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Scarlet Nocturne Dust
Color detail

Scarlet Nocturne Dust

Red · Hue 5
Metrics
S 26% · L 20%
Contrast (WCAG)
on white13.6:1AAon black1.5:1Fail
Save to journalSign in to saveStart palette from thisRecent trail

About this color

Scarlet Nocturne Dust (#402826) belongs to the red family — hue 5°, 26% saturation, 20% 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-nocturne-dust: #402826;
  --colorarchive-scarlet-nocturne-dust-hsl: hsl(5, 26%, 20%);
  --colorarchive-scarlet-nocturne-dust-rgb: rgb(64, 40, 38);
}

AI Color Names

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

Design Context

PowerfulSophisticatedDramatic
Common in

Wine & Spirits · Luxury Fashion · Fine Dining

Pairs well with

Gold accents, ivory backgrounds, or deep charcoal for editorial elegance

Design tip

Ideal for dark themes and premium product pages. Pair with generous whitespace to let the richness breathe.

Cultural context ▶

Deep reds like burgundy and maroon evoke maturity, wealth, and tradition. Common in academic institutions and heritage brands.

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 dim, atmospheric reading — closer to a colored shadow than a stated hue. Excellent as a near-black on dark UI or as a moody background.

Lightness band: At this depth the hue starts behaving like a neutral — it can substitute for black in many contexts while still carrying a faint chromatic temperature. It pairs especially well with off-whites and warm metallics.

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 #402826.

  • Xiaohongshu 小红书neutral
    Slate Text · #333333
    →
  • JD.com 京东neutral
    Slate · #333333
    →
  • Taobao 淘宝neutral
    Slate · #333333
    →

Cultures using a similar color

From the cultural-palette catalog, these regions feature a color close to #402826.

  • BrazilAçaí Purple
    #3D1F4D · Euterpe oleracea berry
    →
  • France (Paris)Bordeaux Wine
    #5C2E2A · Bordeaux region red wine
    →
  • Korea (Obangsaek)Obangsaek Black (흑 / heuk)
    #1F1F1F · North — water element, ink and lacquer
    →

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 PsychologyColor Psychology in Marketing: How Color Drives Emotion, Trust, and Purchase Decisions

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 Shadow Dust
#5A3835 · hsl(5, 26%, 28%)
Darker companion
Scarlet Ink Dust
#2D1C1A · hsl(5, 26%, 14%)
Complementary counterpoint
Aqua Nocturne Dust
#264040 · hsl(180, 26%, 20%)
Analogous lead
Coral Nocturne Dust
#403326 · hsl(30, 26%, 20%)
Analogous echo
Garnet Nocturne Dust
#40262F · hsl(340, 26%, 20%)
Triadic +120°
Emerald Nocturne Dust
#264026 · hsl(120, 26%, 20%)
Triadic +240°
Amethyst Nocturne Dust
#282640 · hsl(245, 26%, 20%)
Split-comp +150°
Jade Nocturne Dust
#264033 · hsl(150, 26%, 20%)
Split-comp +210°
Sapphire Nocturne Dust
#263340 · hsl(210, 26%, 20%)
Export preview
Base: Scarlet Nocturne Dust #402826
Lighter companion: Scarlet Shadow Dust #5A3835
Darker companion: Scarlet Ink Dust #2D1C1A
Complementary counterpoint: Aqua Nocturne Dust #264040
Analogous lead: Coral Nocturne Dust #403326
Analogous echo: Garnet Nocturne Dust #40262F
Triadic +120°: Emerald Nocturne Dust #264026
Triadic +240°: Amethyst Nocturne Dust #282640
Split-comp +150°: Jade Nocturne Dust #264033
Split-comp +210°: Sapphire Nocturne Dust #263340

Compare

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

vsScarlet Shadow DustvsScarlet Ink DustvsAqua Nocturne DustvsCoral Nocturne DustvsGarnet Nocturne DustvsEmerald Nocturne Dust

Nearest neighbors

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

Search by hex
Nearby match
Scarlet Nocturne Muted
#3C2B2A · hsl(5, 18%, 20%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Nocturne Soft
#442522 · hsl(5, 34%, 20%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Ink Dust
#2D1C1A · hsl(5, 26%, 14%)
Nearby match
Crimson Nocturne Dust
#402626 · hsl(0, 26%, 20%)
Nearby match
Ruby Nocturne Dust
#402A26 · hsl(10, 26%, 20%)
Nearby match
Scarlet Shadow Dust
#5A3835 · hsl(5, 26%, 28%)

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
AAA13:1
Aqua Veil Faint
#F9FAFA
AAA13:1
Aqua Veil Muted
#F9FBFB
AAA13:1
Aqua Veil Dust
#F9FBFB
AAA13.1:1
Aqua Veil Soft
#F8FCFC
AAA13.2:1
Aqua Veil Clear
#F7FDFD
AAA13.2:1
Aqua Veil Vivid
#F6FEFE

Color Vision Simulation

How this color appears with different color vision deficiencies.

Full simulator
Deuteranopia
#383A27
Protanopia
#373726
Tritanopia
#3F2727
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Saturation ladder

Same hue and lightness, from gray to pure

Search
Scarlet Nocturne Faint#382F2E · hsl(5, 10%, 20%)Scarlet Nocturne Muted#3C2B2A · hsl(5, 18%, 20%)Scarlet Nocturne Dust#402826 · hsl(5, 26%, 20%)Scarlet Nocturne Soft#442522 · hsl(5, 34%, 20%)Scarlet Nocturne Clear#4F1C17 · hsl(5, 54%, 20%)Scarlet Nocturne Vivid#59140D · hsl(5, 74%, 20%)Scarlet Nocturne Bright#5E0F08 · hsl(5, 84%, 20%)Scarlet Nocturne Pure#620C04 · hsl(5, 92%, 20%)
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