Soft colours have been treating me nice, lately. With a few new shades of gentle yellow-green, taupe, and peachy pink for my eyes, a creamy nude blush stick that blends itself into a natural flush easily, and apricot nails-- Avon's Apricot Mystery-- I'm set for a season of gentle prettiness. It looks good against the aching brilliance of the grass in my yard, under those evil lights in the grocery or Barnes and Noble stores, and adds color to my usual outfit of long black dresses. Much more becoming to my skintone than the hot tangerine the rest of the country is sporting, as long as I don't overuse the shimmers in daylight.
Do I still want one of the newest colors? Hell, yes.
Though I'm not against being fashion forward, bright oranges are HARD to wear on paler skin unless it is perfectly even-toned; they bring out the sallowness that lurks below the peaches-and-cream. I did see a sharp looking woman our age in a parking lot last week, flaunting a a slash of bright pink lipstick that looked fantastic against her matte ivory cheeks; but pink is not orange. As Reese Witherspoon says in Legally Blonde, "Whoever said Orange was the new Pink is seriously disturbed." Yet Sephora et al have collections full of of tantalizing tangy tangerines, bronzes, mangoes and undeniably orange shades for all your features, right now. When I look at them, I'm filled with desire to have each and every one, despite my recent post on saying NO to more purchases. Not to mention that orange makes my teeth look yellowish, too.
Part of the problem is, unlike pink, it's not a great color for most of us to wear all over the face. Most brights aren't, really. A touch here and there, or a single feature in a stunning shade, keeps the balance better; and this is true for many skintones. Maybe the deepest, darkest skin looks great in brights everywhere; but why let them fight for attention? That woman in pink lips, in fact, had a low key look otherwise-- just barely there black liner and mascara, and shadow & blusher that didn't announce themselves stridently and take away from her lips-- a perfectly focused daytime look with a little extra pizzazz.
Using the new oranges is kind of a trick, really-- do you want to add a hot flush to the underdside of your cheekbones? Go for it, grab something like Sephora Collection's Coral/Desert Flower blush duo, (or brighter, like BE's Fresh, if you can find it-- or Illamasqua's Vibrant Coral) and leave the eyes softer, in greens, blues, taupe or pale gray... then use a lipcolor in a different intensity.
There's another way to experiment, too, one I favor highly: go to the Dollar-type store nearest you and pick up their cheapo version of the eye and blush colors, to try your preferred level of brightness on for size. At worst you waste a few bucks, and the brands carried there, like L.A. Colors, have a nice smooth feel to their powdered makeup products. The liners aren't bad either, but the lipcolors are not as nice, in feel or ingredients, and I can't recommend them.
The whole Color of the Year idea is kind of neat-- take whatever version of that color you can afford and wear, integrate that into your daily or going-out look, and know from then on that you are Fashionable. On the other hand, the specific color choice could be looked at as a mere update to the usual pastels of spring collections; which is fine, since it's a fresh-looking twist. And now that I've outlined, for myself at least, a way to approach it, I'll be adding a hot bronze liner or a bright peach blush to my daily look. At least while the sun is out.
Peace, Mari
Do I still want one of the newest colors? Hell, yes.
Though I'm not against being fashion forward, bright oranges are HARD to wear on paler skin unless it is perfectly even-toned; they bring out the sallowness that lurks below the peaches-and-cream. I did see a sharp looking woman our age in a parking lot last week, flaunting a a slash of bright pink lipstick that looked fantastic against her matte ivory cheeks; but pink is not orange. As Reese Witherspoon says in Legally Blonde, "Whoever said Orange was the new Pink is seriously disturbed." Yet Sephora et al have collections full of of tantalizing tangy tangerines, bronzes, mangoes and undeniably orange shades for all your features, right now. When I look at them, I'm filled with desire to have each and every one, despite my recent post on saying NO to more purchases. Not to mention that orange makes my teeth look yellowish, too.
Part of the problem is, unlike pink, it's not a great color for most of us to wear all over the face. Most brights aren't, really. A touch here and there, or a single feature in a stunning shade, keeps the balance better; and this is true for many skintones. Maybe the deepest, darkest skin looks great in brights everywhere; but why let them fight for attention? That woman in pink lips, in fact, had a low key look otherwise-- just barely there black liner and mascara, and shadow & blusher that didn't announce themselves stridently and take away from her lips-- a perfectly focused daytime look with a little extra pizzazz.
Using the new oranges is kind of a trick, really-- do you want to add a hot flush to the underdside of your cheekbones? Go for it, grab something like Sephora Collection's Coral/Desert Flower blush duo, (or brighter, like BE's Fresh, if you can find it-- or Illamasqua's Vibrant Coral) and leave the eyes softer, in greens, blues, taupe or pale gray... then use a lipcolor in a different intensity.
There's another way to experiment, too, one I favor highly: go to the Dollar-type store nearest you and pick up their cheapo version of the eye and blush colors, to try your preferred level of brightness on for size. At worst you waste a few bucks, and the brands carried there, like L.A. Colors, have a nice smooth feel to their powdered makeup products. The liners aren't bad either, but the lipcolors are not as nice, in feel or ingredients, and I can't recommend them.
The whole Color of the Year idea is kind of neat-- take whatever version of that color you can afford and wear, integrate that into your daily or going-out look, and know from then on that you are Fashionable. On the other hand, the specific color choice could be looked at as a mere update to the usual pastels of spring collections; which is fine, since it's a fresh-looking twist. And now that I've outlined, for myself at least, a way to approach it, I'll be adding a hot bronze liner or a bright peach blush to my daily look. At least while the sun is out.
Peace, Mari



