Powder Blue #b0e0e6

The sky, softened to a whisper.

RGB

176, 224, 230

HSL

187°, 52%, 80%

CMYK

24, 3, 0, 10

Luminance

0.6825

About Powder Blue

Powder blue, #b0e0e6, is pale blue with a breath of cyan — named for the finely ground blue powder (smalt) once used to tint laundry and paint. It is calm at its most weightless.

History

Laundry "bluing" powder brightened whites for centuries; the color name survived the practice. Baby blue’s cousin dressed 1950s nurseries and 1980s prom tuxedos, then softened a thousand wellness apps.

Psychology

Powder blue reads serene, clean and gentle — sky-calm without azure’s brightness. It is the color of fresh linen and clear mornings.

In design

Powder blue is a surface and wash tint: beautiful under navy or slate ink, useless as text on white. Pair with white, sand, blush and warm gray. Healthcare, wellness and baby brands rely on its soft trust.

In culture

Powder-blue suits, powder-blue skies, laundry bluing: the color of freshness kept clean across three centuries of associations.

Brands that own powder blue

Tiffany-adjacent kin#b0e0e6 Wellness apps#c4e3e8 Nursery pastels#a7d8de Fresh-linen brands#bce2e8 Prom tux 80s#9ec8d3

Shades of powder blue

Baby blue Sky blue Light blue Periwinkle Celeste Alice blue Cornflower Azure

Every format

HEX	#b0e0e6
RGB	rgb(176, 224, 230)
HSL	hsl(187, 52%, 80%)
CMYK	cmyk(24%, 3%, 0%, 10%)
LAB	lab(86.1 -14.1 -8.0)
LCH	lch(86.1 16.2 209.6)
OKLCH	oklch(0.875 0.050 205.7)

Copy-ready code

/* CSS */
color: #b0e0e6;
background-color: #b0e0e6;
/* Tailwind (arbitrary) */
class="text-[#b0e0e6] bg-[#b0e0e6]"
/* SCSS */
$brand: #b0e0e6;
/* SwiftUI */
Color(red: 0.690, green: 0.878, blue: 0.902)
/* Android */
Color.parseColor("#b0e0e6")

Accessibility — WCAG contrast

#b0e0e6 on white: 1.43:1

AA ✗ fail · AA-large ✗ · AAA ✗

#b0e0e6 on black: 14.65:1

AA ✓ pass · AA-large ✓ · AAA ✓

true color

protanopia

deuteranopia

tritanopia

RGB percentages

Red69.0%

Green87.8%

Blue90.2%

CMYK percentages

Cyan23.5%

Magenta2.6%

Yellow0.0%

Key (black)9.8%

Color previews

#b0e0e6 text on a black background

contrast 14.65:1

Card sample

#b0e0e6 text on a white background

contrast 1.43:1

Card sample

CSS3 live lab

Text font color

The quick brown fox

color: #b0e0e6;

Background color

Panel with #b0e0e6 background

background-color: #b0e0e6;

Text shadow — hex

Glowing headline

text-shadow: 2px 2px 8px #b0e0e6;

Text shadow — RGB

Soft neon halo

text-shadow: 0 0 14px rgba(176, 224, 230, 0.45);

Div box shadow

Elevated card

box-shadow: 0 12px 32px -8px rgba(176, 224, 230, 0.45);

Border & gradient

Gradient panel

border: 3px solid #b0e0e6;
background: linear-gradient(135deg, #b0e0e6, #B0BCE6);

Monochromatic scale

#0F2B2E #205D65 #318F9B #4DB9C7 #83CED8 #B9E4E9 #E0F3F5

Palettes built from #b0e0e6

UI palette

Gradient stops

Accent trio

Warm–cool bridge

Shades — darker

#91D4DC #72C8D2 #53BCC9 #3BABB9 #318E9A #27727B #1D555C #14393E #0A1C1F

Tints — lighter

#B8E3E8 #C0E6EB #C8E9ED #D0ECF0 #D7EFF2 #DFF3F5 #E7F6F7 #EFF9FA #F3FAFB

Hue & tone neighbors

#B0E6DA #B0E6E3 #B0D7E6 #B0CEE6 #D7EFF2 #89D1DA #A6E8F0 #BAD8DC

Color harmonies

Complement

Split-complement

Analogous

Triadic

Tetradic

Nearest named colors

skyblue · ΔE 15.0 silver · ΔE 18.3 lavender · ΔE 18.8 white · ΔE 21.3 ivory · ΔE 23.4

Powder Blue, answered

What is the hex code for powder blue?

CSS powderblue is #b0e0e6; baby blue runs a touch deeper at #89cff0, light blue at #add8e6.

Where does the name powder blue come from?

From smalt — ground blue glass powder used to tint laundry and paint. The powder is gone; the color name stayed.

What pairs with powder blue?

White and sand (fresh), navy and slate (crisp contrast), blush and warm gray (gentle balance).

Work with #b0e0e6 in the Color Lab

Contrast Checker →Palette Generator →Palette Pro →Scale Generator →CSS Code Generator →Color Blind Simulator →Accessibility Checker →Color Distance →