Cool Aqua (BM 2056-40)
Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Cool Aqua (BM 2056-40) is a deep, cool blue from Benjamin Moore: LRV 36.8, so it reflects about 37 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Cool Aqua
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Cool Aqua by this site's color math: a trim white, a deeper blue, a quiet contrast from another family, a dark accent. Benjamin Moore did not choose these pairings.
Closest match in every other brand
Each brand's closest color to Cool Aqua, 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 | Calypso | SW 6950 | 34 | 0.7 | indistinguishable |
| Behr | Placid Sea | P470-5 | 33.7 | 0.7 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Exotic Sea | 5004-10B | 31 | 2.8 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Montego Bay | 1233-6 | 40 | 4.5 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore blue colors nearest to Cool Aqua (LRV 36.8) by LRV.
Lighter than Cool Aqua
Darker than Cool Aqua
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | 2056-40 |
| Hex | #18AFBB |
| RGB | 24, 175, 187 |
| HSL | 184°, 77%, 41% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 36.8 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 65.3, -31.5, -16.5 |
| Undertone | Cool Blue |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Cool Aqua (BM 2056-40), published as #18AFBB
#00A5B9
#4AB9BB
These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works
Similar shades from Benjamin Moore
More from Benjamin Moore
Common questions
- What is the LRV of Cool Aqua (BM 2056-40)?
- Cool Aqua has an LRV of 36.8. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Cool Aqua is a deep color.
- What is the closest match to Cool Aqua in another brand?
- Calypso (SW 6950) from Sherwin-Williams, at a deltaE of 0.7 (indistinguishable).
- Is Cool Aqua warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Cool Aqua as cool, with a Cool Blue undertone. Its Lab b* value is -16.5; a higher b* is warmer and yellower, a lower one cooler and bluer.
Sources: LRV and hex as published by the manufacturer, via PaintDB (CC BY 4.0). 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.