Mauve

Mauve shades have low chroma, which gives them their soft, greyed look, and a hue on the blue side of red, which makes them cool-toned. In this encyclopedia, a shade is classed as mauve when it is muted and its hue angle falls in the cool range. A more saturated shade at the same hue is classed as pink when it is light, and as berry, plum or red when it is deep.

On the lips, mauve reads as subdued and slightly cool. It is often worn as a cooler alternative to a beige nude, and it suits the same cool and neutral undertones as other cool-toned shades.

Because its colour is quiet, mauve shows the finish clearly. A matte mauve looks soft and velvety, a satin mauve adds a gentle glow, and a gloss mauve reads lighter and more sheer than its hex. A muted shade can blur into the skin at the edges, so a lip liner of the same tone keeps the shape defined.