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 Light Springs. You may look different but still be a Light Spring.

You are a Light Spring if the dominant characteristic of your overall appearance is light, 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 very little contrast between your skin, eyes, and hair. All of your features are very light.

This means that if you have dark eyes or dark hair, but you aren’t a person of colour, then you are most likely one of the darker seasons. If you are a person of colour, but you have very light colouring for your ethnicity, you may be a Light Spring.

In addition, your skin, eyes, and hair have mainly warm – golden or peachy – undertones.

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The Features

I. Eyes

Light Spring eyes are, of course, light. They come in light blue, green, hazel, and light brown. Like all Spring eyes, they are bright and have warm undertones. You might also notice the typical Spring sunburst pattern on the iris.

II. Skin

Light Spring skin is also light and ranges from fair to medium (I to III on the Fitzpatrick scale). Light Spring skin is either neutral or has neutral-warm undertones – which means that both gold and silver look good against it, but gold looks better. The skin may have golden or peach undertones. Light Springs can also have freckles.

III. Hair

The primary characteristic of Light Springs is lightness. Therefore, the hair of this sub-season is naturally also light. It ranges from light to medium golden blonde, light red (strawberry blond to light copper), and light golden brown. Whatever the shade, the hair has warm, golden undertones or highlights. Most Light Springs were also fair-haired as children. (If you are a darker ethnicity, it could also be medium brown).

IV. Contrast

Light Spring is a sub-season of very low contrast between skin, hair, and eyes. There is even a low contrast between the iris and whites of the eye. In the images below, you can see how little difference in shades there is between the features. There are no dark areas anywhere.

Light Spring vs Light Summer

Having the least saturated and softest of the Spring family’s colouring, Light Springs are light and warm and have a delicate appearance.

They can easily be confused with Light Summers since both sub-seasons’ dominant characteristic is light. Both sub-seasons also have the same low contrast between hair, skin, and eyes. The distinguishing characteristic between them is their secondary characteristic – Light Spring is warm, whereas Light Summer is cool.

Light Spring features have warm undertones with golden and peach pigments.

Light Summer, on the other hand, has cool undertones with light blue and grey pigments.

The Colour Palette

Light Spring is the season of new life. These are the days when the warming sun makes the first spring flowers bud and the earth awakens from the frost of winter.

In terms of colours, the following images are representative of the light pastel colours that are part of the Light Spring colour palette:

The Palette

Light Spring combines lightness 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 softness of Summer.

True to this sub-season’s dominant characteristic, its colours are delicate and light. This is to match the low contrast level of this sub-season’s natural colouring. But even though the colours are light, they are by no means muted. As part of the Spring family, the Light Spring palette is pretty colourful. It includes medium-saturated, low contrast, and warm colours – such as light rose pinks and light grass greens.

The Light Spring colour palette is the original Spring palette with some of the intensity and saturation removed. White has been added to the original Spring colours to make them lighter – the colours are not dark and heavy. In fact, the darkest of the Spring browns can often be too gloomy.

Colour Dimensions

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

Hue

As part of the Spring seasons, the colours lean towards the warm end of the scale but are not extremely warm. This means they contain more yellow than blue undertones. And consequently, you will find fewer shades of blue (which is the coolest colour of all) on the palette.

Value

Thanks to this sub-season’s dominant characteristic, the colours are overall low in value – meaning there are many light colours and very few darker ones.

Chroma

This Spring sub-season is the least bright of the three. Therefore, the colour palette is medium-high in chroma. It is not as bright and vibrant as the other two Spring season, but the colours are still somewhat saturated and not very soft.

Sister Palettes

Light Spring sits between True Spring and Light Summer on the seasonal flow chart. It falls at the Summer end of the Spring palette, which is why the colours are softer, lighter, and less warm than those of True Spring.

Compared to Light Summer, the colours are warmer, brighter, and similarly light. The influence of Summer on the palette is added softness. Pastel and dusty colours – such as camel or light moss, would look dull on the other Spring types, but flatter Light Spring skin. Similarly, the high contrast, which is typical of the other two Spring sub-seasons, does not work here because the natural colouring has a low contrast.

Compared with the third Spring sub-season Bright Spring the colours are softer and lighter. They are not as vibrant and not as contrasting.

As sister palettes, True Spring and Light Summer both share Light Spring’s characteristics of warm and light, respectively. This means you can borrow some of their palettes’ colours as they are close enough to the Light Spring colour palette. On the True Spring palette, opt for the lighter shades –  such as impala or salmon. Whereas on the Light Summer palette, choose the warmer colours – such as popcorn and dubarry.

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:

Unlike the other Spring seasons, Light Springs cannot handle too much colour and contrast. It overwhelms their delicate appearance. Therefore, the best colour combinations for your outfits are those that complement each other. In addition, your natural colour contrast is low – so your colour combinations should reflect that. Why is this important?

Wearing colour combinations that reflect the contrast that exists in your natural appearance will complement it and therefore flatter your appearance.

In order to create this delicate look, it is important for your clothing to echo your natural low level of contrast. This means that the colours you want to combine should not contrast too starkly with each other.

Monochromatic colour schemes are very flattering on you. The absence of distracting contrast in an outfit draws the attention to the beautiful, subtle gradations in the colours of your natural appearance. Another option is to combine neighbouring hues with the same level of lightness, such as a light yellow with a light yellow-green.

Avoid highly-contrasting colour combinations – i.e. combinations of colours that sit opposite each other on the colour wheel. Yellow and purple, for example, is an overpowering combination for a Light Spring.

True black is not the right colour for you since it is cold and dark in contrast to your warm and light appearance. Instead, you have lots of other darker colour options – such as slightly greenish greys and darker browns. The closest colour to black on your palette is a medium-dark, warm grey.

Instead of true white, which is also too cool for your appearance, you have a soft yellowish and a pinkish off-white. These colours are warmer and more flattering for Light Springs.

Colours to Avoid

Apart from white and black, avoid overly bright and saturated colours – such as burnt orange or sun yellow, that would overwhelm your delicate appearance and make you disappear behind them. Dark, overpowering colours – such as deep purples and blues, would also overwhelm your light colouring.

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 Light 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 Dark Winter lilac, which is dark and cool), so it’s best left alone.

Since your natural colouring is low-contrast, opt for patterns that reflect this natural low level of contrast rather than ones that are too bold.

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

Great patterns for Light Spring are dotty, busy, creative, and rounded shaped geometric patterns. Delicate natural elements – such as flowers, butterflies, and birds are also great.

Elements should be small and dense.

Avoid big elements and stiff, square geometric patterns – like in the first example.

Jewellery

Since Light Spring flows from warm Spring into cool Summer, you can wear both warm and cool metals. What is important is that the metal is a lighter shade to match your delicate colouring rather than a deep, rich one.

Metals can be shiny, brushed, or matte; but avoid antiqued or oxidised finishes that will darken the metals too much and will clash with your light appearance.