I have the 'soft pink' by americolor and for the life of me it never comes out like a pretty, soft pink! it looks like pepto instantly.

any other color recs?

You don't need very much at all.  Perhaps you're starting out with too much color. 

I actually prefer to start with a tiny bit of red instead of the pink.  It seems a bit warmer.  I sometimes add a tiny (and I mean tiny) bit of yellow to a pink fondant or icing to take out the strong blue base and warm the color up.  I usually have to add more white BC or fondant when I do that. 
 

AI make marshmallow fondant, and it use pink marshmallows. It's such a lovely pink. And it's easy to add a little bit of white fondant to lighten the colour.