Short answer: here are all 90 of Koa's shades of pink with their hex codes, sorted from lightest to deepest, plus the science of why pink is a colour your brain makes up, 8 pink facts that sound invented but aren't, and a little quiz. Tap any swatch to copy its codes in the Pink Palette Finder.
Key takeaways
- 90 shades, every hex code: 46 bright, 36 pastel and 8 deep pinks.
- Pink has no wavelength. There is no pink in the rainbow; your brain mixes it from red and blue signals.
- The name comes from a flower, not the other way round.
- Pink does not calm you down the way old prison studies claimed. Newer tests found no colour effect.
All 90 shades at a glance
Since 27 September, Koa has posted one shade of pink every day. Here they all are, from Lavender Blush (the lightest) to the deepest berry pinks.
Hover or long-press a swatch to see its name and hex code. Tap it to open it in the Palette Finder with its RGB, HSL, partner colours and a free wallpaper.
Pastel, bright or deep: how the 90 split
We sort each shade by its lightness and saturation. Bright pinks win, which makes sense: pink is loud by nature.
Two things jump out. First, almost every pink sits within about 60 degrees of hue, between magenta and coral. Second, the light pinks cluster in a band at the top: that is the pastel zone, where Baby Pink and Millennial Pink live. Shocking Pink sits furthest towards violet, Millennial Pink furthest towards peach.
Is pink even a real colour?
Yes and no. Every colour of the rainbow matches one wavelength of light, from violet at about 400 nanometres to red at about 700. Pink and magenta are missing: there is no single wavelength for them.
Your eye has three types of colour cones. When the red- and blue-sensitive cones fire but the green ones stay quiet, your brain has no single rainbow colour to match. So it invents one: magenta, and its lighter tints, pink (Emory University). Light pinks like Baby Pink are mostly red light mixed with white.
Brain fact: pink is what scientists call a non-spectral colour. It exists in your head, not in the rainbow. That does not make it less real; it makes it one of the few colours your brain builds from scratch.
8 pink facts that sound made up (but are true)
- The colour is named after a flower. Dianthus flowers were called “pinks” by the 1570s; pink as a colour word only shows up around 1733. The flower name may come from “pinking”, cutting a zigzag edge, like the frilly petals (Etymonline).
- Flamingos are born grey. They turn pink from carotenoids in algae and brine shrimp; without them they fade (Britannica).
- Some lakes are bubblegum pink. Lake Hillier in Western Australia stays pink all year, probably thanks to the salt-loving alga Dunaliella salina, which makes beta-carotene (WorldAtlas).
- In 1918, pink was for boys. A trade magazine wrote that pink suited boys because it was the stronger colour. Shops still disagreed in 1927 (Mental Floss).
- Shocking Pink was a fashion statement. Designer Elsa Schiaparelli made it her signature colour by 1937, by mixing a little white into magenta (American Duchess).
- Mountbatten Pink went to war. In 1940, Lord Mountbatten had Royal Navy destroyers painted in this greyish mauve, hoping it would hide them at dawn and dusk.
- Puce means “flea” in French. The brownish pink became fashionable at the French court in the 1770s.
- Your browser knows pink by name. CSS has named pinks such as pink (#FFC0CB), hotpink, deeppink and lavenderblush (MDN).
Does pink really calm you down?
In 1979, researcher Alexander Schauss had some US Navy detention cells painted a bubblegum shade later called Baker-Miller Pink (#FF91AF). Early reports said aggression dropped, and “drunk tank pink” became a famous story (Wikipedia).
What later studies found: a 2015 study with 59 prisoners found aggression dropped after three days in both pink and grey cells, with no difference between the colours. So pink is lovely, but not a calming pill.
Quiz: name that pink
Five shades from our 90. Guess the name, then tap to check.
What is this shade called?
Mountbatten Pink, #997A8D. The camouflage pink of 1940. Open it in the Palette Finder →
What is this shade called?
Shocking Pink, #FC0FC0. Schiaparelli's signature colour, the most violet pink on our map. Open it in the Palette Finder →
What is this shade called?
Puce, #CC8899. French for “flea”, fashionable in the 1770s. Open it in the Palette Finder →
What is this shade called?
Lavender Blush, #FFF0F5. The lightest of all 90, and a CSS colour name. Open it in the Palette Finder →
What is this shade called?
Millennial Pink, #F3CFC6. The peachy pink of the late 2010s, the most coral pink on our map. Open it in the Palette Finder →
Koa's 12 favourites and what to pair them with
The partner colours come from the Palette Finder. Use the pink as your main colour and one partner as an accent.
| Shade | Hex | Pairs with | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baby Pink | #F4C2C2 |
gold, sage, navy | calm notes backgrounds |
| Cherry Blossom | #FFB7C5 |
sage, navy, turquoise | spring planner pages |
| Millennial Pink | #F3CFC6 |
gold, sage, navy | clean slides and covers |
| Dusty Rose | #C9A9A6 |
navy, turquoise, lilac | grown-up, quiet designs |
| Flamingo | #FC8EAC |
cream, gold, sage | headings that pop |
| Coral Pink | #F88379 |
mint, orange, cream | warm highlights |
| Hot Pink | #FF69B4 |
navy, turquoise, lilac | one key word per page |
| Barbie Pink | #E0218A |
lilac, mint, orange | bold title slides |
| Raspberry | #E30B5C |
mint, orange, cream | deadlines and dates |
| Hibiscus | #B6316C |
turquoise, lilac, mint | dark mode accents |
| Mountbatten Pink | #997A8D |
cream, gold, sage | subtle, vintage looks |
| Koa's Nose Blush | #FA429E |
cream, gold, sage | Koa's own, for anything cute |
How to use pink in notes and slides
- 60-30-10: about 60% light pink, 30% a partner colour, 10% a deep pink for the most important bits.
- Text on pink: light pinks need dark text, deep pinks often need white. The Palette Finder checks the contrast for you.
- One highlighter rule: keep one bright pink for key terms only, so it still stands out on revision day.
- Matching wallpaper: the finder makes a free phone or desktop wallpaper for every shade, and our free pink wallpaper pack has more designs.
Koa's tip: our 6 pink colour pairings show the 60-30-10 rule on real planner pages.
Pink is the colour your brain made up. Use it for the notes you want to remember.
FAQ
How many shades of pink are there?
There is no fixed number. People can tell apart a huge range of colours, and pink is a whole family of tints. Our list has 90, one for every day of the series.
What is the hex code for pink?
The CSS colour called pink is #FFC0CB. Hot pink is #FF69B4 and deep pink #FF1493. Koa Pink, our brand colour, is #FF9EC0.
Is magenta a pink?
Magenta is the strongest, most saturated member of the family. Pinks are mostly lighter tints of red and magenta.
Can I use these colours in my own projects?
Yes. Colour codes are free to use for notes, planners, school projects or design.
Read more: how the Pink Palette Finder works, what colour psychology says about pink (and doesn't) and 6 pink colour pairings.
Find your pink
All 90 shades, every code, a free wallpaper for each. No sign-up.
Pinkoa (Finnish): to run fast, and in student slang, to study hard. Study with Koa for free at pinkoa.com.
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