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#bc9aaa

a light, soft magenta / pink · warm · closest name: Rosy Brown

RGB
188, 154, 170
HSL
332°, 20%, 67%
CMYK
0, 18, 10, 26
Luminance
0.3670

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bc9aaa is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bc9aaa
Hue
332°
magenta / pink
Saturation
20%
soft
Lightness
67%
light
Brightness
74%
HSV value
Perceived
65%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3670
WCAG relative
Temperature
Warm
40/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
8.34:1
Closest name
Rosy Brown
ΔE2000 7.7
Where it sits
Hue332° of 360°
Saturation20%
Lightness67%
Temperature
Warm ← → Cool40% cool

Reads warm. Warm and cool siblings keep the same lightness, so you can swap one in without redoing your contrast maths.

Every format

HEX#bc9aaa
RGBrgb(188, 154, 170)
HSLhsl(332, 20%, 67%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 18%, 10%, 26%)
LABlab(67.1 15.3 -3.6)
LCHlch(67.1 15.7 346.9)
OKLCHoklch(0.722 0.046 348.3)
Decimal12360362
Display P3color(display-p3 0.737 0.604 0.667)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #bc9aaa;
background-color: #bc9aaa;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bc9aaa] bg-[#bc9aaa]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bc9aaa;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.737, green: 0.604, blue: 0.667)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#bc9aaa")
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBC9AAA)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(170, 154, 188)

Best text color

Only one of black and white can be right. This is the one, with the number that proves it.

Readable at a glance#000000 on #bc9aaa · 8.34:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
White text · 2.52:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.34:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bc9aaa as text scores 2.52:1 on white and 8.34:1 on black.

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bc9aaa on white: 2.52:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bc9aaa on black: 8.34:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
true color
protanopia · #9CA0AB
deuteranopia · #A4A5A9
tritanopia · #C1999F

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bc9aaa is pinned to step 400; the rest hold its hue and let saturation ease off at the extremes so the pale end never turns neon.

#F9F6F7
#F2EDF0
#E4D8DD
#D2BCC6
#bc9aaa
#A5788D
#936279
#7B5165
#624151
#49323D
#2D1F26
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F6F7Darkest = 950 · #2D1F26
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F6F7;
  --brand-100: #F2EDF0;
  --brand-200: #E4D8DD;
  --brand-300: #D2BCC6;
  --brand-400: #bc9aaa;
  --brand-500: #A5788D;
  --brand-600: #936279;
  --brand-700: #7B5165;
  --brand-800: #624151;
  --brand-900: #49323D;
  --brand-950: #2D1F26;
  --brand: #bc9aaa;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
}

Colors that work with #bc9aaa

Not a palette — a role sheet. Each swatch answers one question you will hit while building the component.

Text on it#000000
Black wins here
Surface#F9F6F7
Tinted page background
Border#DECED6
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8A5C71
Captions on the surface
Accent#4E7E5B
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4D333F
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F0F2
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#22161C
Dark-mode background
Light mode
Everything in its place

Surface, border, heading and body all derive from this one hue, so the screen stays coherent without a second palette.

Primary actionSecondaryBadge
Dark mode
Same hue, inverted

Lightness flips, hue holds. The accent stays the anchor in both themes.

Primary actionSecondaryAccent

How to use #bc9aaa

Derived from its contrast, chroma and lightness — not from taste.

Works well for
  • Text and icons on dark surfaces
  • Charts, tags and secondary surfaces
  • Card and section backgrounds
  • Brand accents, badges and data highlights
Use with care
  • Text of any size on white — fails WCAG AA
  • White text placed on it
  • Pairing with a same-lightness hue — edges vibrate

Similar colors

One move away from this hex in each direction. Every swatch is its own page.

Color relationships

The wheel positions with their names attached, so you can grab the one you actually need.

Complementary#9ABCAC
Analogous left#BC9ABB
Analogous right#BC9B9A
Split-complement 1#9ABC9B
Split-complement 2#9ABBBC
Triadic 1#AABC9A
Triadic 2#9AAABC
Tetradic#BBBC9A

RGB percentages

Red73.7%
Green60.4%
Blue66.7%

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta18.1%
Yellow9.6%
Key (black)26.3%

Color previews

#bc9aaa text on a black background

contrast 8.34:1

Card sample

#bc9aaa text on a white background

contrast 2.52:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bc9aaa;
Background color
Panel with #bc9aaa background
background-color: #bc9aaa;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bc9aaa;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(188, 154, 170, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(188, 154, 170, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bc9aaa;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bc9aaa, #BCA19A);

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bc9aaa

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Color harmonies

Nearest named colors

Ranked with CIEDE2000 across all 139 CSS keywords. Under ΔE 2 the eye stops telling them apart; over ΔE 10 they are plainly different colors.

#bc9aaa in the real world

Where a color in this family tends to land, and the interface roles it is usually asked to play.

Industries
BeautyFashionLifestyleYouth brands
Common UI roles
SurfacesBadgesHighlightsEmpty states
Print note

Converts to four-color process without much drama. Proof it anyway.

#bc9aaa, answered

What color is #bc9aaa?

#bc9aaa is a light soft magenta / pink, closest to Rosy Brown (ΔE2000 7.7). It sits at 332° on the hue wheel with 20% saturation and 67% lightness, which reads as warm.

What is the RGB value of #bc9aaa?

rgb(188, 154, 170) — 188 red, 154 green and 170 blue out of 255, or 73.7% / 60.4% / 66.7% by channel.

Is #bc9aaa a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3670 and perceived brightness is 65%, so black text on it reaches 8.34:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bc9aaa?

Black. It scores 8.34:1 against #bc9aaa, versus 2.52:1 for white — AAA at any size.

What is the complementary color of #bc9aaa?

#9ABCAC sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #9ABC9B and #9ABBBC, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bc9aaa?

For interface work: #F9F6F7 as the surface, #DECED6 for borders, #8A5C71 for secondary text, #4E7E5B as an accent and #4D333F for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BC9ABB and #BC9B9A stays calm, while #9ABCAC is the loudest partner.

What is #bc9aaa in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 18%, 10%, 26%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bc9aaa warm or cool?

Warm — it scores 40 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BC9A9E; nudged cooler, #BE98B8.

Work with #bc9aaa in the Color Lab