[Makeup Trend Focus] – Orange Coral Lips and How to Wear It

Here is my first [Makeup Trend Focus] where I want to share a look I created with orange coral lips.  This upcoming spring season, I am seeing a lot of bright colors for lips, especially orange.  I know for many people, orange doesn’t seem very wearable, but it’s actually quite flattering.

I naturally love these shades and  feel anyone can carry off a brighter lip color because it looks great on all skin tones.  Bright lips give the face life and vitality while also making a fashion statement…or should I say, beauty statement?

How to wear this trend:

–  Personally, if I’m going to wear a bright lip (which is definitely an element of my signature style), I like to keep the rest of the makeup more effortless.  Meaning for the eyes, I wear soft, nude eye shadows with little actual color.  I still wear black eyeliner around the whole eye and MAC #48 eyelashes because I still want the eyes to stand out, but not the focal point of the look.

–  Being that coral is warm based, I like to keep the cheeks warm to compliment the lips and the overall skin to have a glorious glow.  I always wear bronzer and a highlighting powder, but in terms of blush, I actually chose a bronzy blush, but popped a little coral to brighten the cheeks even more.

–  If you look at the photo closely, I used a blue based eye shadow highlighter under the brows.  It’s MAC “Vellum” eye shadow which I truly love, but I honestly only wear it sparingly.  I absolutely LOVE a blue-based highlighter coordinated with a coral lip.

[Why?  You know what my one word answer is going to be:  CONTRAST]  Blue and orange are opposite colors, hence they contrast each other.  In this situation, it’s a subtle contrast but worth noting].  

[Beauty Confession] – Although this is a lip focus, I have to say, I’m exceptionally impressed on how well my skin photographed being that I have had some skin issues (which have been majorly improving thanks to new skincare products–to be shared soon), but the secret is, I am wearing a NEW foundation in this photo.  I heard that NARS has great foundations, so I went to Sephora and asked for a sample.  In these photos, I’m wearing the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation.  I matched myself to a “Deuville” which seems to match very well, although today I went to the NARS website to read about the foundation colors and I think I will go back and try one more shade to be sure before making a purchase.  I will talk more about this foundation in a future post as well, because it’s truly magnificent.  I just can’t get over how flawless my skin looks!  (I don’t wake up with perfect skin, trust me)!

The lip combo: MAC "Lasting Sensation" lip pencil, MAC "Watch Me Simmer" lipstick, MAC "Richer, Lusher" cremesheen glass

[Do you like orange coral lips?  What are your favorite products to achieve this look?]

How to Wear Your Makeup with an Animal Print

Hello, my animal lovers…(we’re talking animal print here)!  Over the weekend, I decided to take a photo of my makeup to showcase how to wear makeup with an animal print.  I think for many people, coordinating makeup with a print can be a little bit of a challenge, lacking a sense of a style direction.  Keep in mind, there honestly is NO right or wrong on this subject, but here I will enlighten you with how I styled this look.

Makeup that I wore with an animal print top over the weekend

A break-down of the makeup look I created with the animal print top and a further explanation behind my color/styling choices:

EYES:  –  I wanted to stick with the shimmery brown and copper family in terms of my eye shadow selection because they compliment the colors within the animal print itself.

I did NOT want to go too smokey (the top in itself already has some drama being that it is a print, so no need to overkill with the eye makeup), nor go too natural (as I still did want the eyes to pop a little bit).  Basically, I wanted a nice balance where there was some emphasis on the eyes, but not too much. 

I started with a light shimmery copper lid color and then added depth by blending in shades of brown into the crease and outer crease.

Many people often question if a cat wing eye liner is necessary.  Potentially, I think you could do a cat winged eye liner effect with an animal print, but for me personally, that’s taking it a step too literally.  As I said, I’m not against the idea completely, it’s just not something I would do because it’s really not that original (I’ve just seen it too many times before).  (It’s kind of like wearing a red dress with a matching red lipstick.  It can be done, but it’s not the best styling choice because it’s too matchy-match.  Again, it lacks visual interest and creativity).

[FYI, black liner and false lashes are my staples with any look and this was no exception!  I am rocking my signature MAC #48 lashes of course!  They are dramatically long and full bundles of lash goodness…just the way I like my lashes to look!  No mascara could ever do that!] 

CHEEKS:  – I think there are a lot of options with the cheek color.  I chose a peach, which is typically the blush color family I stay in, but also what I think looks the best with this print.  I could definitely see a bronzy color though as well (or just bronzer if you’re blush-shy although I ALWAYS push some sort of blush on all people because it makes the face look youthful and happy).  Pink, maybe…just not my first choice.  Plum, not so much because it is a cool tone and I think the warm tones on the cheeks match nicer with an animal print.

LIPS: – I don’t know why, but I think CORAL hands down goes with animal print more than any other color for the lips.  Being that there are usually warm beiges/brown within the animal print, the lips should be a warm color as well.

And since the eye shadow colors are all within a neutral color palette, that leaves room for the lips to be a little more playful.  Coral coordinates nicely because it’s playful without being TOO flashy.  Hot pink or red would be a little too loud in my opinion as then you would be left with a look where the makeup and the clothing are BOTH competing with each other.

[As a general rule (which can sometimes be broken of course), choose to make a statement with your outfit OR your makeup.  Not both at the same time].  

I'm wearing the lipstick shade I created, "Malibu Creamsicle" in this photo!

DOES ANYONE NOTICE WHAT IS DIFFERENT in this photo compared to the original?!  Two styling changes…

1 – I changed my hair a little bit.  AFTER I took the first photo, I realized I wanted to style this with the original black headband, but WITHOUT bangs (I decided I didn’t want any hair to be in the front…for some reason, I think it looks more stylish).  This is a small nuance that to me makes a huge difference and I’m not even a hair person!

2-  I wanted to showcase that I’m wearing my “Malibu Creamsicle,” a GIELLA custom blend lipstick I created and just blogged about!  This way you can see what it looks like on and how nicely it goes with the overall look.  (As I said, it goes great with a lot of things, animal print is just one of many things!).  

(In the original photo, I’m wearing MAC “Costa Chic” lipstick, which I am a huge fan of.  Both of these lipsticks are coral, the only difference is that the “Malibu Creamsicle” is softer in terms of the brightness).

[Do you have any other ideas on how to wear your makeup with an animal print?]