are warmer and more suitable than the cool blue-black of Winter. However, black on its own does not look so great on you since you need bright colours to lift your appearance. It’s therefore better to mix it with some of the other warmer, brighter colours on your palette.

There is also a soft white and a more yellowish off-white on the colour palette which are slightly warmer than the cool true white of Winter.

Colours to Avoid

Avoid soft and toned-down colours – such as dusty blues and muddy browns, that dampen your natural brightness and make you look muddy. Tans and beige are also not very flattering, so it’s best to avoid them.

Patterns & Prints

If you are thinking of incorporating some patterns and prints into your wardrobe, consider the following:

The best patterns are those that only contain Bright Spring colours – like in the first example below.

If a pattern contains some, but not much colour from a disharmonious palette – like in the second example, you can also wear it.

The last example contains too much of a disharmonious colour (a Soft Summer grey, which is muted and cool), so it’s best left alone.

Since your natural colouring is high-contrast, opt for patterns that also have a higher level of contrast between the elements rather than ones which blend too much together.

In the example below, both patterns are in Bright Spring colours and wearable. However, the second pattern displays a higher contrast between the elements and is therefore more flattering.

Great patterns for Bright Spring are dotty, busy, creative, and geometric patterns. Hand-drawn elements are also good. Since this sub-season borders on Winter, natural floral patterns are best avoided. If you want to wear floral patterns, opt for stylised flowers.

Elements should be bigger and not too dense.

Avoid small elements, very loose and very dense arrangements – like in the first example.

Jewellery

Although Bright Spring is warm, gold is not the only metal that works for this sub-season. Since your skin’s undertones are neutral-warm, rose gold, white gold, and even silver and platinum can look good. Make sure that metals have a shiny or polished finish.

Avoid matte finishes which clash with your naturally saturated colouring.