Eau de nil

It was a sprawling town of upended concrete boxes tilting pastel rectangles up towards the hot sun: soft blues, prawn reds, pale chocolates, delicate eau de nils, primrose yellows[…].

Such colouring! — slate blues, coral pinks, pale amphitrites, the wet cobblestone blue of mussels, frail sea-forget-me-nots, anemone yellows and carmines, emeralds and eau-de-nils!

He had painted the ceiling and window and doorframes an aqua green, the walls eau-de-nil.

Possibly the mauve one would look better,’ said Letitia, ‘although I have always been told that eau-de-nil is really my colour. By the way, could I make things up to you in some way by having you as my chief bridesmaid?

Eau de Nil (“water of the Nile”) is a tricky color to pin down precisely. It is a light-greenish hue, more saturated than celadon, less gray than sage. It has tan undertones and a cool bluish cast. It is, confusingly, an entirely different color from Nile green.