Light Spring vs True Spring
The deciding axis is depth: Light Spring is the light one and True Spring is the deep one.
Side by side
The deciding axis is depth — everything else about these two is close.
Light Spring
warm, strongly light and moderately bright
True Spring
strongly warm, moderately light and bright
The test that settles it
Do this in daylight, with no makeup, looking at your skin rather than at the fabric.
Light Spring: Peach #FFB68F
True Spring: Coral orange #FF7043
Hold each colour under your chin in turn. The right one settles your skin — shadows under the eyes recede and the face looks rested. The wrong one pulls those shadows forward and adds a grey or sallow cast. If you cannot see a difference, you are probably between the two, which is common and covered below.
Light Spring palette
- Peach#FFB68F
- Coral#FF8A6B
- Apricot#F7A76C
- Salmon#FF9E93
- Warm rose#FFA6BE
- Blossom pink#F7C6D9
- Buttercup#FFE066
- Golden cream#FFD98E
- Light chartreuse#F2E08E
- Bud green#B7D97F
True Spring palette
- Coral orange#FF7043
- Bright tangerine#F4511E
- Salmon coral#FF8A5C
- Warm poppy#E85D4E
- Golden yellow#FFB300
- Daffodil#FFD54F
- Amber#F9A825
- Chartreuse#C0CA33
- Grass green#7CB342
- Leaf green#43A047
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Light Spring and True Spring?
The deciding axis is depth: Light Spring is the light one and True Spring is the deep one. Light Spring is warm, strongly light and moderately bright; True Spring is strongly warm, moderately light and bright. Everything else about them is close enough that the wrong call still looks acceptable — which is precisely why so many people sit between the two.
How do I tell whether I am Light Spring or True Spring?
Test the deciding axis in isolation. Put peach (#FFB68F) beside coral orange (#FF7043) against your bare face in daylight, and look at the skin under your eyes and around your mouth rather than at the fabric. One of them will settle your skin and the other will pull shadows forward.
What if both palettes look fine on me?
Then you are genuinely in between, and you should take the overlap. Wear the colours that appear in both palettes as your core wardrobe, and treat each season's extremes as occasional. Being between two neighbouring seasons is common and is not a failure of the system — it is what the boundaries look like from close up.
Which is more common, Light Spring or True Spring?
Neither is rare. Judging by search interest, Light Spring is looked up more often — but that reflects how often people are told they might be one, not how many actually are.