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magenta / pink · neutral

#bf9eb3

a light, soft magenta / pink · neutral · closest name: Thistle

Token name suggestion: Meadow Ruby

RGB
191, 158, 179
HSL
322°, 21%, 68%
CMYK
0, 17, 6, 25
Luminance
0.3878

#bf9eb3 is a light soft magenta / pink, 322° on the wheel and 43/100 on the cool side. Put black text on it (8.76:1). As text it scores 2.40:1 on white — use #9A6788 instead. Nearest name is Thistle, nearest Tailwind family is pink.

hsl(322 21% 68%)rgb(191 158 179)Base step 400AAA inkNeutral

At a glance

Every number on this page in one read: what #bf9eb3 is made of, how bright it looks, and which way it leans.

Hex
#bf9eb3
Hue
322°
magenta / pink
Saturation
21%
soft
Lightness
68%
light
Brightness
75%
HSV value
Perceived
67%
weighted brightness
Luminance
0.3878
WCAG relative
Temperature
Neutral
43/100 cool
Color family
Magenta / pink
Tone
Soft
Best ink
Black
8.76:1
Closest name
Thistle
ΔE2000 9
Chroma
16.9
LCH, 0–130ish
OKLCH L
0.735
perceptual lightness
Tailwind
pink
500 · ΔE 20.9
Web-safe
#CC99CC
nearest of 216
Where it sits
Hue322° of 360°
Saturation21%
Lightness68%
Saturation × lightness field

Left edge is grey, right edge is full chroma; top is white, bottom is black. The dot is #bf9eb3.

Temperature
Warm ← → Cool43% cool

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

Luminance by channel
Red29%
Green63%
Blue8%

Green carries most of what the eye calls brightness — that is why WCAG weights it 0.7152.

Every format

HEX#bf9eb3
HEX (8-digit)#bf9eb3ff
RGBrgb(191, 158, 179)
RGBArgba(191, 158, 179, 1)
HSLhsl(322, 21%, 68%)
HSV / HSBhsv(322, 17%, 75%)
HWBhwb(322 62% 25%)
CMYKcmyk(0%, 17%, 6%, 25%)
LABlab(68.6 15.7 -6.3)
LCHlch(68.6 16.9 338.2)
OKLCHoklch(0.735 0.048 339.9)
XYZ (D65)xyz(41.85, 38.79, 47.92)
Decimal12558003
Display P3color(display-p3 0.749 0.620 0.702)
Web-safe#CC99CC

Copy-ready code

every platformclick to select
/* CSS */
color: #bf9eb3;
background-color: #bf9eb3;
/* CSS custom property */
--brand: #bf9eb3;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#bf9eb3] bg-[#bf9eb3]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #bf9eb3;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.749, green: 0.620, blue: 0.702)
/* UIKit */
UIColor(red: 0.749, green: 0.620, blue: 0.702, alpha: 1)
/* Android XML */
<color name="brand">#BF9EB3</color>
/* Android Compose */
Color(0xFFBF9EB3)
/* Flutter */
Color(0xFFBF9EB3)
/* Python / OpenCV (BGR) */
(179, 158, 191)
/* Python / PIL (RGB) */
(191, 158, 179)
/* Java AWT */
new Color(191, 158, 179)
/* .NET */
Color.FromArgb(255, 191, 158, 179)
/* OpenGL / Unity (0–1) */
(0.7490f, 0.6196f, 0.7020f, 1f)
/* LaTeX */
\definecolor{brand}{RGB}{191,158,179}
modern cssclick to select
/* mix without leaving CSS */
background: color-mix(in oklab, #bf9eb3 85%, white);
border-color: color-mix(in oklab, #bf9eb3 40%, transparent);
/* theme-aware in one line */
color: light-dark(#4D3343, #E7DAE2);
/* relative colour syntax */
--hover: hsl(from #bf9eb3 h s calc(l - 7));

Design tokens

The same ramp in the four formats a team actually needs. Paste one and the whole palette lands with it.

css custom propertiesclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: #F9F6F8;
  --brand-100: #F2EDF0;
  --brand-200: #E4D8DF;
  --brand-300: #D2BBCA;
  --brand-400: #bf9eb3;
  --brand-500: #A67895;
  --brand-600: #936181;
  --brand-700: #7B516C;
  --brand-800: #624156;
  --brand-900: #493240;
  --brand-950: #2D1F28;
  --brand: #bf9eb3;
  --brand-ink: #000000;
  --brand-surface: #F9F6F8;
  --brand-border: #DFCED8;
  --brand-hover: #B188A2;
  --brand-pressed: #A37391;
}
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --brand-surface: #22161E;
    --brand-ink: #E7DAE2;
  }
}
tailwind.config.jsclick to select
theme: {
  extend: {
    colors: {
      brand: {
        50: '#F9F6F8',
        100: '#F2EDF0',
        200: '#E4D8DF',
        300: '#D2BBCA',
        400: '#bf9eb3',
        500: '#A67895',
        600: '#936181',
        700: '#7B516C',
        800: '#624156',
        900: '#493240',
        950: '#2D1F28',
        DEFAULT: '#bf9eb3',
      },
    },
  },
}
scss mapclick to select
$brand: (
  '50': #F9F6F8,
  '100': #F2EDF0,
  '200': #E4D8DF,
  '300': #D2BBCA,
  '400': #bf9eb3,
  '500': #A67895,
  '600': #936181,
  '700': #7B516C,
  '800': #624156,
  '900': #493240,
  '950': #2D1F28,
);
$brand-base: #bf9eb3;
$brand-ink: #000000;

@function brand($step) { @return map-get($brand, $step); }
w3c design tokens (json)click to select
{
  "color": {
    "brand": {
      "50": { "$value": "#F9F6F8", "$type": "color" },
      "100": { "$value": "#F2EDF0", "$type": "color" },
      "200": { "$value": "#E4D8DF", "$type": "color" },
      "300": { "$value": "#D2BBCA", "$type": "color" },
      "400": { "$value": "#bf9eb3", "$type": "color" },
      "500": { "$value": "#A67895", "$type": "color" },
      "600": { "$value": "#936181", "$type": "color" },
      "700": { "$value": "#7B516C", "$type": "color" },
      "800": { "$value": "#624156", "$type": "color" },
      "900": { "$value": "#493240", "$type": "color" },
      "950": { "$value": "#2D1F28", "$type": "color" }
    },
    "brandInk": { "$value": "#000000", "$type": "color" }
  }
}

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 #bf9eb3 · 8.76:1
Use #000000AAA at every size.
Aa
12px
Aa
16px
Aa
24px
Aa
White text · 2.40:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Aa
Black text · 8.76:1 · recommended
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass
Reading the other direction: #bf9eb3 as text scores 2.40:1 on white and 8.76:1 on black.
Best tinted ink on it, if plain black or white feels flat: #4D3343 at 4.68:1.

Make it accessible

A contrast checker tells you that you failed. This tells you what to ship instead — same hue, same saturation, lightness moved only as far as WCAG demands.

The quick fox
#9A6788 · 4.50:1
AA on white−18% L
#9A6788
The quick fox
#734C65 · 7.12:1
AAA on white−31% L
#734C65
The quick fox
#bf9eb3 · 8.76:1
AA on blackalready passes
#bf9eb3
The quick fox
#bf9eb3 · 8.76:1
AAA on blackalready passes
#bf9eb3

Large text — 24px regular or 18.66px bold and above — only needs 3:1, so #B188A2 is enough for headings on white. Non-text elements such as icons, chart strokes and focus rings also sit at 3:1 under WCAG 2.2 (1.4.11).

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

Aa
#bf9eb3 on white: 2.40:1
AA ✗ fail · AA-large · AAA
Aa
#bf9eb3 on black: 8.76:1
AA ✓ pass · AA-large · AAA
Against the neutral ladder

Contrast is symmetric, so each row covers both directions: #bf9eb3 as text on that neutral, and that neutral as text on #bf9eb3.

NeutralRatioBoth directions
White2.40:1AaAa
Slate 502.29:1AaAa
Slate 1002.19:1AaAa
Slate 2001.95:1AaAa
Slate 3001.62:1AaAa
Slate 4001.07:1AaAa
Slate 5001.98:1AaAa
Slate 6003.16:1AaAa
Slate 7004.32:1AaAa
Slate 8006.10:1AaAa
Slate 9007.44:1AaAa
Black8.76:1AaAa
Colour vision deficiency
true color
protanopia · #9FA4B4
deuteranopia · #A6A9B2
tritanopia · #C39EA5

Roughly one man in twelve has some form of colour vision deficiency. If any of the three panels above is hard to tell apart from a neighbouring colour in your palette, add a shape, an icon or a label so the meaning does not rest on hue alone.

Color scale — 50 to 950

A Tailwind-shaped ramp built around this exact hex. #bf9eb3 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.

#F9F6F8
#F2EDF0
#E4D8DF
#D2BBCA
#bf9eb3
#A67895
#936181
#7B516C
#624156
#493240
#2D1F28
Base = 400Lightest = 50 · #F9F6F8Darkest = 950 · #2D1F28Text step on white = 600
Perceptual ramp — OKLCH

The same eleven steps expressed in OKLCH, where equal lightness numbers actually look equally spaced. HSL ramps go muddy in the yellows and washed out in the blues; this one does not. Modern browsers render it natively — the hex ramp above is the fallback.

50100200300400500600700800900950
oklch tokensclick to select
:root {
  --brand-50: oklch(0.97 0.012 339.9);
  --brand-100: oklch(0.94 0.019 339.9);
  --brand-200: oklch(0.88 0.029 339.9);
  --brand-300: oklch(0.80 0.038 339.9);
  --brand-400: oklch(0.72 0.044 339.9);
  --brand-500: oklch(0.64 0.048 339.9);
  --brand-600: oklch(0.56 0.048 339.9);
  --brand-700: oklch(0.48 0.045 339.9);
  --brand-800: oklch(0.40 0.040 339.9);
  --brand-900: oklch(0.32 0.034 339.9);
  --brand-950: oklch(0.24 0.027 339.9);
}

Colors that work with #bf9eb3

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#F9F6F8
Tinted page background
Border#DFCED8
Hairlines and dividers
Muted text#8A5B79
Captions on the surface
Accent#4D7F52
Second voice, not a rival
Dark variant#4D3343
Hover, pressed, headers
Light variant#F5F0F3
Selected rows, tints
Dark surface#22161E
Dark-mode background
Hover#B188A2
One step down in lightness
Pressed#A37391
Two steps down
Disabled#ECE2E8
Chroma pulled out
Focus ring#CEA3BE
Offset from the fill so it reads
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

In real components

The same eight roles, wired into the interface patterns you will actually build with them. Every state below is a computed value, not a mock-up.

Buttons and states
Save changesHoverPressedDisabled
OutlineSubtleLinkFocused
Form field
you@company.com

Focus ring uses the light variant so the field still reads as one shape.

Send me product updates
Notice
Your export is ready

The file stays available for seven days. Download it before it expires.

NewBetaDraft
Data
Storage used68%
Acme LtdActive
NorthwindTrial
GlobexActive

How to use #bf9eb3

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
Minimum size as text on white
Not as text
Safe as a fill behind white type
No — use #4D3343
Safe as a 1px border on white
No — use #B188A2

Meaning and mood

What a colour in this family tends to signal, and how this particular chroma and lightness change the reading.

expressiveyouthfulwarmconfident

Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands.

The muted chroma softens the association — it reads considered rather than loud, which suits long-form and data-heavy screens. The lightness keeps it airy and approachable.

Worth knowing

Strong gendered associations in some markets — test it with the audience you actually have.

Reads as
  • FormalityMedium
  • EnergyMedium
  • Weight32/100
  • TemperatureNeutral
  • ApproachabilityHigh

Colour associations are cultural and vary by market. Treat these as a starting point for a conversation with your audience, not a finding about them.

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#9EBFAA
Analogous left#BA9EBF
Analogous right#BF9EA2
Split-complement 1#A2BF9E
Split-complement 2#9EBFBA
Triadic 1#B3BF9E
Triadic 2#9EB3BF
Tetradic#BFBA9E
On the wheel
Base+30°−30°+120°+240°+180°322°

#bf9eb3 sits at 322°. Every dot is a harmony position and links to its own page in the table alongside.

RGB percentages

Red74.9%
Green62.0%
Blue70.2%
R · 0–255
191
0xbf
G · 0–255
158
0x9e
B · 0–255
179
0xb3

CMYK percentages

Cyan0.0%
Magenta17.3%
Yellow6.3%
Key (black)25.1%

Total ink coverage is 49%. Most commercial presses cap around 300% — above that, sheets stop drying properly.

Color previews

#bf9eb3 text on a black background

contrast 8.76:1

Card sample

#bf9eb3 text on a white background

contrast 2.40:1

Card sample

#bf9eb3 on grey

2.19:1

#bf9eb3 on its own surface

2.23:1

#bf9eb3 on its dark surface

7.29:1

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #bf9eb3;
Background color
Panel with #bf9eb3 background
background-color: #bf9eb3;
Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #bf9eb3;
Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(191, 158, 179, 0.45);
Div box shadow
Elevated card
box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(191, 158, 179, 0.45);
Border & gradient
Gradient panel
border: 3px solid #bf9eb3;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #bf9eb3, #BF9F9E);
Gradient text

Gradient headline

background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bf9eb3, #BFA79E);
-webkit-background-clip: text;
color: transparent;
Focus ring
Focused control
outline: 2px solid #bf9eb3;
outline-offset: 3px;
Underline & caret

Marked up text

text-decoration-color: #bf9eb3;
caret-color: #bf9eb3;
Left rule
Pull quote or callout
border-left: 4px solid #bf9eb3;
Ring + tint
Selected chip
background: #F5F0F3;
box-shadow: inset 0 0 0 2px #bf9eb3;
Conic badge
68%
background: conic-gradient(#bf9eb3 68%, #e2e8f0 0);

Transparency

What each alpha value actually composites to. The top row is #bf9eb3 over white; the bottom row is the same alpha over a checkerboard, so you can see what survives on a photo or a video.

Bottom row of hexes is the flattened result over white — use those when a design tool refuses transparency, or when you need a solid fallback.

alpha in every syntaxclick to select
rgba(191, 158, 179, 0.5)
rgb(191 158 179 / 50%)
#bf9eb380
hsl(322 21% 68% / 50%)
color-mix(in srgb, #bf9eb3 50%, transparent)
Alpha8-digit hexFlat on white
10%#bf9eb31a#F9F5F7
20%#bf9eb333#F2ECF0
40%#bf9eb366#E5D8E1
60%#bf9eb399#D9C5D1
80%#bf9eb3cc#CCB1C2

Gradients from #bf9eb3

Six recipes, each built from this hex and shown with the exact CSS that produced it.

Elevation
Same hue, three lightnesses — safe anywhere
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #D7C3D0, #bf9eb3 45%, #4D3343);
Duotone
A short hue run reads richer than a flat fill
background: linear-gradient(120deg, #bf9eb3, #B3908B);
Complement sweep
Loud — keep it behind large type only
background: linear-gradient(90deg, #bf9eb3, #9EBFAA);
Spotlight
Hero panels and app headers
background: radial-gradient(120% 120% at 20% 0%, #E3D5DE 0%, #bf9eb3 45%, #4D3343 100%);
Soft wash
Section backgrounds that stay readable
background: linear-gradient(180deg, #F9F6F8, #ffffff);
Mesh
Ambient background, no image weight
background: radial-gradient(60% 60% at 15% 20%, #CEBDD3 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(55% 55% at 85% 15%, #CBB0B2 0%, transparent 60%), radial-gradient(70% 70% at 50% 95%, #4D3343 0%, transparent 65%), #bf9eb3;

Monochromatic scale

Palettes built from #bf9eb3

Shades — darker

Tints — lighter

Tones — desaturated

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.

#bf9eb3 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.

On screens

Holds up across typical panel gamma. Still worth checking on an uncalibrated laptop, where mid-tones shift most.

In dark mode

Usable as-is on a dark surface at 8.76:1.

Explore nearby colors

Small, deliberate steps away from this hex — useful when you are hunting for the version of a colour that finally feels right.

#bf9eb3, answered

What color is #bf9eb3?

#bf9eb3 is a light soft magenta / pink, closest to Thistle (ΔE2000 9). It sits at 322° on the hue wheel with 21% saturation and 68% lightness, which reads as neutral.

What is the RGB value of #bf9eb3?

rgb(191, 158, 179) — 191 red, 158 green and 179 blue out of 255, or 74.9% / 62% / 70.2% by channel.

What is #bf9eb3 in HSL and HSV?

hsl(322, 21%, 68%) and hsv(322, 17%, 75%). HSL is what CSS takes; HSV is what your design tool's picker shows, which is why the saturation numbers rarely match.

Is #bf9eb3 a light or a dark color?

It is a mid-tone. Relative luminance is 0.3878 and perceived brightness is 67%, so black text on it reaches 8.76:1.

Should I use black or white text on #bf9eb3?

Black. It scores 8.76:1 against #bf9eb3, versus 2.40:1 for white — AAA at any size.

Is #bf9eb3 accessible on a white background?

#bf9eb3 on white scores 2.40:1, which fails WCAG AA at every size. Darken it to #9A6788 to reach 4.5:1, or #734C65 for 7:1.

What is the complementary color of #bf9eb3?

#9EBFAA sits directly opposite on the wheel. Softer options are the split-complements #A2BF9E and #9EBFBA, which give the same contrast with far less vibration.

What colors go well with #bf9eb3?

For interface work: #F9F6F8 as the surface, #DFCED8 for borders, #8A5B79 for secondary text, #4D7F52 as an accent and #4D3343 for hover and pressed states. For a palette, the analogous pair #BA9EBF and #BF9EA2 stays calm, while #9EBFAA is the loudest partner.

What is #bf9eb3 in CMYK for printing?

cmyk(0%, 17%, 6%, 25%). This is a screen-to-ink approximation — ask your printer for a proof before committing to a run.

Is #bf9eb3 warm or cool?

Neutral — it scores 43 on a scale where 0 is the warmest orange and 100 the coolest azure. Nudged warmer it becomes #BF9EA7; nudged cooler, #C09CC1.

Which Tailwind color is closest to #bf9eb3?

The pink family — its 500 step is #ec4899, ΔE2000 20.9 away. That is a visible difference, so define #bf9eb3 as a custom token rather than reaching for the built-in.

How do I use #bf9eb3 in Tailwind CSS?

Inline it as an arbitrary value with bg-[#bf9eb3] or text-[#bf9eb3], or register the whole ramp under theme.extend.colors.brand so you get bg-brand-500 and friends. The generated 50–950 scale on this page is ready to paste into your config.

What is #bf9eb3 with 50% opacity?

rgba(191, 158, 179, 0.5), or #bf9eb380 in eight-digit hex. Over white that composites to #DFCFD9; over black, #604F5A.

Is #bf9eb3 a web-safe color?

No. The nearest web-safe colour is #CC99CC, ΔE2000 8.5 away. The palette only matters for legacy displays and some email clients now.

What does the color #bf9eb3 mean?

As a magenta / pink, it reads expressive, youthful, warm. Pink is the fastest way to signal that a product is not another enterprise dashboard. It carries beauty, fashion and culture brands. At this moderate chroma the association is present but not shouted.

What gradient works with #bf9eb3?

The safest is same-hue elevation: linear-gradient(135deg, #D7C3D0, #bf9eb3 45%, #4D3343). For more colour, a short hue run to #B3908B keeps it rich without turning muddy.

Work with #bf9eb3 in the Color Lab

Every tool opens with this colour already loaded.

Every value on this page is computed from #bf9eb3 at request time — conversions, contrast ratios and ΔE distances are calculated, never looked up.