Instinct vs Icy
Where Instinct belongs to Benjamin Moore's range, Icy is a Sherwin-Williams color. These are both blues, so the question isn't which hue to choose — it's where within blue to land. They have nearly identical light reflectance values (55 vs 56), so they'll read as similarly Medium in most lighting conditions. Instinct runs blue while Icy is decidedly cool, which means they'll respond very differently to warm vs cool light sources. At ΔE 0.7, these are close — the kind of difference that matters when choosing between them, but doesn't read strongly in a finished room. Below you'll find 1 real-room photo comparison where both colors appear side by side, plus 5 simulated room previews.
Instinct vs Icy in Real Spaces
1 real room side by side. Instinct and Icy 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.
Bathroom
Bathrooms are one of the few spaces where you're genuinely enclosed by the paint color, which makes the choice between these two more consequential. At this scale the difference is subtle — you'd need them side by side, as shown here, to reliably tell them apart.
Color Details
Instinct vs Icy Simulated Comparison
5 simulated room previews — drag the slider on each to see Instinct on one side and Icy 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 Instinct comparisons
See how Instinct stacks up against other well-photographed colors across different brands and tones.
White Dove reflects far more light (LRV 83 vs 55), opening up a space where Instinct encloses it.
A 3-point LRV gap (55 vs 52) makes Instinct the marginally brighter of the two.
At LRV 55 vs 30, Instinct is decisively the brighter choice.
A 5-point LRV gap (60 vs 55) makes Agreeable Gray the marginally brighter of the two.
With LRVs of 58 and 55, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Instinct reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 27), opening up a space where Denim Drift encloses it.
A 12-point LRV gap (55 vs 43) makes Instinct the marginally brighter of the two.
With LRVs of 55 and 55, the two reflect almost the same amount of light.
Instinct reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 44), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 84 vs 55, Pure White is decisively the brighter choice.
Balboa Mist reads slightly lighter (LRV 66 vs 55), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
Shoji White reflects far more light (LRV 74 vs 55), opening up a space where Instinct encloses it.
Instinct reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 12), opening up a space where Pewter Green encloses it.
Skimming Stone reflects far more light (LRV 68 vs 55), opening up a space where Instinct encloses it.
Instinct reflects far more light (LRV 55 vs 12), opening up a space where Vintage Vogue encloses it.
Instinct reads slightly lighter (LRV 55 vs 45), a gap that shows most in low-lit rooms.
At LRV 55 vs 31, Instinct is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 55 vs 7, Instinct is decisively the brighter choice.
At LRV 55 vs 24, Instinct is decisively the brighter choice.
Their light reflectance is nearly identical (LRV 57 vs 55), so neither reads brighter in a room.