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Merlot Bloom Dust
Color detail

Merlot Bloom Dust

Red · Hue 350
Metrics
S 26% · L 76%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white1.9:1Failon black10.8:1AA
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Merlot Bloom Dust (#D2B2B7) belongs to the red family — hue 350°, 26% saturation, 76% 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-bloom-dust: #D2B2B7;
  --colorarchive-merlot-bloom-dust-hsl: hsl(350, 26%, 76%);
  --colorarchive-merlot-bloom-dust-rgb: rgb(210, 178, 183);
}

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

Among the oldest pigments, and still the loudest signal.

Heritage

Red ochre is among the oldest pigments in the human visual record. Ochre reds lie beside burials at Qafzeh, Israel, about 100,000 years old; red ochre and costly cinnabar lit Pompeian walls; cinnabar was prized from Rome to China. Madder, kermes, and later New World cochineal built fortunes before synthetic alizarin arrived in 1869 and collapsed the madder market almost 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 red since its earliest signage. Netflix and YouTube both build their identities around a single saturated red. 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). Emergency stop buttons are red on a yellow background under international machinery-safety standards, a convention so widespread 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 #D2B2B7.

  • Anthropicneutral
    Mid Gray · #B0AEA5
    →
  • Glossierprimary
    Glossier Pink · #F8D6CD
    →
  • Aesopneutral
    Cream Paper · #EFE4D2
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #D2B2B7.

  • ScandinaviaFaded Rose
    #D3A6A0 · Vintage Swedish wallpaper
    →
  • IcelandMidnight Sun Pink
    #F2AEB5 · Horizon light, June
    →
  • JapanCherry Blossom (sakura 桜)
    #FBC4D0 · Prunus serrulata flower
    →

Color guides

Go deeper on using red and color in design.

Color TheoryWarm Color Palette Guide: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, and Their NeutralsUI DesignColor in Financial UI: Trust, Data Visualization, and the Red/Green ConventionColor TheoryColor in Typography: How to Use Color in Text Without Losing Legibility

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 Pearl Dust
#E1CCCF · hsl(350, 26%, 84%)
Darker companion
Merlot Silk Dust
#C3989F · hsl(350, 26%, 68%)
Complementary counterpoint
Lagoon Bloom Dust
#B2D2CC · hsl(170, 26%, 76%)
Analogous lead
Vermillion Bloom Dust
#D2BAB2 · hsl(15, 26%, 76%)
Analogous echo
Blush Bloom Dust
#D2B2C2 · hsl(330, 26%, 76%)
Triadic +120°
Leaf Bloom Dust
#B7D2B2 · hsl(110, 26%, 76%)
Triadic +240°
Indigo Bloom Dust
#B2B7D2 · hsl(230, 26%, 76%)
Split-comp +150°
Seafoam Bloom Dust
#B2D2BC · hsl(140, 26%, 76%)
Split-comp +210°
Azure Bloom Dust
#B2C7D2 · hsl(200, 26%, 76%)
Export preview
Base: Merlot Bloom Dust #D2B2B7
Lighter companion: Merlot Pearl Dust #E1CCCF
Darker companion: Merlot Silk Dust #C3989F
Complementary counterpoint: Lagoon Bloom Dust #B2D2CC
Analogous lead: Vermillion Bloom Dust #D2BAB2
Analogous echo: Blush Bloom Dust #D2B2C2
Triadic +120°: Leaf Bloom Dust #B7D2B2
Triadic +240°: Indigo Bloom Dust #B2B7D2
Split-comp +150°: Seafoam Bloom Dust #B2D2BC
Split-comp +210°: Azure Bloom Dust #B2C7D2

Compare

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

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

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Merlot Bloom Muted
#CDB7BA · hsl(350, 18%, 76%)
Nearby match
Merlot Bloom Soft
#D7ADB4 · hsl(350, 34%, 76%)
Nearby match
Merlot Silk Dust
#C3989F · hsl(350, 26%, 68%)
Nearby match
Merlot Pearl Dust
#E1CCCF · hsl(350, 26%, 84%)
Nearby match
Merlot Bloom Faint
#C8BCBE · hsl(350, 10%, 76%)
Nearby match
Merlot Silk Muted
#BC9FA4 · hsl(350, 18%, 68%)

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
AAA7.8:1
Lagoon Ink Faint
#202726
AAA7.6:1
Lagoon Ink Muted
#1D2A28
AAA7.4:1
Lagoon Ink Dust
#1A2D2A
AAA7.2:1
Lagoon Ink Soft
#18302C
AAA7.8:1
Cyan Ink Faint
#202727
AAA7.6:1
Cyan Ink Muted
#1D2A29

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#C7C9B6
Protanopia
#C5C5B6
Tritanopia
#D1B5B5
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Merlot Bloom Faint#C8BCBE · hsl(350, 10%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Muted#CDB7BA · hsl(350, 18%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Dust#D2B2B7 · hsl(350, 26%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Soft#D7ADB4 · hsl(350, 34%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Clear#E3A1AC · hsl(350, 54%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Vivid#EF95A4 · hsl(350, 74%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Bright#F58EA0 · hsl(350, 84%, 76%)Merlot Bloom Pure#FA899C · hsl(350, 92%, 76%)
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