After Rain vs Empress Lila
After Rain (Behr) and Empress Lila (Cloverdale Paint) come from different manufacturers. These are both blues, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within blue to land. The 5-point LRV gap — 71 for Empress Lila vs 66 for After Rain — means Empress Lila will open up a space more effectively. A ΔE of 2.5 puts them in subtle territory — distinguishable in direct comparison, less so from across a room. Below you'll find 4 real-room photo comparisons where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
After Rain vs Empress Lila in Real Spaces
4 real rooms side by side. After Rain and Empress Lila are close enough that the difference can be hard to judge from a chip alone — these photos show how each reads at scale, across different spaces and lighting conditions.
Living Room
A living room wall sees more varied light than almost any other surface in the house, which makes the choice between these two more nuanced than a chip suggests. Empress Lila reads slightly lighter here — a subtle but real difference in how open the space feels.
Bedroom
Bedrooms are typically lit with warmer, lower light than the rest of the house — a condition that flatters warm tones and deepens cool ones. Empress Lila has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Kitchen
Kitchens often have the harshest, most revealing light in the house — under-cabinet LEDs and overhead fixtures that strip away subtlety. Empress Lila has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Bathroom
Small bathrooms intensify color. A shade that seems quiet in a larger room can feel immersive when you're surrounded by it on four walls. Empress Lila has the edge in reflectance, which shows as a quiet sense of added space rather than an obvious contrast.
Color Details
After Rain vs Empress Lila Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see After Rain on one side and Empress Lila on the other.
Digital color is approximate. These simulations are generated from the manufacturer's hex values and overlaid on grayscale room photos — your screen's calibration, brightness, and viewing angle all affect how they render. Before committing to either color, test physical samples in your own space under the light you actually live with.
More After Rain comparisons
See how After Rain stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
With LRVs of 69 and 66, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
At LRV 83 vs 66, White Dove is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 66 vs 6, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 52), opening up a space where Purbeck Stone encloses it.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 30), opening up a space where Evergreen Fog encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 52, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
After Rain reads slightly lighter (LRV 66 vs 60), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
A 9-point LRV gap (66 vs 58) makes After Rain the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 66 vs 27, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 43), opening up a space where French Gray encloses it.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 4), opening up a space where Naval encloses it.
A 11-point LRV gap (66 vs 55) makes After Rain the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 66 vs 13, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 66 vs 44, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
Pure White reflects far more light (LRV 84 vs 66), opening up a space where After Rain encloses it.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 21), opening up a space where Artichoke encloses it.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 66 vs 66), so neither reads brighter in a room.
A 8-point LRV gap (74 vs 66) makes Shoji White the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 83 vs 66, Snowbound is decisively the brighter choice.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 51), opening up a space where Pigeon encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 12, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 66 vs 8, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 68 vs 66), so neither reads brighter in a room.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 41), opening up a space where Dix Blue encloses it.
At LRV 66 vs 12, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 66 vs 45, After Rain is decisively the brighter choice.
After Rain reflects far more light (LRV 66 vs 31), opening up a space where Pale Green encloses it.