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Deep Winter · Makeup

Deep Winter makeup: cool, deep shades and how to wear them

Deep Winter makeup - Dark Winter, in the older naming - is contrast turned into color: crimson, magenta, merlot, emerald, sapphire and true black, all of it cool and clear. It is the one coloring that wears a full red lip and black liner as its everyday face, and the thing it cannot carry is warmth. Below: four women, four occasions each, the products in application order, and all 44 shades in one list.

Four steps, in order
Four complexions
Everyday and evening

Find my color season The full Deep Winter palette →

The order you apply it in

Base Medium - neutral tan
Cheeks Raspberry
Eyes Sapphire metallic
Lips Crimson

Start here

You are a Deep Winter. Here is what to put on.

One fact drives everything below: your coloring is cool and very high in contrast. Skin from porcelain to deep brown with no gold in it, hair from near-black to black, and dark eyes - or gray-green ones against black hair - with bright, clear whites. No other coloring has this much distance between its lightest and darkest parts.

So the shades are the palette’s jewels and cool darks worn on the face - crimson, magenta, merlot, blackberry, emerald, sapphire, black - and a strong version of them is the everyday one. There are two ways to go wrong. Warm makeup - bronze, peach, gold - turns the skin sallow. Soft makeup - beige nudes, brown liner - makes the face look washed out next to its own hair.

The whole page in one line

Keep every shade cool, and match the contrast your hair and eyes already have.

Five minutes of Deep Winter makeup on a medium complexion — **Your quietest** Black mascara, a raspberry cream blush, a berry tint balm. Three products, and the face already has its contrast.

The strongest Deep Winter makeup, on a medium complexion — **Your boldest** An emerald eye, a black tightline, a blackberry lip. As dark and as bright as this face goes, and nothing warm in it.

One medium-skinned woman at both ends of what this coloring carries. Between the two photographs the color gets deeper and more jewel-like; it never gets warmer. The other three complexions follow.

What is on this page

Sixteen finished looks Sixteen faces, from the quickest to the most dressed-up, with every shade named on each card.
Why these shades Four swaps, each set against the warm or soft version most Deep Winters already own.
How to build it Base, cheeks, eyes, lips - the order, and how strong each one should be on this coloring.
When you need more Jewel tones and full reds: day and evening side by side at each depth.
How to buy it A jaw test for warmth, the label words that hide a golden base, and your square on the foundation grid.
The shade list All 44 shades with hexes on one screen.

Sixteen finished looks

Sixteen photographs before any more theory: four women, four occasions each, and a card under every photo listing lid, cheek and lip. Start from the woman closest to your skin. Her last card is as far as this coloring goes - a jewel-toned eye and a merlot or blackberry mouth.

If you have fair skin:

Five minutes Deep Winter makeup on fair skin - cool rose blush and rosy mauve — **Five minutes** Running late

Base Fair - porcelain ivory

Blush Cool rose blush

Lips Rosy mauve

A neutral-cool base only where it is needed, a cool cream blush pressed on and blended up, brows brushed into place, black mascara, a berry balm. On a Deep Winter even the quickest face keeps black lashes - without them the eyes lose the contrast the whole coloring rests on.

Work Deep Winter makeup on fair skin - cool rose blush and rosy mauve — **Work** Most days

Base Fair - porcelain ivory

Blush Cool rose blush

Eyes Rosy mauve

Liner Jet black

Lips Rosy mauve

One cool shade across the lid, a black line pressed into the lash roots, black mascara, blush high on the cheekbone and a nude with berry or mauve in it. Keep the nude cool: a beige one is the fastest way to look tired under dark hair.

Dinner Deep Winter makeup on fair skin - plum stain and crimson — **Dinner** Out in the evening

Base Fair - porcelain ivory

Blush Plum stain

Eyes Emerald shimmer

Liner Jet black

Lips Crimson

A jewel tone on the outer lid - emerald, amethyst, sapphire or silver smoke - carried into the crease and past the corner, a black, navy or plum line, and a full-strength lip: crimson, magenta or merlot. At night this coloring goes brighter and deeper at once.

Wedding Deep Winter makeup on fair skin - raspberry and magenta — **Wedding** As far as it goes

Base Fair - porcelain ivory

Blush Raspberry

Eyes Silver smoke

Liner Jet black

Lips Magenta

A second jewel tone around the whole eye, a black or navy tightline, and the darkest lip in the family - magenta, merlot or blackberry. As strong as this face goes, and every part of it cool.

If you have light skin:

Five minutes Deep Winter makeup on light skin - plum stain and lilac nude — **Five minutes** Running late

Base Light - cool sand

Blush Plum stain

Lips Lilac nude

A neutral-cool base only where it is needed, a cool cream blush pressed on and blended up, brows brushed into place, black mascara, a berry balm. On a Deep Winter even the quickest face keeps black lashes - without them the eyes lose the contrast the whole coloring rests on.

Work Deep Winter makeup on light skin - plum stain and lilac nude — **Work** Most days

Base Light - cool sand

Blush Plum stain

Eyes Taupe shadow

Liner Jet black

Lips Lilac nude

One cool shade across the lid, a black line pressed into the lash roots, black mascara, blush high on the cheekbone and a nude with berry or mauve in it. Keep the nude cool: a beige one is the fastest way to look tired under dark hair.

Dinner Deep Winter makeup on light skin - raspberry and magenta — **Dinner** Out in the evening

Base Light - cool sand

Blush Raspberry

Eyes Amethyst shimmer

Liner Plum ink

Lips Magenta

A jewel tone on the outer lid - emerald, amethyst, sapphire or silver smoke - carried into the crease and past the corner, a black, navy or plum line, and a full-strength lip: crimson, magenta or merlot. At night this coloring goes brighter and deeper at once.

Wedding Deep Winter makeup on light skin - cranberry and merlot — **Wedding** As far as it goes

Base Light - cool sand

Blush Cranberry

Eyes Sapphire metallic

Liner Midnight

Lips Merlot

A second jewel tone around the whole eye, a black or navy tightline, and the darkest lip in the family - magenta, merlot or blackberry. As strong as this face goes, and every part of it cool.

If you have medium skin:

Five minutes Deep Winter makeup on medium skin - raspberry and berry tint — **Five minutes** Running late

Base Medium - neutral tan

Blush Raspberry

Lips Berry tint

A neutral-cool base only where it is needed, a cool cream blush pressed on and blended up, brows brushed into place, black mascara, a berry balm. On a Deep Winter even the quickest face keeps black lashes - without them the eyes lose the contrast the whole coloring rests on.

Work Deep Winter makeup on medium skin - raspberry and berry tint — **Work** Most days

Base Medium - neutral tan

Blush Raspberry

Eyes Matte plum

Liner Jet black

Lips Berry tint

One cool shade across the lid, a black line pressed into the lash roots, black mascara, blush high on the cheekbone and a nude with berry or mauve in it. Keep the nude cool: a beige one is the fastest way to look tired under dark hair.

Dinner Deep Winter makeup on medium skin - cranberry and merlot — **Dinner** Out in the evening

Base Medium - neutral tan

Blush Cranberry

Eyes Sapphire metallic

Liner Midnight

Lips Merlot

A jewel tone on the outer lid - emerald, amethyst, sapphire or silver smoke - carried into the crease and past the corner, a black, navy or plum line, and a full-strength lip: crimson, magenta or merlot. At night this coloring goes brighter and deeper at once.

Wedding Deep Winter makeup on medium skin - cranberry and blackberry — **Wedding** As far as it goes

Base Medium - neutral tan

Blush Cranberry

Eyes Emerald shimmer

Liner Jet black

Lips Blackberry

A second jewel tone around the whole eye, a black or navy tightline, and the darkest lip in the family - magenta, merlot or blackberry. As strong as this face goes, and every part of it cool.

If you have deep skin:

Five minutes Deep Winter makeup on deep skin - cranberry and raspberry — **Five minutes** Running late

Base Deep - cool espresso

Blush Cranberry

Lips Raspberry

A neutral-cool base only where it is needed, a cool cream blush pressed on and blended up, brows brushed into place, black mascara, a berry balm. On a Deep Winter even the quickest face keeps black lashes - without them the eyes lose the contrast the whole coloring rests on.

Work Deep Winter makeup on deep skin - cranberry and raspberry — **Work** Most days

Base Deep - cool espresso

Blush Cranberry

Eyes Graphite

Liner Jet black

Lips Raspberry

One cool shade across the lid, a black line pressed into the lash roots, black mascara, blush high on the cheekbone and a nude with berry or mauve in it. Keep the nude cool: a beige one is the fastest way to look tired under dark hair.

Dinner Deep Winter makeup on deep skin - cranberry and merlot — **Dinner** Out in the evening

Base Deep - cool espresso

Blush Cranberry

Eyes Silver smoke

Liner Jet black

Lips Merlot

A jewel tone on the outer lid - emerald, amethyst, sapphire or silver smoke - carried into the crease and past the corner, a black, navy or plum line, and a full-strength lip: crimson, magenta or merlot. At night this coloring goes brighter and deeper at once.

Wedding Deep Winter makeup on deep skin - cranberry and blackberry — **Wedding** As far as it goes

Base Deep - cool espresso

Blush Cranberry

Eyes Amethyst shimmer

Liner Plum ink

Lips Blackberry

A second jewel tone around the whole eye, a black or navy tightline, and the darkest lip in the family - magenta, merlot or blackberry. As strong as this face goes, and every part of it cool.

Down each column the occasion is fixed and the shade names change. A cool rose that shows clearly on porcelain skin barely registers on deep brown skin, so the deeper the complexion the deeper the shade - cool rose, plum stain, raspberry, cranberry - for the same effect. The temperature never moves, which is why the peach and bronze in most makeup bags fight this face.

Why these shades, and not the ones you own

Break the sixteen faces down and four swaps are doing the work. Each is below, set against what a Deep Winter tends to own already: the brown liner, the bronze palette, the peach blush, the beige nude. All four were chosen to look soft and natural, and on this face all four miss the same way.

Why these shades and not those

Tap a product

Reach for Jet black

The same at every depth

What goes wrong Soft brown

The same at every depth

Brown liner is sold as the gentle everyday choice. Next to near-black hair and dark eyes it reads faded, like a line that has half worn off by noon. This is the one coloring that looks more natural in true black than in brown.

The right shade deepens with the skin - cool rose on a porcelain cheek, cranberry on a deep one - so one hex cannot serve every Deep Winter; the cheat-sheet lists yours. The wrong shade never moves, because it fails on temperature and softness, and every Deep Winter has cool skin and dark, clear features. Liner is fixed at black on all four. The swatches on the failing side illustrate the mistake and are not measured products.

What the four mistakes share is warmth and softness. A Deep Winter face is built from contrast: cool skin against dark hair and eyes that are nearly black, with no gold in any of it. Your palette works the same way - jewel tones, cool reds, black and white - so a shade that is golden or gently blurred lowers the contrast the whole face depends on.

So much for what to buy. The order it goes on, and how much of each, is easier to see than to read.

How to build it, step by step

The swaps above, now in the order they go on. The shade gets you half the way; the other half is how it is applied, and that decides whether strong, cool color looks like your own contrast or like a mask.

Base
Clear, cool skin as the backdrop
Your base shades, by depth

The season sets the undertone - neutral to cool, with no gold in it. Your own skin sets the depth.
Fair
- Foundation Fair - porcelain ivory #EDDCCB
- Bronzer Fair - soft taupe #A8958A
- Highlighter Fair - icy silver #E3E6EC
Light
- Foundation Light - cool sand #CBAE92
- Bronzer Light - cool taupe #8C7566
- Highlighter Light - pink pearl #F0D9DC
Medium
- Foundation Medium - neutral tan #A88763
- Bronzer Medium - gray-brown #7A6A5E
- Highlighter Medium - cool champagne #EDE0CE
Deep
- Foundation Deep - cool espresso #5E4336
- Bronzer Deep - cocoa taupe #4E3E36
- Highlighter Deep - rose-plum pearl #C79AAE
A Deep Winter face works on contrast, and the base is the pale or deep ground everything else stands on. Keep it clear and even rather than warm: a neutral-cool foundation pressed into the center of the face, blended out to nothing at the hairline. A golden base is the most common mistake here, and it makes the skin look yellow next to black hair.

Skip the bronzer and use a cool taupe contour instead - under the cheekbone and along the jaw, blended until it reads as shadow rather than color. It adds shape without adding a tan this coloring does not have. Highlighter is silver, pink pearl or cool champagne, on the top of the cheekbone only.

Tip If the base looks right indoors and yellow in daylight, it is too warm. Try the next shade over in the cool column, at the same depth.
Cheeks
A cool flush, and a bit more than you think

Blush goes on before the eyes. This face flushes rose or berry, and it takes a clearer, stronger blush than most before the color shows next to dark hair. Cream melts in and stays clear; press it on the apples, then blend up toward the temple.

Blush

Cool rose on the fairest cheek, cranberry on the deepest, each step deeper and cooler than the last. Choose the one closest to your own flush, and check it from a step back.

Cool rose blush #D08094

Plum stain #9C6480

Raspberry #B24A6E

Cranberry #A33050

Tip If the blush disappears by lunchtime, it was too soft, not too little. Go one step deeper on the ladder.
Eyes
Defined brows, a cool lid, a black line

Brows first: brush them up and fill gaps in a cool shade near your own - ash or graphite, never red-brown. Then one cool shade across the lid, from rosy mauve on fair skin to graphite on deep. Then black liner pressed into the lash roots and the blackest mascara you can find. On this coloring that is the natural version, not the dramatic one.

Brows

Four cool shades, picked to match the hair, not the skin. Short strokes in the gaps, a light touch at the inner end.

Taupe brown brow #6B5A50

Cool ash brow #574A44

Cool espresso #3E2A25

Dark graphite brow #2A2A30

Everyday eyeshadow

A single shade over the mobile lid, softened up to the crease line. Mauve and plum deepen dark eyes; graphite sharpens light ones.

Rosy mauve #B98F94

Taupe shadow #8E8177

Matte plum #6B4A5E

Graphite #4A4A50

Eyeliner

Colors, not depths - any complexion can wear any of the four. Jet black is the daily line; midnight, plum ink and graphite are the gentler options that still read as dark.

Graphite #4A4A50

Plum ink #4C2B44

Midnight #1B2A4A

Jet black #141414

Mascara

Jet black on everyone - brown looks faded against this much natural depth. Navy and plum are for evenings when the lashes should add color.

Graphite #4A4A50

Plum ink #4C2B44

Midnight #1B2A4A

Jet black #141414

Tip If you own one liner, make it a true black pencil. It is the product this coloring needs least of an excuse to wear.
Lips
A nude with berry in it

The Deep Winter nude is a rosy mauve, a lilac, a sheer berry or a raspberry - a shade that looks colorful in the tube and quiet on the mouth. Beige and peach nudes wash this face out. Apply straight from the bullet or tap on with a finger; a clean edge suits this coloring more than a blurred one.

Nude lips

Rosy mauve at the fair end, raspberry at the deep end. The right one looks like your lips, only clearer.

Rosy mauve #B98F94

Lilac nude #A87C9E

Berry tint #BE6A86

Raspberry #B24A6E

Tip A clear gloss over any of these works on this coloring, day or night.

That is the whole day face, and it already has more contrast than most people wear. The evening version is where this coloring really comes into its own.

Your evening face: what changes, and what must not

Deep Winter is the coloring evening makeup was designed around, and still only two things change: a jewel tone takes the outer eye, and the lip goes from a berry nude to a full red, magenta or wine. The rest stays as it was in the morning. Each depth is shown twice, the same woman in both frames.

Eyes

At night this coloring moves into jewel tones. The day shade holds the center of the lid, and one of emerald, amethyst, sapphire or silver smoke takes the outer third - crease, corner and the outer lower lashes.

How to make the change

Keep the day shade across the lid.
Press the jewel shade into the crease and over the outer third.
Sweep a little along the outer half of the lower lash line and stop.
Let the center of the lid keep the day shade, so the eye stays open.
Line the upper lash roots in black, navy or plum and soften the joins.

The rule Deeper and brighter, never warmer. A bronze or copper smoke is the one evening eye that fights this face; the cool version of the same depth - silver, graphite, plum - is the one that belongs to it.

Fair

Rosy mauve on the lid, emerald shimmer through the crease and out to the corner, black in the lashes. Emerald beside gray-green eyes makes them look greener, and on porcelain skin under black hair it looks deliberate rather than loud.

Deep Winter evening eye on a fair complexion — By evening

Light

Cool taupe on the lid, amethyst through the crease and past the corner, a plum line along the lashes. Violet makes dark brown eyes look richer and almost black at the center.

Deep Winter evening eye on a light complexion — By evening

Medium

Matte plum on the lid, sapphire round the outer corner, a midnight line underneath. Blue and plum together keep the eye deep without turning it gray, and the navy line reads as black from a step away.

Deep

Graphite on the lid, silver smoke carried out to the corner, black in the lash line. On deep cool skin a silver-gray shimmer catches the light the way a matte black smoke never does, so the eye stays bright.

Deep Winter evening eye on a deep complexion — By evening

Lips

The day nude and the evening lip come from one cool family - rosy mauve to crimson, berry to merlot - so choosing the evening shade is mostly choosing its strength. This coloring can wear a full red at night without the red taking over.

How to make the change

Press the first layer in with a fingertip or brush.
Blot once.
Build the second layer through the center of the mouth, then define the edge if you like.
A crisp line suits this coloring - just keep it on your own lip line.

The rule Your depth chooses the shade; the hour only decides how strong it goes.

Fair

Rosy mauve by day, crimson after dark. A true blue-red on fair skin under black hair is the classic Deep Winter evening face, and it needs almost nothing else.

Deep Winter evening lip on a fair complexion — By evening

Light

Lilac nude by day, magenta after dark. Clear pink-purple is a color this coloring carries better than almost any other.

Deep Winter evening lip on a light complexion — By evening

Medium

Berry tint by day, merlot after dark. A deep wine keeps the mouth strong without competing with a sapphire eye.

Deep

Raspberry by day, merlot after dark. For the biggest evening, blackberry at the end of the ladder is darker still and wears beautifully on deep cool skin.

Deep Winter evening lip on a deep complexion — By evening

What must not change

The center of the lid

It keeps the day shade. A jewel color edge to edge closes the eye instead of framing it.

The blush

Same shade, same amount. A strong lip plus a stronger cheek makes the face look painted.

The brows

Already dark and defined; darkening them further for the evening makes them the first thing people see.

The base

Skip the extra powder. Flash turns a heavily powdered cool base gray, and the glow is what keeps a red lip looking fresh.

The short version: at night go deeper and brighter, never warmer. Whether a product does that depends partly on its color and partly on a detail the label hardly mentions.

Why the right shade can still look wrong

Often the finish. Every lipstick, shadow and base is a color plus a surface, and the surface - how much light comes off it, and whether that light is clear, white or gold - is almost never printed on the box. Below: one red, one mouth, four finishes.

One shade, four finishes

Crimson lipstick in a flat matte finish — **Matte** Yes A matte crimson is one of the most striking things this coloring can wear: the flat surface shows the red at full strength against pale or deep cool skin. Start with balm and blot, so the matte does not settle into dry lines.

Crimson lipstick with a soft satin sheen — **Satin** Yes The everyday finish. A little sheen keeps a strong red from looking severe during the day.

Crimson lipstick under a clear high-shine gloss — **High shine** Yes Unlike on the autumns, a clear gloss suits this face. The bright point of light matches the clarity of the eyes, and the color underneath stays exactly as clear as it was.

Crimson lipstick with a silvery-white frost laid over it — **Frost** No Set it next to the first photograph. It is the same red, now pale and chalky. Frost is white pearl, and white over a deep red takes the depth out of the one feature meant to carry it.

Two things change across those photographs. One is the specular highlight, the bright reflection off a smooth surface: matte returns none, satin spreads it softly, gloss concentrates it into a sharp point, and frost makes the whole lip shine.

The other is what the shine is made of, and on a Deep Winter it decides the verdict. A clear gloss adds light and nothing else, which suits a coloring defined by clarity. Silver and jewel-toned metallics are cool all the way through, so they belong here too. White pearl and gold shimmer are the problems: the first pales a deep shade, the second warms it. In a shop, check the flash under a lamp - silver or clear is yours, gold is not.

The same question, on skin

Base

Neutral tan satin foundation on an olive-tan cheek — **Satin** Yes Light comes off the cheekbone and the skin still reads as skin. Clear skin is part of what makes this coloring look striking rather than severe.

Neutral tan full matte foundation on the same cheek — **Full matte** Careful A flat, powdered finish under black liner and a strong lip makes the face look stark. Keep matte to the center and leave the cheekbones some light.

Highlighter

A narrow metallic silver line along the cheekbone — **Metallic** Careful Silver is the right metal; a hard line is the wrong shape. Press it out with a fingertip until the edge disappears.

Brows

Cool espresso brow filled with powder, the hairs visible — **Powder or gel** Yes Defined but still made of hair. This coloring suits a strong brow, as long as it looks grown rather than drawn.

Cool espresso brow drawn in waxy pencil as a solid shape — **Waxy pencil** No A shiny, solid outline turns a strong brow into a stencil.

Blush

On a cheek a finish has more to do than on a lip, because skin has a texture of its own. In every pair, the photo on the left keeps it.

What that means, product by product

Base: Satin or natural, neutral-cool. Matte only where you shine.
Blush: Cream in rose, raspberry or cranberry; powder only on top of it.
Eyeshadow: Matte and satin by day; emerald, sapphire, amethyst and silver metallics at night. Skip gold and copper shimmer.
Brows: Powder or tinted gel in a cool shade matched to your hair. No waxy pencil.
Lips: Matte, satin or clear gloss - all three work. Never frost.
Highlighter: Silver, pink pearl or cool champagne, blended to no edge. Gold reads yellow.

If your skin is oily

Mattify the center of the face and stop there. A cool-toned setting powder on the forehead, nose and chin, the cheekbones left alone, and blotting papers during the day. Full matte everywhere takes away the clarity that makes the strong colors on this page look easy rather than harsh.

How to get the right one home

None of the shades above help unless the one you buy matches them. This part is the practical half: a test that works, the label words that give a warm product away, and why the swatch on the back of your hand proves nothing.

The jaw test

Three candidate stripes, from the jawline down onto the neck. The wrist and the hand tell you nothing.
Blend all three.
Go to a window. Warm store light makes a golden base look neutral on cool skin.
Buy the one that has gone - not the prettiest stripe, the one you cannot find.

Three foundation stripes painted from the jaw down the neck — **Three across the jaw** Three candidates, from the jawline down onto the neck. On cool skin the jaw is where a yellow base shows first, as a line between a golden face and a cooler neck.

The jaw and neck after the three stripes are blended — **Blend, and lose one** Blended. The one you can no longer find is yours. A stripe that still shows as a yellowish band goes back, however natural it looked in the bottle.

The same three foundations swatched on the back of a hand — **The back of the hand** Swatches on the back of a hand, where every shade looks acceptable - the hand is rarely the color of the face, so it cannot choose.

Where you sit on the foundation grid

Behind every foundation shelf is a grid - depth from top to bottom, undertone from left to right - even when the display hides it. Here it is with only the Deep Winter squares outlined, on the cool side.

How to read it

Top to bottom: how deep. No two brands number depth alike, so the four words down the side are this site’s own. Find your row on the jaw, not the wrist.
Left to right: which way it leans. The letter in the shade code - C cool, N neutral, W warm, or in some lines R/P for rosy and pink, Y or G for yellow and golden, O for olive. Cool sits at the left of this chart.
Your season picks the column, your skin the row. Along one row the depth never changes, only the letter. Cool tan is yours; neutral tan may pass the jaw test, olive tan looks gray-green, and golden tan turns you sallow. Fix the row first, then read only the letter.

What is your depth?

Depth	CCool / neutral-cool - yours	NNeutral - close, the jaw decides	OOlive - reads gray-green	WWarm / golden - sallow on you
	Undertone · the letter on the shade — cooler → warmer
Fair	cool ivory	neutral ivory	olive ivory	golden ivory
Light	cool sand	neutral sand	olive sand	golden sand
Medium	cool tan	neutral tan	olive tan	golden tan
Deep	cool espresso	neutral espresso	olive espresso	golden espresso

Every Deep Winter buys from the outlined column. Pick a depth and your single square lights up.

The Deep Winter column: cool or neutral-cool, at your own depth.
A neighbor from the same shelf - your depth word with another letter. For recognition only; not a palette shade.

Whatever your depth, you ask for the same thing: a cool letter, at your own number. A porcelain Deep Winter and an espresso one want the same letter; only the number changes, so skip the shade names from campaigns and ask for your depth, cool.

Read the chart for what it is. The cool squares are this site’s values, not a brand’s; each range mixes its letters slightly differently and no depth number carries across brands, so the chart cannot hand you a shade to order unseen. The neutral, olive and golden squares are illustrations - your cool shade pushed warmer and named the way a shelf would name it. Neutral is the one maybe: many Deep Winters wear a neutral-cool base well, and the jaw test decides.

Reading a shade name

Worth picking up

cool rose berry plum wine ruby blue-red porcelain

Put it back

warm golden honey caramel peach coral bronze terracotta

For a Deep Winter the trap is not the obviously warm words - most people skip "terracotta" without thinking. It is the soft defaults: natural, nude, beige, sand. In most ranges those lean golden, because golden is what the industry treats as neutral. Treat them as a question and let the jaw answer it. The words that carry coolness are the jewels and the berries: ruby, plum, wine, berry.

What the finish words on a label actually mean

Satin, natural, second-skin: The everyday answer for the base.
Gloss, vinyl, lacquer: Clear shine suits this coloring - on a crimson or a berry it looks crisp, not wet.
Radiant, luminous, glow: Check the flash: silver or pink pearl is yours, a golden glow is not.
Metallic, foil, chrome: Silver, sapphire or emerald foil on the lid is an evening signature; gold or copper foil is not.
Frost, pearl-finish, iridescent: Put it back. White pearl makes a deep color chalky.

Judging a swatch photo online

Product photos are lit bright, even and slightly warm, and that shifts exactly what a Deep Winter shops on: cool shades look softer than they are, warm ones look neutral, and a berry and a brick can pass for cousins. Prefer a swatch on skin to one in a pan, and a photo with a shadow across it to a flat one - the undertone shows where the light drops off.

Look for a shadow

Raspberry blush swatched on an arm, half in shadow — **Shadow in frame** Trust it The shaded half shows the real undertone. If a "berry" turns brick-brown where the light drops, it has more warmth in it than the lit half suggests.

The raspberry swatch under flat studio light — **Bright flat light** Careful Flat studio light is usually a little warm and very bright, which makes a cool shade look softer and a warm one look neutral.

Look for skin, not a pan

The raspberry blush blended out on the arm in daylight — **Swatched on skin** Trust it Blended on skin is the only version that shows what reaches your face.

The raspberry blush in its pan — **Straight out of the pan** Careful The pan shows the pigment at full strength. This coloring can often wear it close to that, which makes the pan more honest here than for most people - but check it blended first.

Why there are no brand names on this page

Lines are reformulated, renamed and discontinued every season, so a product list goes stale within months and each stale pick is money a reader spends. The hexes, the label words and the jaw test do not go out of date, and they work on brands launched after this page.

When it does not work

The shades, the order, the finishes and the shopping are covered. This is the troubleshooting part, for the day the face in the mirror looks wrong and you cannot point to the product that did it.

Two ways it goes wrong

You look sallow, or yellow-gray

What it looks like: The skin looks yellowish around the mouth and grayish under the eyes, and your teeth look less white than usual. The effect is strongest in daylight and in photos.
Why: Warmth has crept in: a golden foundation, an orange bronzer, a gold highlighter, a peach cheek, a copper lid. Cool skin next to golden makeup does not look warmer - it looks yellower by comparison, and the dark eyes and hair turn the difference up.
Fix: Cool it down, one product at a time, starting with the base. A neutral-cool foundation, a taupe contour instead of bronzer, silver or pink pearl instead of gold, rose instead of peach. The face should look clear, not sun-kissed.

You look washed out and tired

What it looks like: Everything is on and it barely shows. The face looks paler than it is, the mouth fades into it, and your hair and eyes are the only strong things in the picture.
Why: The makeup is pitched too light and too soft for this much contrast: a beige nude, a pastel pink cheek, a champagne lid, a brown liner. A Deep Winter face has near-black features, and makeup far lighter than them reads as nothing.
Fix: Go deeper and clearer, not warmer. A rosy mauve or berry tint instead of beige, raspberry on the cheek, graphite or plum on the lid, black liner. It looks strong in the pan and simply like you once it is on.

And the shades that never work

Every swatch below misses for one of three reasons, written on its tag. Understand the three and the list is no longer necessary: any product you pick up will show which of them it is making.

Base and glow

Yellow-golden base warm
Base a shade too light pale
Orange bronzer warm
Gold highlighter warm

Cheeks

Peach blush warm
Coral blush warm
Pastel baby pink pale
Dusty mauve-brown dull

Eyes

Copper shimmer warm
Brown liner warm
Soft khaki dull
Pale champagne-beige lid pale

Lips

Beige nude pale
Orange-red warm
Muted brick dull
Peachy-pink gloss pale

Why each one fails

warmToo warm: Golden, orange, peach, coral, copper, bronze. The most common miss on this coloring, because warm makeup is what most ranges treat as neutral. On cool skin it reads yellow.
paleToo pale: Beige nudes, pastels, champagne, anything "barely there". Against near-black hair and eyes, makeup this light does not look natural; it looks like the face has lost its color.
dullToo muted: Dusty mauve-brown, khaki, muted brick. This coloring is clear as well as deep, and a grayed or dusty shade looks tired next to eyes this bright.

The tags carry the section; each swatch just shows a mistake, and its hex is an example rather than a measured product. If the warm swatches suit you better than this page predicts, read Deep Autumn, the warm neighbor at the same depth. If the soft, muted ones do, look at Soft Summer.

Your shades, in one block

Every one of the 44 shades on a single screen, ready to screenshot for the makeup counter. Foundation, contour and highlighter are chosen by depth: pick your row and stop. The rest run from the fairest Deep Winter at the left end of each row to the deepest at the right, and your shade is somewhere between.

Base: foundation, bronzer, glow and blush

Foundation matched to your depth

Fair - porcelain ivory Fair #EDDCCB
Light - cool sand Light #CBAE92
Medium - neutral tan Medium #A88763
Deep - cool espresso Deep #5E4336

Bronzer matched to your depth

Fair - soft taupe Fair #A8958A
Light - cool taupe Light #8C7566
Medium - gray-brown Medium #7A6A5E
Deep - cocoa taupe Deep #4E3E36

Highlighter matched to your depth

Fair - icy silver Fair #E3E6EC
Light - pink pearl Light #F0D9DC
Medium - cool champagne Medium #EDE0CE
Deep - rose-plum pearl Deep #C79AAE

Blush

Cool rose blush #D08094
Plum stain #9C6480
Raspberry #B24A6E
Cranberry #A33050

Eyes: shadow, liner, mascara, brows

Everyday eyeshadow

Rosy mauve #B98F94
Taupe shadow #8E8177
Matte plum #6B4A5E
Graphite #4A4A50

Evening eyeshadow

Emerald shimmer #1F6B52
Amethyst shimmer #6B4A8C
Sapphire metallic #24457F
Silver smoke #3A3A42

Eyeliner

Graphite #4A4A50
Plum ink #4C2B44
Midnight #1B2A4A
Jet black #141414

Mascara

Graphite #4A4A50
Plum ink #4C2B44
Midnight #1B2A4A
Jet black #141414

Brows

Taupe brown brow #6B5A50
Cool ash brow #574A44
Cool espresso #3E2A25
Dark graphite brow #2A2A30

Lips: nudes and color

Nude lips

Rosy mauve #B98F94
Lilac nude #A87C9E
Berry tint #BE6A86
Raspberry #B24A6E

Colored lips

Crimson #DC143C
Magenta #D10056
Merlot #800020
Blackberry #582141

Three rows are colors rather than depths. Eyeliner and mascara each come in graphite, plum ink, midnight and jet black, and any complexion can wear any of them; jet black is the everyday pick for both. Brows track the hair, not the skin - take the cool shade nearest your own brows, taupe brown to dark graphite. The contour shades are cool taupes, not bronzers. For the base on four real faces and the clothing colors behind this list, go to the palette page. The full Deep Winter palette →

Deep Winter makeup

Questions people ask

What is the best makeup for a Deep Winter?

Deep, cool and clear. Cool rose, plum stain, raspberry or cranberry on the cheeks; rosy mauve, taupe, matte plum or graphite on the lid by day, and emerald, amethyst, sapphire or silver smoke at night. Jet black liner and mascara, and lips from a rosy mauve or berry nude to crimson, magenta, merlot and blackberry. Nothing golden, nothing beige. All 44 shades close the page.

What lipstick colors suit a Deep Winter?

A true blue-red such as crimson is the signature, with magenta, merlot and blackberry around it - this is the coloring that can wear all of them, every day. The nudes are rosy mauve, lilac, a berry tint and raspberry. Skip beige nudes, which erase the mouth, and orange-reds or brick, which turn the teeth yellow.

What is the best blush for a Deep Winter?

Cool and fairly strong: cool rose on the fairest skin, then plum stain, raspberry and cranberry as the skin deepens. Peach, coral and bronzer are the ones to leave on the shelf - on cool skin they read as an orange patch. Cream sinks in best, and a light hand still needs to show.

Is Dark Winter makeup the same as Deep Winter makeup?

Yes. Dark Winter and Deep Winter are two names for one coloring, so any Dark Winter shade list or palette fits you as written. Both describe the deepest winter: cool skin, dark hair and eyes, and very high contrast.

What does natural makeup look like on a Deep Winter?

Darker than you might expect. A natural face here still has black mascara, a defined brow and a lip with some color in it - a rosy mauve or a berry tint - because this face is naturally high in contrast. A "no-makeup" look built from beige and soft brown reads as tired, not natural, against near-black hair.

Should a Deep Winter wear silver or gold highlighter?

Silver, pink pearl or cool champagne. Gold and copper glow read yellow on cool skin. On the lid the same rule holds: silver smoke, sapphire and amethyst metallics suit this coloring, a copper or bronze shimmer does not.

Deep Winter or Deep Autumn makeup - what is the difference?

Both are deep with strong contrast. Deep Winter keeps everything cool and clear - crimson, blackberry, emerald, sapphire, silver, black. Deep Autumn wears the same depth warm - brick, rust, chocolate, forest, bronze. The quickest test is a lipstick: if blue-red beats brick on you, you are most likely a Deep Winter.

What makeup should a Deep Winter avoid?

Warm shades first: a golden foundation, orange bronzer, gold highlighter, peach or coral blush, copper lids, orange-red lips. Then pale ones - beige nudes, pastel pink, champagne lids - and muted ones such as khaki or muted brick. All sixteen, with swatches, are above.

Which brands make Deep Winter makeup?

None - no brand builds a range for one color season, and any line with a broad shade range stocks shades that suit you. Products go unnamed here because ranges change every year. What carries into any store is a shade name, a few label words and the jaw test; a ready-made "deep winter makeup list" is only as good as the shades on it that pass them.

Where this came from

Six sources and what each one supports: that makeup works through facial contrast and that the right amount depends on the face; what a flush is; why depth and undertone are separate things a base must match; how gloss is seen; and why store lighting hides a golden foundation.

Aspects of facial contrast decrease with age and are cues for age perception (opens in a new tab) Porcheron, Mauger & Russell, PLoS ONE, 2013
Behind the idea this page rests on. Facial contrast - how far the eyes, brows and mouth stand out from the skin - can be measured, makeup raises it, and people read it as a cue to age. A Deep Winter face has the highest natural contrast of any coloring. That is why a black line and a crimson lip look natural here, and why a beige nude, which lowers contrast, makes the face look tired.
Differential effects of makeup on perceived age (opens in a new tab) Russell, Batres, Courrèges et al., British Journal of Psychology, 2019
Behind you look washed out and tired and its mirror image. In controlled photographs, makeup made women in their forties and fifties look younger and women of twenty look older. The contrast a face carries is the yardstick: this coloring needs more than most before it reads as made up, and less than that reads as pale.
Skin blood perfusion and oxygenation colour affect perceived human health (opens in a new tab) Stephen, Coetzee, Law Smith & Perrett, PLoS ONE, 2009
Behind the cheeks step. Asked to make a face look as healthy as possible, people add the color of oxygenated blood under the skin. On cool skin that flush is rose or berry, which is why raspberry and cranberry read as color from inside and a peach or coral reads as an orange patch.
Non-invasive measurements of skin pigmentation in situ (opens in a new tab) Stamatas, Zmudzka, Kollias & Beer, Pigment Cell Research, 2004
Behind the two axes of the shade grid. Skin color carries two signals: melanin sets the depth - your row - and hemoglobin adds its own, and the two have to be separated to measure either. That is why a cool undertone is a column you pick, and why a darker golden shade never fixes a yellow cast.
The dark side of gloss (opens in a new tab) Kim, Marlow & Anderson, Nature Neuroscience, 2012
Behind finishes. We read gloss from specular highlights and their dark counterparts, and the effect disappears when they are blurred. A clear coloring suits a crisp highlight: gloss and metallic lids add brightness without muddying the color, while a blurring powder does the opposite.
CIE 13.3-1995: Method of measuring and specifying colour rendering properties of light sources (opens in a new tab) International Commission on Illumination (CIE), 1995
Behind the jaw test in how to shop. Light sources are rated on how faithfully they render the colors under them, and shop lighting rates low. Warm store light makes a golden foundation look neutral on cool skin, so the test belongs at a window.

Where the line falls. The contrast research, the skin biology, the gloss perception and the lighting standard above are sourced. Which shades belong to a Deep Winter, which suits which depth, and where strong turns into harsh for this coloring are our own analysis, built from the palette on the parent page. No study covers that, and we would rather say so than borrow a citation that does not.

Deep Winter makeup: cool, deep shades and how to wear them

You are a Deep Winter. Here is what to put on.

Sixteen finished looks

If you have fair skin:

If you have light skin:

If you have medium skin:

If you have deep skin:

Why these shades, and not the ones you own

Why these shades and not those

How to build it, step by step

Clear, cool skin as the backdrop

Your base shades, by depth

A cool flush, and a bit more than you think

Blush

Defined brows, a cool lid, a black line

Brows

Everyday eyeshadow

Eyeliner

Mascara

A nude with berry in it

Nude lips

Your evening face: what changes, and what must not

Eyes

Lips

What must not change

Why the right shade can still look wrong

One shade, four finishes

The same question, on skin

What that means, product by product

How to get the right one home

The jaw test

Where you sit on the foundation grid

Reading a shade name

What the finish words on a label actually mean

Judging a swatch photo online

When it does not work

Two ways it goes wrong

You look sallow, or yellow-gray

You look washed out and tired

And the shades that never work

Base and glow

Cheeks

Eyes

Lips

Why each one fails

Your shades, in one block

Base: foundation, bronzer, glow and blush

Eyes: shadow, liner, mascara, brows

Lips: nudes and color

Questions people ask

Where this came from