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Scarlet Whisper Dust
Color detail

Scarlet Whisper Dust

Red · Hue 5
Hex
#F4ECEC
RGB
rgb(244, 236, 236)
HSL
hsl(5, 26%, 94%)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 3%, 3%, 4%)
Metrics
S 26% · L 94%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white
1.2:1Fail
on black
18.1:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Whisper Dust (#F4ECEC) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 26% saturation, 94% 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-scarlet-whisper-dust: #F4ECEC;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-whisper-dust-hsl: hsl(5, 26%, 94%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-whisper-dust-rgb: rgb(244, 236, 236);
}

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 #F4ECEC.

  • Anthropicprimary
    Cream Canvas · #F0EEE6
    →
  • Lululemonneutral
    Off White · #F5F5F5
    →
  • Aesopneutral
    Cream Paper · #EFE4D2
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #F4ECEC.

  • ScandinaviaSnow White
    #F4F0EA · Limewashed plaster, Nordic interiors
    →
  • AustraliaBeach Cream
    #F2EFE1 · Western Australian quartz sand
    →
  • Turkey (Istanbul)Marble White
    #F0EBE0 · Marmara marble, used since Roman era
    →

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
Scarlet Veil Dust
#FBF9F9 · hsl(5, 26%, 98%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Mist Dust
#ECE0DF · hsl(5, 26%, 90%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Whisper Dust
#ECF4F4 · hsl(180, 26%, 94%)
Analogous lead
Coral Whisper Dust
#F4F0EC · hsl(30, 26%, 94%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Whisper Dust
#F4ECEE · hsl(340, 26%, 94%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Whisper Dust
#ECF4EC · hsl(120, 26%, 94%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Whisper Dust
#ECECF4 · hsl(245, 26%, 94%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Whisper Dust
#ECF4F0 · hsl(150, 26%, 94%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Whisper Dust
#ECF0F4 · hsl(210, 26%, 94%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Whisper Dust #F4ECEC
Lighter companion: Scarlet Veil Dust #FBF9F9
Darker companion: Scarlet Mist Dust #ECE0DF
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Whisper Dust #ECF4F4
Analogous lead: Coral Whisper Dust #F4F0EC
Analogous echo: Garnet Whisper Dust #F4ECEE
Triadic +120°: Emerald Whisper Dust #ECF4EC
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Whisper Dust #ECECF4
Split-comp +150°: Jade Whisper Dust #ECF4F0
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Whisper Dust #ECF0F4

Compare

See how Scarlet Whisper Dust compares side by side with related colors.

vsScarlet Veil DustvsScarlet Mist DustvsAqua Whisper DustvsCoral Whisper DustvsGarnet Whisper DustvsEmerald Whisper Dust

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Mist Dust
#ECE0DF · hsl(5, 26%, 90%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Veil Dust
#FBF9F9 · hsl(5, 26%, 98%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Whisper Muted
#F2EDED · hsl(5, 18%, 94%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Whisper Soft
#F5EBEA · hsl(5, 34%, 94%)
Nearby match
Crimson Whisper Dust
#F4ECEC · hsl(0, 26%, 94%)
Nearby match
Ruby Whisper Dust
#F4EDEC · hsl(10, 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
AAA7.4:1
Aqua Shadow Faint
#404F4F
AAA7:1
Aqua Shadow Muted
#3B5454
AAA10.4:1
Aqua Nocturne Faint
#2E3838
AAA10:1
Aqua Nocturne Muted
#2A3C3C
AAA9.6:1
Aqua Nocturne Dust
#264040
AAA9.1:1
Aqua Nocturne Soft
#224444

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#F1F2EC
Protanopia
#F1F1EC
Tritanopia
#F4ECEC
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