The Color Digest · Compare
Settled, side by side
Socialite
Sherwin-Williams · SW 6025
A grown-up mauve with a brown backbone
Brinjal
Farrow & Ball · No. 222
Aubergine skin, not aubergine flesh
In real rooms
Every room, each colorBrinjal
1 roomThe difference
Read from the numbersSocialite is the lighter of the two at LRV 20, 13 points above Brinjal at LRV 7. Both read warm. Both belong to the reds & purples family. For a whole room, Socialite is the safer, more forgiving choice thanks to its higher LRV, while Brinjal is the bolder pick.
How they read
In their own wordsSocialite is a muted, dusty rose built on a brown base — close enough to mauve to feel romantic, grounded enough to never read as pink. With a low LRV near 20 it brings real depth, the kind of moody, grayed red that makes a dining room or powder room feel considered.
Brinjal is the Hindi word for aubergine, and the color is exactly the skin of one: a deep, brown-based plum that reads almost black until light finds the purple in it. With an LRV around 7 it is a true dark, and it is one of the most flattering darks there is — warmer than navy, softer than black, richer than charcoal.