Lilac vs mauve
Mauve has a better story. Its name is French for the mallow flower, and it became famous in 1856 when William Perkin made mauveine, the first synthetic aniline dye, by accident. As colours, the two are close cousins: in the community name list, mauve (#E0B0FF) is paler and pinker than lilac (#CEA2FD). In everyday use, though, “mauve” often means a greyed, dusky purple-pink, so check which one someone means.
| Name | HEX | Hue | Look |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lilac | #CEA2FD | 269° | Bright pastel purple |
| Mauve | #E0B0FF | 276° | Paler, slightly pinker |
| plum (CSS) | #DDA0DD | 300° | Pink-purple, much pinker than the fruit |
| thistle (CSS) | #D8BFD8 | 300° | Greyed, dusky; close to the “dusty mauve” idea |
CSS has no lilac or mauve keyword. If you want the dusky mauve of fashion and makeup, start from thistle and darken it. For the bluer, calmer relative, see lavender.
Text on lilac
Lilac is light, so text should be dark. Black scores 10.21:1; navy 7.78:1, which looks friendlier against a pastel. White text manages 2.06:1 and should be avoided.
Colours that go with lilac
Lilac with sage green echoes the flower and its leaves. With grey it looks contemporary and quiet; with navy, crisp. Cream adds a vintage softness that suits stationery and baby products.
Questions
What is the RGB code for lilac?
rgb(206, 162, 253); HSL hsl(269, 96%, 81%).
Is lilac a pastel?
Yes: high lightness with strong saturation is what makes a pastel. Lower the saturation and it moves towards dusty mauve.