Deep Autumn
Warm darkness, mahogany, forest and deep spice.
Deep Autumn is the darkest warm season, sitting between True Autumn and Deep Winter. The coloring is rich and deep, dark hair, deeper skin or strong contrast, and the palette runs to mahogany, dark olive, aubergine, deep teal and warm chocolate. It can carry intensity that no other Autumn can.
Depth is the dominant axis here: the palette is defined first by how light or deep it is, and only then by temperature. (Depth is what the 12-tone system calls this season's primary characteristic.)
Where this season sits
Every one of the twelve seasons is a position on three axes. These are the coordinates our analysis scores you against.
Is this you?
- Skin
- Warm to neutral-warm, from golden beige to deep bronze or brown.
- Hair
- Dark brown to black-brown, usually with warm red or golden undertones.
- Eyes
- Dark brown, deep hazel, dark olive green, rich and deep.
- Contrast
- Medium to high, driven by depth rather than brightness.
Deep Autumn celebrities
Famous faces that share Deep Autumn coloring. The point is the pattern in skin, hair and eyes, not a resemblance.
Eva Mendes
Halle Berry
Jennifer Hudson
Mindy Kaling
Photos via Wikimedia Commons under CC BY / CC BY-SA / public domain. The credit for each one is on the Deep Autumn celebrities page.
The palette
The 20 colors that work hardest for Deep Autumn, with hex codes so you can match them exactly.
- Mahogany#7B241C
- Deep brick#943126
- Tomato red#A93226
- Dark rust#6E2C00
- Deep amber#B9770E
- Dark mustard#9A7D0A
- Bronze gold#7D6608
- Dark olive#4D5320
- Forest green#1E5631
- Deep pine#0E4B3F
Neutrals to build on
- Warm cream#EDE0C8
- Dark camel#A08963
- Chocolate#6B4F33
- Dark mahogany#3E2A1E
- Deep olive#2F3325
Metals and makeup
Best metals: Antique gold, Bronze, Copper, Gunmetal.
Lip
- Mahogany
- Deep brick
- Deep plum
Blush
- Deep terracotta
- Warm rosewood
- Burnt peach
How to wear the Deep Autumn palette
A styling example: three women who share Deep Autumn coloring, each in a different outfit built from this palette.
More on Deep Autumn
Often confused with
Watch: this season explained
Hand-picked videos on Deep Autumn from working color analysts, a different teacher, the same season.
DARK AUTUMN COLOR PALETTE AND SEASONAL GUIDE / 12 Seasons Color Analysis
Mikaela Carrizo · YouTube
Dark Autumn vs Dark Winter | Seasonal Color Analysis
Isabella Zamuner · YouTube
Frequently asked
What is the Deep Autumn color season?
Deep Autumn is one of the twelve seasonal color types. It is warm, strongly deep and balanced in clarity. In practice that means mahogany, deep brick and tomato red sit comfortably on you, while the colors in the avoid list make you look tired. Depth is the dominant axis here: the palette is defined first by how light or deep it is, and only then by temperature. (Depth is what the 12-tone system calls this season's primary characteristic.)
How do I know if I'm a Deep Autumn?
Three checks. Warm to neutral-warm, from golden beige to deep bronze or brown. Dark brown to black-brown, usually with warm red or golden undertones. Dark brown, deep hazel, dark olive green, rich and deep. Contrast is the fourth: medium to high, driven by depth rather than brightness. If two of those four describe you, Deep Autumn is very likely your season, our free analysis scores all twelve and tells you how close the runners-up are.
What are the worst colors for a Deep Autumn?
The clearest ones to drop are pastel pink, dusty pastel blue and light gray. Far too light and too cool, it disappears next to deep coloring. Full explanations for each are on the colors-to-avoid page.
Am I a Deep Autumn or a True Autumn?
They are neighbors, which is exactly why they get confused. The deciding axis is depth: Deep Autumn is the deep one and True Autumn is the light one. We have a full side-by-side comparison if you are torn between them.
Can a Deep Autumn wear black?
With care. Deep Autumn has the depth for black, but not the coolness, so black can look slightly hard against warm coloring. Deep olive (#2F3325) gives you the same anchoring weight while staying on temperature, and most people find it noticeably more flattering in photographs.
Is Deep Autumn warm or cool?
Warm. Deep Autumn sits clearly on the warm side of the temperature axis, which is why gold, mahogany and the rest of the Autumn palette settle the skin while icy or blue-based colors leave it sallow. Its dominant axis is depth, though, so a warm color still needs the right depth to work.
Should a Deep Autumn wear gold or silver?
Antique gold, Bronze, Copper and Gunmetal. Metal is one of the fastest at-home tests there is: hold silver and gold either side of your face in daylight and watch your skin rather than the jewelry, the wrong metal leaves a gray or sallow cast along the jaw.
How does Deep Autumn color analysis work?
Deep Autumn color analysis places your coloring on three axes, depth, temperature and clarity, and checks they match Deep Autumn, which is warm, strongly deep and balanced in clarity. You can approximate it at home with the metal, vein and contrast tests, but those disagree often. Our free analysis settles it: it scores all twelve seasons from your answers and one photo, so you see how far Deep Autumn leads the neighbors it gets confused with.