Benjamin Moore CSP Colors: Why They're Harder to Match

What Are Benjamin Moore CSP Colors?

Benjamin Moore's Color Stories® Collection (CSP) features 240 unique colors,  formulated to be heavily influenced by light for a lively, dynamic effect. Benjamin Moore CSP colors are a top choice for color enthusiasts.

But while this line is revered for its complexity and nuance, it’s notoriously difficult for other brands to match. If you’re looking to preview a Color Stories® shade before you paint, there’s a lot to consider beforehand.

Why Benjamin Moore CSP Colors Are Difficult to Match

Benjamin Moore CSP colors are created using a proprietary formulation process. Traditional formulation methods use two to three color pigments, while Color Stories® use approximately five to seven pigments. This collection also avoids the use of black and gray colorants, resulting in a nuanced color palette, from saturated and bold to soft and neutral. 

But on the other hand, this highly-specific formulation process makes CSP color matching very difficult. When a different brand tries to match a color to Benjamin Moore CSP using their own paint formulas, the result can get close, but may not produce the original color exactly. If you're planning on painting your space with a paint color from the Benjamin Moore Color Stories® collection, proper sampling is essential.

How to Test CSP Colors Before You Paint

Because of the specific way the Color Stories® collection interacts with light, testing is a crucial part of the process. The colors in this collection are best appreciated once a real coat of paint is applied to your wall and completely dried. When it comes to Benjamin Moore CSP colors, a paper paint chip is unlikely to replicate the depth and luminosity of the actual paint. Fortunately, there are ways to properly test CSP colors before you begin.

View Colors in Natural and Artificial Light

As discussed, CSP colors are designed to change in appearance depending on the kind of lighting present in the room. This means that you need to test the paint in your actual conditions before committing to a color... It also means that you have some level of control over how the color will appear in your space.

First, consider what times of day you plan to be in that room. For example, if you're painting your kitchen, you might plan to be in that space a lot during the morning hours under a lot of natural light. Consider how you feel about a CSP color during those daylight hours rather than fretting over how it looks in the dark under an artificial bulb.

You also must consider the direction of the natural lighting in your space. North-facing rooms have indirect, cool lighting, while south-facing rooms have warmer lighting that can become intense during mid-day. East-facing rooms receive the bright light of the sunrise that fades in midday, while west-facing rooms have more muted lighting until late afternoon and sunset hours. All of these types of lighting will subtly change how a CSP color appears in your space.

Furthermore, you can try different types of light bulbs in order to see what brings out the best in your CSP colors. Older incandescent light bulbs emit a warmer-toned light than modern LED bulbs, highlighting different nuances in CSP colors.

Test on Different Walls

CSP colors can look differently not just from room-to-room, but from wall-to-wall in your space. You might find that you love how the undertones of your chosen CSP color are brought in natural lighting, but don't care for the result in a darker part of your space. You want to know this information before you get started, rather than after you've already put the time and effort into painting the entire room.

Live With the Color for Several Days

Lastly, it's incredibly helpful to live with the paint color in your space for several days, so you can get an idea of what to expect at different times of day and under different weather conditions.

You might consider sampling your color on a week with a lot of weather variation. CSP colors are dynamic, and will act differently during bright sunny days and darker, overcast ones. Once you paint the actual space, it's much harder to go back. Take your time during the paint sampling process.

Find the Right CSP Color With Confidence

Because CSP colors are so complex, testing them can be difficult. Paper paint chips and testing pots mixed by competitors might not be able to capture all of the details of this unique paint collection, but peel-and-stick paint samples from Samplize can give you a realistic read of how Benjamin Moore CSP colors will behave in your space. 

See Complex Undertones at Full Scale

Samplize uses two coats of real paint directly from the manufacturer. When you apply a Samplize sample to the wall in your space, you get a highly-accurate idea of what this actual collection looks like once you've painted, with all of the nuances and color characteristics that this line is known for.

Easily Move Samples Around the Room

Peel-and-stick samples are easy to apply and re-apply, so you can take your time during the sampling process. Test on different walls in the room you plan to paint, and be sure to play around with your lighting as well... This will help you evaluate what you like and dislike about a particular color of paint before committing.

Consider trying a small range of CSP samples and placing them side by side in your space. You may be surprised by how different two seemingly-similar colors in this line can look in your actual lighting conditions!

Compare Similar Shades Without Painting

Because the Benjamin Moore CSP collection is so dynamic and highly-specific to the individual conditions of a space, testing with sample pots can be time consuming and expensive. Samplize, on the other hand, allows you to try a real paint sample from the manufacturer in the room where you’ll be living with the color. This means that you can get a closely-accurate idea of how a Benjamin Moore CSP color will look in your space, with a fraction of the labor required for painting multiple test patches.

When browsing samples in the Benjamin Moore collection, be sure to look for the CSP designation (for example, French Toile CSP-595).