Marlboro Blue (BM HC-153)

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.
Marlboro Blue (BM HC-153) is a medium, cool blue from Benjamin Moore: LRV 46.1, so it reflects about 46 percent of the light that hits it.
Colors that go with Marlboro Blue
Four Benjamin Moore colors picked for Marlboro Blue 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 Marlboro Blue, 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 | Rest Assured | SW 9061 | 49 | 2.1 | very close |
| Behr | Sydney Harbour | S480-3 | 46.3 | 0.5 | indistinguishable |
| Valspar | Blue Vault | 4006-5C | 46 | 3.1 | noticeably different |
| PPG Paints | Crystal Lake | 1151-4 | 42 | 2.5 | noticeably different |
Lighter and darker in Benjamin Moore
The Benjamin Moore blue colors nearest to Marlboro Blue (LRV 46.1) by LRV.
Lighter than Marlboro Blue
Darker than Marlboro Blue
Color data
| Brand | Benjamin Moore |
|---|---|
| Color code | HC-153 |
| Hex | #95B9C6 |
| RGB | 149, 185, 198 |
| HSL | 196°, 30%, 68% |
| LRV (light reflectance value) | 46.1 |
| Lab L*, a*, b* | 73.0, -9.1, -10.5 |
| Undertone | Cool Blue |
| Temperature | cool |
| Color family | Blue |
Same paint, two kinds of light
Marlboro Blue (BM HC-153), published as #95B9C6
#81AFC4
#A9C3C6
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 Marlboro Blue (BM HC-153)?
- Marlboro Blue has an LRV of 46.1. LRV runs from 0 (black) to 100 (pure white) and measures the share of light a surface reflects, so Marlboro Blue is a medium color.
- What is the closest match to Marlboro Blue in another brand?
- Sydney Harbour (Behr S480-3) from Behr, at a deltaE of 0.5 (indistinguishable).
- Is Marlboro Blue warm or cool?
- Benjamin Moore lists Marlboro Blue as cool, with a Cool Blue undertone. Its Lab b* value is -10.5; 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.