Applause Please (Behr MQ5-12)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Applause Please (Behr MQ5-12) is a deep, cool blue from Behr: LRV 26.1, so it reflects about 26 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Applause Please
Four Behr colors picked for Applause Please by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper blue, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Behr did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Applause Please, ranked by CIEDE2000 (deltaE): under 1.0 is indistinguishable, 1.0 to 2.3 very close, 2.3 to 5 noticeably different, over 5 clearly different.
| Brand | Closest color | Code | LRV | deltaE | How close |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherwin-Williams | Dusty Heather | SW 9073 | 28 | 2.3 | very close |
| Benjamin Moore | Irises | 1440 | 26.2 | 1.8 | very close |
| Valspar | Window Screen | 4004-4A | 24 | 2.6 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Prophetic Sea | 1042-5 | 26 | 1.4 | very close |
Lighter and darker in Behr
The Behr blue colors nearest to Applause Please (LRV 26.1 (estimated)) by LRV.
Lighter than Applause Please
Darker than Applause Please
Color data
| Brand | Behr |
|---|---|
| Color code | MQ5-12 |
| Hex | #858C9B |
| RGB | 133, 140, 155 |
| HSL | 221°, 10%, 56% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 26.1 (estimated from the hex) |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 58.1, 0.6, -8.8 |
| Undertone | Cool |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Applause Please (Behr MQ5-12), published as #858C9B
#738399
#97959B
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Behr
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Common questions
- What is the LRV of Applause Please (Behr MQ5-12)?
- Applause Please has an LRV of 26.1 (estimated from its hex value). LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Applause Please is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Applause Please in another brand?
- Prophetic Sea (PPG 1042-5) from PPG Paints, at a deltaE of 1.4 (very close).
- Is Applause Please warm or cool?
- Behr lists Applause Please as cool, with a Cool undertone. Its Lab b* value is -8.8; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0); LRV is not published by Behr for this color and is estimated here from the color's own hex value. Color differences are CIEDE2000 values computed by this site from the hex values (data snapshot 2026-10-01). Color names and codes belong to their manufacturers.