What Does Purple and Pink Make? – The Lighter Shades of Lilac

Pink and purple is a color combination that evokes images of candy floss and bubble gum. These two colors work well together and can fit into most design styles from decorating a children’s bedroom to creating a fabulous outfit. However, what will happen when you mix pink and purple? Blending these two colors might produce a predictable outcome, or it might surprise you. Read further to find out!

What Color Do Purple and Pink Make?

When you mix pink and purple, it will produce a paler shade of purple. Maybe a bit more predictable than surprising, but still, the new color is a beautiful balance of pink and purple. In the table below, you can see the basic purple and pink colors you can find online, each with a unique color hex code. When you mix pink and purple, the new color can be described as moderate pink or light purple.

Mixing Results for Different Shades of Pink and Purple

Understanding Purple and Pink As Colors

You can acquire a better appreciation of how colors work if you learn a bit more about color theory. We will begin with the essentials of the traditional color model. In this model, there are the primary colors that include red, yellow, and blue. Next comes the mixing part of colors, when you blend two of the primary colors, you then get your secondary colors. These include green, orange, and purple. If we look at purple, you will see it is a blend of red and blue. White and black are neutral colors and are not part of the color wheel.

Pink is simply a lighter version of red that has white added to it. So, if you mix purple and pink, you will simply be including a bit more red and white into the purple, which is already a combination of red and blue.

This will then create a lighter version of purple that has a red undertone. This is what will happen when you mix paint colors, pigments, or dyes. Of course, when mixing paints, the results are governed by the shade or type of paint used and the quantities of each color. So, the resulting colors can vary. This means you can mix anything from lilac to magenta.

Meaning of Purple and Pink

Purple is the color of royalty, power, luxury, nobility, and wisdom. Purple is also often seen as mysterious and spiritual. The color has a certain uniqueness and can help to inspire creativity. For some, the color purple is a symbol of mourning. Negatively, purple can be viewed as being immature, arrogant, and unstable.

Pink is for compassion and love, as it represents the softer side of the more vibrant red. The color is often associated with innocence and femininity. Pink can also be calming, comforting, and uplifting, however, it also has a stimulating effect.

The color pink is a playful color that can seem childish if overused. When you mix pink and purple, the result is a lighter shade of purple. So, the meaning of this particular color will be similar to purple. However, since it is a softer version of purple, it will also appear more feminine, calming, and uplifting.

Creating Lighter and Darker Shades

When mixing colors, you can also adjust them by making them lighter or darker. When the pink and purple colors are mixed, it already is a lighter shade, since white has been added. However, you can add more white to create an even lighter tint of purple, which can result in something like a lavender color. To make the color darker, you can add more purple into the mix, or you can also add small amounts of black. Do this sparingly, as the black can easily become too much, and it is difficult to adjust the color again.

Instead of black, you can also try adding some dark or navy-blue color, which is less severe. Some examples of lighter and darker shades include lavender, lilac, and plum.

Understanding Purple and Pink in Other Color Models

Besides the traditional model that most use when mixing paints, there are other methods of mixing colors. When it comes to technology, you have computer screens and cellphone screens, all of which use the mixing of colored light.

So, the mixing method is different and is additive, meaning the colors are layered, unlike the traditional method that uses subtractive color mixing, which absorbs and reflects color. In this case, the primary colors differ and comprise red, green, and blue. The secondary colors are also a blend of two primary colors, which produce cyan, magenta, and yellow.

When you blend a primary and secondary hue, it produces intermediate or tertiary hues.

These will include violet (blue and magenta), rose (magenta and red), azure (cyan and blue), spring green (green and cyan), chartreuse (yellow and green), and orange (orange and yellow). In this model, violet is used instead of purple. So, you will be layering pink and violet, which will produce a shade of magenta. Another color model that we use often is represented as CMYK.

This color model is used mainly for printing and mixes ink pigments to produce different colors. So, it is subtractive color mixing, the same as with the traditional model. However, the primary colors here are cyan, magenta, and yellow. When you mix pink and purple, or rather violet, you will get a similar result as with the RGB model, which is a shade of magenta.

Meaning of Magenta

Magenta is a color that can be seen as warm and cool, so it strongly represents harmony and balance. As with pink, it is also a color that symbolizes love and the support of others. Magenta is also uplifting and is associated with kindness, generosity, and understanding. However, it can also become irritating and domineering. Other negative associations can include impatience and anger.

Best Uses for Purple and Pink in Design

There are quite a few applications and uses for purple and pink. The lighter version of purple or magenta can be a great color choice when it comes to fashion, interior design, or if you are looking for a unique brand color. You can easily experiment with different shades and tones to get a color that suits your needs best.

Graphic Design

When deciding on a logo or website design, the message or feeling you wish to provide depends on the color you choose. If you want something that represents luxury, creativity, innovation, excitement, and a bit of fun, then a shade of magenta can help. If you are looking for a more subtle and calming effect, a lighter shade of purple like lavender will do the trick.

Overall, there are many options you can create when you mix pink and purple.

Fashion Design

Pink and purple are both vibrant, yet subtle colors that can very well work together. Add to this other shades of purple like lavender or magenta, to produce a more interesting and layered look. You can also pair these colors with gold or silver jewelry, which act as great accent colors. The metallic colors also add a more sophisticated appeal to the look.

Magenta alone will add more energy and excitement to a look, while lighter purples can provide a softer, more feminine, and elegant appeal.

Interior Design

Lighter shades of purple like lavender can transform a room into a calm and cozy space, making it the perfect color for bedrooms. Lavender works as a great accent piece with a more neutral background. Neutrals like white, gray, or tan work wonderfully with lavender to create a welcoming and relaxing space.

Lavender accents can be created by bringing in things like lavender couches, drapes, cushions, or throws. You can also consider an accent wall as a point of interest in a room. However, you can also use an even lighter shade as a neutral. Combine this with shades of orange or yellow to create contrast.

You can also layer different shades of purple to create a feminine and calming monochromatic color palette. Add different textures to this and it helps to create a look with added depth and interest.

Lighter shades of purple are also perfect for a bathroom setting, where the main aim is to produce a relaxing and tranquil space. Again, you can paint the walls a soft purple and include white and other neutrals to balance the look. Simply bring touches of color to a neutral-colored bathroom, for example, lavender-colored towels, rugs, or cabinets.

You can even consider using shades of purple in the kitchen. Color can be added to kitchen cabinets or a kitchen island, making sure to balance out the purple with neutrals like white and brown.

Maybe consider only using the color as an accent, as too much purple in the kitchen might not sit well with many people. When designing with purple, you can also create contrast by pairing the particular purple with various shades of blue and green. Just remember to create a balanced look by using the 60, 30, 20 rule.

Pink and purple are a great combination, and there are many ways you can use each color. Combined, these colors offer endless possibilities that can be used for different purposes. Remember, when mixing paint colors like pink and purple, it is important to experiment with each shade of color to see what the outcome will be. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What Colors Make Purple and Pink?

When mixing paint, purple is created by blending blue and red, which are primary hues. You can then add white or gray to adjust the color further to a lighter or muted version of purple. Pink is simply a paler shade of red, which is a primary hue.

What Color Does Purple and Pink Make?

The outcomes of mixing pink and purple will depend on the shades and tones you choose, as well as the proportions of paint for each color. The result is then a shade of light purple that can lean toward something like magenta, lavender, or lilac.

What Color Is Magenta?

Magenta can be described as being a purplish-red hue and is also known as fuschia. When looking at the color wheel, magenta is situated somewhere between purple and red.

Charlene Lewis( Content Creator and Creativity Writer )

In 2005, Charlene completed her Wellness Diplomas in Therapeutic Aromatherapy and Reflexology from the International School of Reflexology and Meridian Therapy. She worked for a company offering corporate wellness programs for a couple of years, before opening up her own therapy practice. It was in 2015 that a friend, who was a digital marketer, asked her to join her company as a content creator, and this is where she found her excitement for writing.

Since joining the content writing world, she has gained a lot of experience over the years writing on a diverse selection of topics, from beauty, health, wellness, travel, and more. Due to various circumstances, she had to close her therapy practice and is now a full-time freelance writer. Being a creative person, she could not pass up the opportunity to contribute to the Art in Context team, where is was in her element, writing about a variety of art and craft topics. Contributing articles for over three years now, her knowledge in this area has grown, and she has gotten to explore her creativity and improve her research and writing skills.

Charlene Lewis has been working for artincontext.org since the relaunch in 2020. She is an experienced writer and mainly focuses on the topics of color theory, painting and drawing.

Learn more about Charlene Lewis and the Art in Context Team.