My New Color of the Year: Summer Red

The official Color of the Year this year is Tangerine Tango, a vibrant and rich orange perfect for summer. This is according to Pantone, “the standard language for color communication from designer to manufacturer to retailer to customer.” The news of this has affected fashion, home design and cosmetics and is such a big deal that Sephora has created displays of orange products so vast that you literally have to walk around them whenever you enter one of their larger stores. There’s even a free brochure about the new orange cosmetics and how to use them. Of course, with my yellow-based skintone, pure orange makes me look, well, kind of dead. So I have found myself gravitating back to all my deep, rich blue-based reds which are much more appropriate for fall and winter, all the while yearning for a new color to feel fresh for spring and summer.

Then one recent day I saw this gorgeous profile photo of my friend Sophia Lucas on Facebook, where her beautiful red lips were bright and just a little bit sheer. With her dark hair and eyes her lipstick looked so chic…perfect for summer! What red is this, I immediately asked her, expecting the answer to be from some fancy highbrow brand I had somehow missed. The answer was shocking: Are You Red-dy by Maybelline, she told me. Upon purchase, I discovered a creamy texture, lovely coverage in one coat (and the option of practically a whole different matte color if you blot just once), and all this for a grand total of $5.50-$7.50, depending upon which drugstore you choose. It looked great on me, as I had hoped, and when I lined it up on the back of my hand against a few of my other reds, I saw that though it is a pink-based red, the difference is in fact its little shot of orange.

Now I was inspired. I had the cornerstone of a summer red trifecta that could only be completed with nails and cheeks.  For nails I turned to Anita Rivas, a.k.a., City Girl in Red Lipstick, one of my favorite blogs, who had recommended Nars Dovima as the ideal red manicure/pedicure. This was a red I had many times passed over in the bottle as too orange, but now was willing to a try. Once on it's stunning. And not that I want to be all match-matchy, but it does match the lipstick as if they are made for each other.

For cheeks, I already owned the most perfect red cream blush, Nars Cactus Flower, but had never noticed its orange shimmery undertones. It has to be used judiciously, but when it is, it can lend a perfect natural glow to cheeks that enhances – and doesn’t compete with – red lipstick the way that pink or peach blush does.

Now with my own Color of the Year, Summer Red, I’m ready for the weather to change.

Holiday Lips: No Time to Be Shy

The holidays are no time to be shy about lip color, and to me they mean it’s time to break out the reds and berries. If you are a neutral-gloss-wearing type who never wears a strong color on your mouth, now’s the time to upgrade to muted red or a berry stain. If, on the other hand, your makeup bag is already bursting with saturated these colors, now is the time of year to go full-on, especially at night and especially for parties, or to even deepen your shades with a bit of black.

My all-time favorite red, as I've said here before, is Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani #400 (not 401 as inexplicably recommended by Lucky in their September 2010 red lipstick piece – it’s way too orange). A close second and quite an unsung hero among reds is NARS’s Red Lizard. While everyone is falling all over themselves over Lancome’s Absolute Rouge, NARS’s Jungle Red and MAC’s Russian Red, Red Lizard is an incredibly flattering shade and a much truer, richer red than these, although its texture is just a tad dry. Further along the glossy spectrum, one product stands alone (please forgive me, I've said this before, too): Chanel’s Dragon Satin Lip Lacquer. Applied generously with the wand, it’s rich, saturated and striking. Patted down with your finger or a tissue it’s muted more like a stain. A more recent addition to my makeup bag is a lifesaver for on-the-subway-on-the-way-to-the-party touchups: NARS’s Cruella Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. So quick and so easy, I often wear it during the day, but I have long extolled the virtues of wearing red lips all the time so if you're not up for this don't despair. If you have a darker complexion or are a woman of color, MAC’s Ruby Woo will be a knockout on you. For fairer-skinned among us, this color looks clownish, but I have literally stopped Asian and African American women on the street and asked them what they are wearing and often this is the color.

In the berry family, the home run in my opinion is Chanel’s Lune Rousse. As a member of the Rouge Coco line, its texture couldn’t be more perfect, it feels like a dream going on and lasts seemingly forever. Despite all the press about Ballet Russe (it has seemed to show up in every magazine lately), I find it too severe. Other lovely berry shades are MAC’s old standby Diva and Lancome’s Le Rouge Absolu in Merlot.

If you’ve already ventured into red and berry territory and want to turn it up a notch, add a dab of MAC Lipmix in Black to your lipcolor. Lipmix is the next generation following Mattene lipstick in Midnight Media from a couple of years ago that sold out so fast everyone’s heads were spinning.

If all this is still too much for you and you still have the urge to leave your lips neutral, I’ll leave you with one idea that I stumbled upon last New Year’s: swipe a bit of sheer orange gloss over your usual lipstick for a festive pop of color that will go with just about anything but will help your look stand out. My personal favorite – because it’s not too orange-y – is Smashbox’s Alluring. Use it over a neutral pencil, on top of your usual neutral color, or even combined with a stronger color (I use it in the center of my top and bottom lips even over red when I’m going out at night).

Happy holidays!

Grey Eyes: Never Out of Style

Why is everyone just now “re”-discovering grey eyeshadow and liner? It’s always been terribly chic and beautiful, infinitely wearable on most eye colors both day and night.  The benefit of everyone liking it now is that most of the makeup lines are producing their own versions of grey, be it gunmetal, silver, pewter or platinum. Still, some are better than others…

If you’re just joining the grey brigade, I recommend doing one of two things: 1) try Givenchy’s Le Prisme Mono Eyeshadow in Hip Grey because, for your money, you get essentially four different shades of grey, from matte to shimmer, that you can blend to varying effect; or 2) choose one of Sephora’s many takes on grey and silver from their Colorful Mono Eyeshadow Collection. At $12 a pop, you can afford to make a mistake, try several at a time or mix a couple together.

If you want to commit to one grey to start, you can’t go wrong with Laura Mercier’s Celestial. Just voted one of Allure’s Best of Beauty eyeshadows, I agree it’s lovely, but if you’re looking at Laura Mercier’s shadows you should also check out Black Ice, which is advertised as black but reads as gray and has more depth than Celestial. A little further along the shimmer spectrum but totally wearable is NARS Night Life. The name notwithstanding, I wear this color day or night. It has some shimmer, but not so much that it’s overpowering. Sweep it lightly all over – by itself or over a matte neutral color – or build it up on its own. 

For the grey neophyte who wants a true smoky eye, Smashbox has you covered. With its new Smoky Eye Kit, a holiday three-piece set containing Gunmetal platinum shadow, Obsidian shadow and Caviar cream liner, plus a step-by-step guide, you can’t go wrong (plus the price is half what the three products would be on their own).

If you’re feeling brave and you have some holiday parties coming up, there are two must-have greys/silvers, but they are real statement-makers, so don’t use them unless you mean it. First up is Urban Decay Stardust in Void. Not for the faint of heart, this shadow goes beyond shimmer and provides all-out sparkly irredescence (if you’re not quite ready for this commitment but you like the shade, try Urban Decay’s Heavy Metal Glitter Liner instead).

At the maximum saturation point on the spectrum, which I save for really special occasions, is Illamasqua Liquid Metal. The greys in this extraordinary British cosmetics line are Phenomena (Molten Silver) and Surge (Molten Pewter). My only advice when working with the Liquid Metal line is to practice with them when you have some free time…don’t wait until 15 minutes before you have to leave for a party or you’ll be cursing, making a mess and starting all over (trust me...this advice comes from hard-earned experience). They go on easily but they do migrate and then they dry and stay put, including on your fingers, so be prepared to use some eye makeup remover on your hands. If you choose to use eyliner, use it on top of these after they dry.

So there you have it. Be chic and beautiful with your grey eyes and don’t let anyone tell you they are ever out of fashion.

The Red Lipstick Hall of Fame: Part I

I know for a fact that I am not the only woman who has long wandered the vast desert of red lipsticks, searching for "the one" - the one that isn't too orange, isn't too blue, isn't too pink, the one that looks glamorous enough for a night out on the town with a date or for a special party but could also be worn straight out the door for no other reason than it just makes you look great.

I also know that I am not the only woman who has bought, sometimes at ridiculous prices, the red lipstick that, in the store, appeared to be "the one," only to come home and find out that I was dreadfully, horribly wrong. I know now (as should you) that most department stores will take back these bad decisions - even if used - particularly if you are willing to exchange it for something else. The best advice for anyone searching for a red lipstick is to do it during the day, try one on and then step outside and look at yourself in natural light. SMILE. If you like what you see, you're in business. That said, several years of research has led me to develop what I will affectionately refer to, going forward, as The Red Lipstick Hall of Fame.

My current favorite, which has sent all the other reds rattling around in my makeup bag to the Makeup Purgatory of my bathroom drawer, is Giorgio Armani Rouge d'Armani #400. It's a true red with just enough blue, just enough pink and no orange whatsoever. The texture is a dream and it lasts, while maybe not the advertised six hours, longer than most products with this texture. Availability on this is pretty good now, although when it came out a few months ago I was waitlisted along with a lot of other people. It should be available on their website, if not at your nearest department store.

If this red doesn't strike your fancy, runners up that I've tested, purchased and used during the past couple of years that are also worth mentioning are:

• Chanel's New York Red, a gorgeous color although its texture is a bit on the dry side. I used this faithfully, day and night, until Armani #400 came out. Also by Chanel is Rouge Allure Lacque #75 in Dragon, a notable exception to my no-lip-gloss rule. The color is divine, and you can glob it on if you are a fan of the I-just-ate-some-greasy-fries look, or you can blot it so it comes up more as a stain (my personal preference). 
• Nars Red Lizard is quite cherry and quite matte...a lovely, lovely color all the way around though some may find it a bit dry.
• At the drugstore, you can find Max Factor's #44, an inexpensive alternative and quite a nice red with a good texture. Revlon's In the Red, also available at drugstores, and Mattese's Approachable, available at Ricky's, are both brick reds that I would highly recommend. In fact, I mentioned Approachable on Facebook the day I found it, and at least three friends are still using it!
• If you have a darker complexion, you can skip all of the above advice and go straight to MAC's Ruby Woo. I have long wished I could wear this color, but alas it looks terrible on me, as I am fair-skinned and light-eyed; however, on darker complexions this shade is a knockout. I have literally stopped Asian and African-American women on the street or in stores and asked them what lipstick they are wearing, and in many cases this has been the answer. 

While we're on the topic of MAC, you may be wondering why more of them are not in my Hall of Fame. Much has been written about MAC's reds (Russian Red, MAC Red, Brave Red, etc.). Women everywhere, Madonna and Gwen Stefani included, have sung the praises of Russian Red in particular. If it works for you, that's great, I've just never found that they've worked for my complexion or coloring.  

Let me know what your votes are for your personal Red Lipstick Halls of Fame, and in the meantime, I hope you're wearing them during the day! Red lips are not just for evening...they are for any strong, sexy, confident woman, and if you think you are none of these things, I swear, red lips will turn you into one!