Colour news
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 formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game SetPigments 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 formFestivalsPhotos of the weekColour of the yearEvery 2027 Color of the Year We Know So FarFashion and designThe 8 Colors Fashion Girls are Building Their Fall Wardrobes AroundFestivalsIn India, Holi welcomes spring with a Festival of ColorsColour of the yearTom’s Watch Bar Partners With Dodgers Fan Club Pantone 294Craft and textilesMore clues to Maya blueCraft and textilesDesigners Say These 6 Unexpected Paint Colors Can Make Any Room Feel Instantly Warmer and More InvitingCraft and textilesMacron and UYBA Volley present the new 2026/27 Game Set
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Colours of body and cosmetics

On skin, hair, lips and nails, for beauty and for ritual.

FamilyRedOrangeYellowGreenTurquoiseBluePurplePinkBrownWhiteGreyBlackGold
KindBasic colourNamed shadePigmentDyeColour named from natureTraditional colourNational or team colourHeraldic colourStandard colourScreen colour
Made fromMineral or earthPlantAnimalSyntheticLight only (no pigment)
#FF0000 Red A primary colour seen in light, pigment, and tradition worldwideBasic colour · 🇺🇸 United States +5 Red Cinnabar A scarlet to brick-red mineral and the main source of mercury and vermilion pigmentColour named from nature · 🇪🇸 Spain +5 Red Realgar An orange-red arsenic sulfide mineral once used as a pigment and poisonPigment · 🇨🇳 China +5 #E34234 Vermilion A brilliant orange-red pigment, once made from toxic mercury orePigment · 🇹🇷 Turkey +5 #DC143C Crimson A deep red with a hint of purple, once made from insectsNamed shade · 🇳🇵 Nepal #E32636 Alizarin A deep red dye first made from madder roots, later produced from coal tarDye · 🇹🇷 Turkey +1 Red Sindoorसिन्दूर A red or orange-red powder marking marriage for Hindu women in South AsiaTraditional colour · 🇮🇳 India +4 Red Hennaحِنَّاء A reddish dye from the henna plant, used for body art and hair since ancient timesColour named from nature · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5 Red Kermes A deep red dye made from Mediterranean scale insects, once prized for scarlet clothDye · 🇪🇬 Egypt +5 Red Kumkum A red powder made from turmeric and lime, used for forehead marks in IndiaDye · 🇮🇳 India Red Lacलाक्षा A red resin secreted by insects and used as dye, varnish and shellacColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +5 #4A0000 Oxblood A deep, brownish red seen in ceramics, shoes and fashionNamed shade Red Abir A coloured powder used in Hindu rituals and the Holi festivalTraditional colour · 🇮🇳 India #FA5053 Strawberry A bright red colour inspired by the ripe strawberry fruitNamed shade · 🇫🇷 France +4 Red Iron(III) oxide A deep red iron compound found in hematite and used as pigment and polishPigment Red Dragon's blood A deep red resin from several plants, used as pigment, dye and varnish since ancient timesColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +3 Red Polish cochinealczerwiec polski A crimson dye once vital to Poland, made from a native scale insectDye · 🇵🇱 Poland +5 Red Alizarin Red S A synthetic red dye used to reveal calcium and minerals in scienceDye Red Santalin Red pigments obtained from the wood of the red sandalwood treePigment #BD5620 Titian hair A brownish-orange shade of red hair named after the painter TitianNamed shade · 🇺🇸 United States Red Red pigment Pigments made from minerals, plants, and insects to create red colours in artPigment · 🇫🇷 France +4 Red Rose madder A red dye and pigment from the roots of a climbing plantDye · 🇮🇳 India +4 Red Brazilwood redybyrapytanga A deep orange-red dye from the heartwood of Brazil’s national treeDye · 🇧🇷 Brazil +1 Red Dragon's blood (from Dracaena cinnabari) A deep red resin from the Socotra dragon tree, prized as a dye and medicineColour named from nature · 🇾🇪 Yemen +1 Red Sappanwood A tropical Asian tree whose heartwood yields a red dye called brazilinColour named from nature · 🇳🇵 Nepal +4 Red Carmoisine A synthetic red dye used in foods and medicines in the EUDye Red Alkanet A Mediterranean plant whose root gives a red dye used since ancient timesColour named from nature · 🇺🇦 Ukraine +2 Red Erythrosine A bright red-pink synthetic dye used in food, cosmetics, and industryDye · 🇺🇸 United States +4 Red Indian madder A plant root once prized for its red dye and pigmentColour named from nature · 🇮🇳 India +1 Red Kamala dye A golden red dye from the fruit of the kamala treeDye · 🇵🇭 Philippines +3 Red Red yeast rice红曲米 A vivid reddish purple rice coloured by a special mould, used in food and medicineColour named from nature · 🇨🇳 China +3 Red Scarlet GN A synthetic red azo dye once used in foods and now mainly in cosmeticsDye · 🇺🇸 United States +4 #D71345 Carthamin A red pigment and dye obtained from safflower flowersPigment · 🇪🇬 Egypt +1 Red Bloodroot A red dye from the sap of a North American woodland plantColour named from nature · 🇨🇦 Canada Red Haematoxylum brasiletto A Central American tree whose heartwood gives red and pink dyesColour named from nature · 🇲🇽 Mexico +5 Red Sudan Red G A yellowish red azo dye used for colouring fats, waxes, and some plasticsDye Red Puccoon A group of North American plants once used for dye from their rootsColour named from nature · 🇨🇦 Canada Red Red红 / 紅 (hóng), Красный (Krasny) A colour linked with luck, love, courage and ceremony in cultures worldwideBasic colour · 🇨🇳 China +5

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The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly palette

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