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Merlot Pearl Dust
Color detail

Merlot Pearl Dust

Red · Hue 350
Hex
#E1CCCF
RGB
rgb(225, 204, 207)
HSL
hsl(350, 26%, 84%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 9%, 8%, 12%)
Metrics
S 26% · L 84%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
1.5:1Fail
on black
13.7:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Merlot Pearl Dust (#E1CCCF) belongs to the red family — hue 350°, 26% saturation, 84% lightness. Copy the hex, RGB, or HSL value above, or paste the CSS custom property below into your stylesheet to reference this color directly.

CSS
:root {
  --colorarchive-merlot-pearl-dust: #E1CCCF;
  --colorarchive-merlot-pearl-dust-hsl: hsl(350, 26%, 84%);
  --colorarchive-merlot-pearl-dust-rgb: rgb(225, 204, 207);
}

AI Color Names

Let AI suggest alternative poetic names for this color in English and Chinese.

Design Context

TenderRomanticGentle
Common in

Beauty · Wedding · Healthcare

Pairs well with

Soft neutrals (warm gray, cream) or muted greens for balance

Design tip

Use as a background for emotional storytelling or as an accent in healthcare and wellness brands to convey warmth without intensity.

Cultural context ▶

In many cultures, light reds and pinks symbolize love, tenderness, and new beginnings. In Japan, sakura pink represents the ephemeral beauty of life.

Color Origins

Red family

The first pigment, the loudest signal.

Heritage

Red is the oldest pigment in the human visual record. Ochre reds appear in burial sites from 75,000+ years ago; Roman red lead (minium) lit Pompeian walls; cinnabar drove a millennium of trade across Asia and the Mediterranean. Madder, kermes, and cochineal — the three classical reds — built fortunes and emptied empires before synthetic alizarin arrived in 1869 and collapsed the price overnight.

Across cultures

In China red signals fortune and weddings, painted on doors and lanterns and given in money envelopes. In much of South Asia red is the bridal color (saris, sindoor) for the same reason. Western traditions split red between love (Valentine's) and danger (stoplights, balance sheets). Across the Christian liturgy red marks martyrdom and Pentecost; across cinema it has long marked the femme fatale.

In the wild

Coca-Cola has used essentially the same red since 1886. Netflix and YouTube engineered their reds to pop maximally on dark UI. Christian Louboutin trademarked a single red — Pantone 18-1663 — on the soles of his shoes. Ferrari's racing red began as the Italian national racing color (Rosso Corsa). Nearly every emergency stop button on every machine ever made is red, and the convention is so universal it functions as international iconography.

How it reads

Red advances. On a page it draws the eye first; in a UI it implies destructive action or urgent state. Increasing saturation pushes it toward warning; reducing saturation moves it toward earthen, terra-cotta, comfort. Pairing red with white reads as energetic and consumer-facing; pairing it with black reads cinematic and luxurious; pairing it with cream reads as heritage or hospitality.

This particular tone

A pale, gentle tone — pastel territory, where the hue acts more like a tinted neutral than a stated color.

Lightness band: At this lightness the hue almost recedes into the surface around it — useful for backgrounds, hover states, and any surface where the color should suggest a mood without competing with content.

Saturation band: The low saturation pulls this color toward earthen, vintage, or editorial palettes. It reads as confident and grown-up rather than playful, and it tolerates being used in large blocks without becoming visually noisy.

Brands using a similar color

Within the public brand-guidelines reference catalog, these are the closest matches to #E1CCCF.

  • Glossierprimary
    Glossier Pink · #F8D6CD
    →
  • Aesopneutral
    Cream Paper · #EFE4D2
    →
  • Starbucksneutral
    Warm Neutral · #D4E9E2
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #E1CCCF.

  • France (Paris)Lutetian Limestone
    #E5DDC8 · Paris facade stone (Haussmannian-era buildings)
    →
  • IcelandLopapeysa Cream
    #E8DFCC · Undyed Icelandic sheep wool
    →
  • JapanCherry Blossom (sakura 桜)
    #FBC4D0 · Prunus serrulata flower
    →

Tonal strip

All lightness levels at this hue and saturation. Click any to navigate.

Palette moves

Instead of stopping at one swatch, use nearby, opposite, and tonal neighbors to branch into a broader palette.

Lighter companion
Merlot Mist Dust
#ECDFE1 · hsl(350, 26%, 90%)
Darker companion
Merlot Bloom Dust
#D2B2B7 · hsl(350, 26%, 76%)
Complementary counterpoint
Lagoon Pearl Dust
#CCE1DD · hsl(170, 26%, 84%)
Analogous lead
Vermillion Pearl Dust
#E1D1CC · hsl(15, 26%, 84%)
Analogous echo
Blush Pearl Dust
#E1CCD6 · hsl(330, 26%, 84%)
Triadic +120°
Leaf Pearl Dust
#CFE1CC · hsl(110, 26%, 84%)
Triadic +240°
Indigo Pearl Dust
#CCCFE1 · hsl(230, 26%, 84%)
Split-comp +150°
Seafoam Pearl Dust
#CCE1D3 · hsl(140, 26%, 84%)
Split-comp +210°
Azure Pearl Dust
#CCDAE1 · hsl(200, 26%, 84%)
Export preview
Base: Merlot Pearl Dust #E1CCCF
Lighter companion: Merlot Mist Dust #ECDFE1
Darker companion: Merlot Bloom Dust #D2B2B7
Complementary counterpoint: Lagoon Pearl Dust #CCE1DD
Analogous lead: Vermillion Pearl Dust #E1D1CC
Analogous echo: Blush Pearl Dust #E1CCD6
Triadic +120°: Leaf Pearl Dust #CFE1CC
Triadic +240°: Indigo Pearl Dust #CCCFE1
Split-comp +150°: Seafoam Pearl Dust #CCE1D3
Split-comp +210°: Azure Pearl Dust #CCDAE1

Compare

See how Merlot Pearl Dust compares side by side with related colors.

vsMerlot Mist DustvsMerlot Bloom DustvsLagoon Pearl DustvsVermillion Pearl DustvsBlush Pearl DustvsLeaf Pearl Dust

Nearest neighbors

The closest archive matches by hue, saturation, and lightness.

Search by hex
Nearby match
Merlot Pearl Muted
#DECFD1 · hsl(350, 18%, 84%)
Nearby match
Merlot Pearl Soft
#E4C8CD · hsl(350, 34%, 84%)
Nearby match
Merlot Mist Dust
#ECDFE1 · hsl(350, 26%, 90%)
Nearby match
Merlot Bloom Dust
#D2B2B7 · hsl(350, 26%, 76%)
Nearby match
Merlot Pearl Faint
#DAD2D3 · hsl(350, 10%, 84%)
Nearby match
Merlot Whisper Dust
#F4ECED · hsl(350, 26%, 94%)

Accessible pairings

Archive colors that meet WCAG contrast standards when paired with this color. Use as text-on-background or background-on-text.

Contrast checker
AAA7.9:1
Lagoon Nocturne Faint
#2E3836
AAA7.6:1
Lagoon Nocturne Muted
#2A3C39
AAA7.3:1
Lagoon Nocturne Dust
#26403C
AAA7:1
Lagoon Nocturne Soft
#22443F
AAA10:1
Lagoon Ink Faint
#202726
AAA9.7:1
Lagoon Ink Muted
#1D2A28

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#D9DBCE
Protanopia
#D8D8CE
Tritanopia
#E0CECE
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