Salamander (BM 2050-10) vs Essex Green (BM HC-188)

Living room with walls painted Benjamin Moore Salamander 2050-10 (simulated) — Salamander BM 2050-10#2F3E3E, LRV 5.7

Living room with walls painted Benjamin Moore Essex Green HC-188 (simulated) — Essex Green BM HC-188#27362E, LRV 5.6

Illustrative room. Screen colors vary; test a sample before you paint.

Quick decision

Lighter: About the same: LRV 5.7 vs 5.6.
Warmer: Essex Green (Lab b* 3.0 vs -2.0). Salamander reads blue-gray; Essex Green reads green-gray.
North rooms: Salamander keeps more brightness (L* 21.0 vs 17.1 in north light); both drift gray about equally.
Trim that works: Blue Bonnet BM 2050-70, #DDF0EC, LRV 81.8: the Benjamin Moore white closest in hue to both.
Closeness: deltaE 5.6, clearly different. At 5.6, treat them as different colors.

See each color

SalamanderBenjamin Moore, BM 2050-10LRV 5.7, #2F3E3E

Essex GreenBenjamin Moore, BM HC-188LRV 5.6, #27362E

Salamander (BM 2050-10) is about as light as Essex Green (BM HC-188) and cooler: LRV 5.7 vs 5.6, deltaE 5.6 (clearly different).

Side by side

Measure	Salamander	Essex Green	Gap
Brand	Benjamin Moore	Benjamin Moore
Color code	2050-10	HC-188
Hex	#2F3E3E	#27362E
RGB	47, 62, 62	39, 54, 46
HSL	180°, 14%, 21%	148°, 16%, 18%
LRV (light reflectance value)	5.7	5.6	+0.1
Lab L*	24.9	21.1	+3.9
Lab a*	-6.0	-8.2	+2.2
Lab b*	-2.0	3.0	−5.0
Undertone	Cool Green	Cool Green
Temperature	neutral	neutral
Color family	Black	Black

Same paint, two kinds of light

Salamander (BM 2050-10), published as #2F3E3E

North light (cool, indirect)
#1E363C

South light (warm, direct)
#3F463E

Essex Green (BM HC-188), published as #27362E

North light (cool, indirect)
#172E2D

South light (warm, direct)
#363E2E

These swatches and the rooms above are a simulation, not a measurement. How the visualizer works

Which should you pick

Rules of thumb computed from the LRV and Lab values in the table above; no room test was done.

Pick Salamander (BM 2050-10) for a small room or a north-facing room, because it is 0.1 LRV points lighter (5.7 vs 5.6), so it bounces back more of the limited light
Pick Salamander (BM 2050-10) for a south-facing room, because its Lab b* is -2.0 against 3.0, so it is the cooler of the two and offsets warm direct sun
Pick Essex Green (BM HC-188) to warm a north-facing room, because it is the warmer of the two (Lab b* 3.0), which counters cool indirect light

Closest matches to Salamander in other brands

Closest matches to Essex Green in other brands

Common questions

Is Salamander the same color as Essex Green?: They are clearly different: a CIEDE2000 difference of 5.6. Salamander and Essex Green are different colors.
Which is lighter, Salamander or Essex Green?: Salamander, with an LRV of 5.7 against 5.6.

Full pages

By Paint Pairs. Color data from manufacturer specifications, via PaintDB. The most-viewed colors are checked against each manufacturer's own color page.

Published 2026-10-01. Updated 2026-10-01.

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.