Skip to content

Colour and the mindAfter the BBC's 'racist nude nails' row, expert reveals what your favourite polish says about you Colour and the mindAfter the BBC's 'racist nude nails' row, expert reveals what your favourite polish says about you Pigments and dyesSoulfly: Aftershock 2026 Seeing colourOvernight News Digest: Science Saturday, 10/3/26 Seeing colourTony Chess Obituary Seeing colourWhy Your TV’s Colors Look Different to Everyone Else, Explained by New Vision Model Craft and textilesNeed a pop of colour? Try autumn 2026’s designer accessories Pigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art form FestivalsPoliticians grab limelight as Holi colour bombs Bangkok Photo 1/11 Colour and the mindAfter the BBC's 'racist nude nails' row, expert reveals what your favourite polish says about you Colour and the mindAfter the BBC's 'racist nude nails' row, expert reveals what your favourite polish says about you Pigments and dyesSoulfly: Aftershock 2026 Seeing colourOvernight News Digest: Science Saturday, 10/3/26 Seeing colourTony Chess Obituary Seeing colourWhy Your TV’s Colors Look Different to Everyone Else, Explained by New Vision Model Craft and textilesNeed a pop of colour? Try autumn 2026’s designer accessories Pigments and dyesArcheologists discover hidden tomb untouched for 600 years that's 'like a treasure chest'FestivalsShrichakra Rangoli: How ancient India turned geometry, mathematics and cosmic thought into a sacred art form FestivalsPoliticians grab limelight as Holi colour bombs Bangkok Photo 1/11

Rang

The colour lab

Close to Mauve

What is this colour called?

The closest names in the swatch book, nearest first. The number is the distance in CIE Lab space: under 2 is hard to tell apart by eye.

Mauve#E0B0FF14.3 Lavender (floral)#B57EDC15.5 Middle blue purple#8B72BE16.3 Wisteria#C9A0DC16.3 Maximum blue purple#ACACE617.4 Bright lilac#D891EF18.1 Purple mountain majesty#9678B618.3 Violet-blue (Crayola)#766EC818.7 Cornflower blue#6495ED19 cornflowerblue#6495ED19 African violet#B284BE19.1 Medium purple#9370DB20.6

Harmonies

ComplementaryIts opposite on the wheel

#AE9CF2 #DFF29C

AnalogousIts neighbours

#AE9CF2 #9CB4F2 #DA9CF2

TriadicThree evenly spaced

#AE9CF2 #F2AE9C #9CF2AE

Split complementaryEither side of its opposite

#AE9CF2 #F2DA9C #B4F29C

TintsLighter

#AE9CF2 #E2DBFA #F0EDFD #F1EEFC

ShadesDarker

#AE9CF2 #8266EB #572FE4 #3C19BE

Contrast with text

White text 2.38:1fails

Black text 8.84:1passes AAA

Ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula. 4.5:1 is the usual minimum for body text.

Through colour-blind eyes

Typical vision

Protanopia

Deuteranopia

Tritanopia

No colour

A simulation. Real colour vision varies from person to person.

The weekly palette

Every Monday: seven colours you may not know, what the world is wearing this week, and one idea about colour.