How to Wear Orange Lipstick – Hot New Spring 2014 Color Trend in Fashion and Beauty
You were just about to call me from the phone booth in your office to ask me about orange lipstick. Questions were forming, like, how do I harness this trend for myself, what brands to buy, will it work for the weekday, and most importantly, why orange lipstick?
I’m here to answer your questions.
Yes, orange lipstick! I’ve been talking about it for three years, and using it on models and friends. Now I want to explain my take on the very hot spring 2014 trend to you.
Orange is your friend. Pantone made Tangerine Tango the color of the year in 2012, so the trend has been brewing for a while, and now it’s trickling down to lipstick.
Check out a color wheel and observe the complimentary colors opposite the oranges. Notice that the orange varieties are opposite the blue and green varieties, creating contrast and, in makeup, FUN. We love fun!
NB: With bold choices like orange, you have chic choices in finish, like cream gloss or cream matte, or even cream demi-matte. We recommend you stick with cream. Let the color speak. Save shimmer for the Champagne tones.
Now that you know why, let’s talk about how.
Intense:
- Bite Beauty High Pigment Matte Pencil is available at Sephora for $24 and wears forever! Try Zinfandel, an electric coral favored by my face. My mom thinks it’s appropriate for Mardi Gras. Reduce the Mardi Gras effect with this 3-step process: clean lips, tiny dab of lip balm, one swipe of Zinfandel on top lip only, blend, tiny dab of clear gloss.
- Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, one of my favorite brands, makes some bangin’ oranges, and they’re all vegan and paraben free. True Orange is just that, and it’s bold! Radiate, $18, is “electric coral red”, and my fave, Psycho is a really orangey red that will make your skin look like cream and your eyes twinkle like you won the lottery. Use VERY LITTLE of this product at a time, as it’s potent! Doubles as a cheek stain in a pinch. Oh, and it’s waterproof, in case you wear makeup to the beach (not what I do, but go your own way).
- Stila After Glow Lipcolor in Tangerine Dream, $18. After Glow creates a vibrant pop of color in the sunlight. Once the sun goes down, black light-sensitive pigments create a glowing hue when exposed to ultraviolet light. Well, that sounds like a party to me!
Moderate Intensity
- Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Vibrant Mandarin and Electric Orange, about $9, are so creamy and longwearing, you’d swear you were wearing an expensive product! I’m shocked by the quality of color and comfort, and they are just sheer enough for you to get an impact but feel appropriate for the daytime.
- MAC Morange, $15, is also very comfortable. It makes blue eyes look several sizes bigger. Alchemy, I know, but it’s true!
Low Intensity
- Armour Beauty Gloss in Lucy, $21 is a pure orange that can be worn alone or over a lipstick. Try outlining your lips in concealer, blending a little lip balm over that, and then applying Lucy. Armour products are paraben free and never tested on animals.
- Maybelline Color Elixir gloss in Mandarin Rapture is about $7 at Target, and you can make a low cost, light commitment purchase of a fun color. The brand claims that the formula is a hybrid of pigment, gloss, and balm; I like the feel, and I love the angora wand. A little freaky feeling the first time, but some days you like to get freaky, right?
Enjoy this fun new trend, start with the color in February (as the harbinger of spring), and let me know how you like it! Tag me on Instagram with a pic of your new color selection, @sharonbecker.
