What colors look good on brown skin?
Brown skin occurs in 5 of the 12 color seasons, and your undertone decides which of their colors look best on you.
Which metal looks better on your skin?
The colors that suit you are
5 seasons have brown skin
- True AutumnSkip
- Deep AutumnSkip
- Deep WinterSkip
- True WinterSkip
- Bright WinterSkip
Skin depth is a shortcut, not the full analysis. Brown skin occurs in 5 of the 12 seasons, and undertone is hard to judge by eye, so this shows every season that still fits. The photo analysis measures your skin, eyes and hair. How it works
Check your season with one selfie
Free for your best and worst palette. All 12 in the full report.
By Ruslan ShchuchkinML engineer and data scientistPublished
Best colors for brown skin, by season
The 5 seasons with brown skin, warm first. Each one links to its full palette with hex codes.
Warm brown skin (gold suits you)
- True Autumn
Golden brown, auburn, copper or red, strong natural warmth.
- Rust
- Pumpkin
- Burnt orange
- Sienna
- Brick red
- Mustard
Skip: icy pink. Blue-based pastel, it makes golden skin look gray and unwell.
- Deep Autumn
Dark brown to black-brown, usually with warm red or golden undertones.
- Mahogany
- Deep brick
- Tomato red
- Dark rust
- Deep amber
- Dark mustard
Skip: pastel pink. Far too light and too cool, it disappears next to deep coloring.
Cool brown skin (silver suits you)
- Deep Winter
Dark brown to black, cool or neutral rather than golden.
- Ruby
- Deep crimson
- Wine
- Deep violet
- Royal purple
- Indigo
Skip: camel. Golden and muted, it flattens the crisp contrast the season depends on.
- True Winter
Cool dark brown to black, or genuinely ash platinum.
- True red
- Cool fuchsia
- Vivid purple
- Royal violet
- Cobalt
- True blue
Skip: orange. The warmest hue on the wheel, the direct opposite of this palette.
- Bright Winter
Dark brown to black, occasionally very bright cool blonde.
- Electric red
- Hot pink
- Bright rose
- Vivid orchid
- Electric purple
- Bright violet
Skip: sage. Muted and warm-neutral, the fastest way to flatten this season.
Black and white on brown skin
- Black: Deep Winter, True Winter and Bright Winter carry it. True Autumn list it to avoid, and wear a dark neutral from their own palette instead.
- Pure white: Deep Winter, True Winter and Bright Winter carry it. True Autumn list it to avoid, and wear a soft white or cream instead.
What this page does not claim
- It does not tell you your season. Brown skin fits 5 of 12 seasons, and two answers you judge by eye cannot separate neighbouring seasons.
- It does not say one color suits all brown skin. Brown skin can be warm or cool, and each needs different colors.
- The skin depths per season are editorial, read from each season's description, not measured. The photo analysis measures your coloring, and we publish our own accuracy test.
How this is different from other color analysis tools
- 01
Your photo stays on your device
Many photo apps upload your selfie and read it on their server (see our comparison). Ours measures it in your browser. There is no upload.
- 02
The result is free
Your season and palette, with no account and no email. At least one app in our comparison takes payment before you see any result.
- 03
A close call says so
Every result names the runner-up season and how close the call was. Borderline is a result we print.
- 04
We publish our accuracy
We tuned the method on faces that experts had labelled by season, then tested it on 410 celebrity photos we collected. The results, misses included.
Frequently asked questions
What colors look good on brown skin?
Rich, deep colors in most cases, because brown skin occurs in 5 of the 12 color seasons and all of them carry depth. Warm brown skin (gold suits you) looks best in the warm colors of True Autumn and Deep Autumn. Cool brown skin (silver suits you) looks best in the clear, cool colors of Deep Winter, True Winter and Bright Winter.
What colors should brown skin avoid?
It depends on the season. The warm brown seasons list icy pink, cool silver and pure white to avoid. The cool brown seasons list camel, sage and mustard to avoid. Pale, dusty colors with no depth are the usual problem.
Does white look good on brown skin?
Pure white suits Deep Winter, True Winter and Bright Winter, where it gives a clear contrast. True Autumn lists pure white to avoid and wears cream or ivory instead.
Is brown skin warm or cool?
It can be either. Of the 5 seasons with brown skin, 2 are warm and 3 are cool. A quick check: if gold jewelry looks better on you than silver, you are probably warm. Undertone is hard to judge by eye, so the photo analysis measures it.
Is it free?
Yes. This page, the color palette quiz and the photo analysis are free, with no account and no email. The photo analysis shows your face on your best and worst palette for free. A full report with all 12 palettes on your face is paid.
What you can do on this page
This page has an interactive guide to colors for brown skin. A visitor answers two questions (gold or silver, and bright or soft colors), and the 5 color seasons that occur with brown skin narrow to the two to four that fit, closest first, each with its palette and the colors to skip. It then shows the closest season on an example face and offers the free photo analysis, which measures the season from one selfie in the browser, with no upload and no account.