Thursday 23 February 2012

Coral Lipsticks: My new found love!

One of the top makeup trends for Spring 2012 is red lipstick. 

Red lipstick looks lovely on the majority of people... apart from me. Boo! It's something to do with the shape of my face. My lips are small in comparison to my very round, broad face. If I wear red lipstick I'm just drawing attention to the 'lip to face' imbalance! More subtle lipstick looks manage to divert attention, but bright red lipstick for me will never work!

My way to get around this is to embrace coral shades instead. Here I've listed my favourite coral lipsticks, from matte, to sheer, to shimmery. 

1. Rimmel Colour Show-Off Lipstick: Tell No One
2. MAC Frost Lipstick - Costa Chic
3. MAC Amplified Lipstick - Vegas Volt
4. L'Oreal Color Riche Intense Blondes - 373 Magnetic Coral
5. Clinique Different Lipstick - Sugared Grapefruit
6. The Bodyshop Color Glide Lipstick - Coral Splash 66

*I have swatch photos, and even photos of these on my very own lips! I will add them to my post this evening!!*

Tell No One is probably my favourite and one of the cheapest too. It's very much a matte lippie, but not as drying as some mattes, and has a lovely scent! It's also long lasting, more long lasting that my beloved MAC corals even! The colour leans more towards 'brick' undertones, so it's not too bright or too light. I wouldn't wear it at the moment, but it really compliments tanned skin.


I have mixed feelings about Costa Chic, mainly to do with the glitter. It has a frost finish, and besides the subtle sheen, there are also some bigger chuncks of silver glitter. I can overlook this since it's a very unique shade of coral, much lighter and brighter than most, and just as pigmented as most matte lipsticks. I'd feel more comfortable wearing this with or without a tan since it's not quite so bold as 'tell no one'. 



Vegas Volt is darker than Costa Chic, but still looks great on paler skin. It's a classic coral without any shimmer or glitter. As an amplified lipstick, it's not as drying as a matte, but it doesn't last quite so long. I had an embarrassing episode where I was left with just a lipliner on bare lips effect after having something to eat and drink. I wear this a lot but I also have to reapply a lot!


I was given Magnetic Coral as a gift, and it was such a lovely surprise! So 'me'! I haven't tried many L'Oreal lipsticks, but I was impressed with the colour payoff, and the colour itself is just so bright and pretty! There is shimmer with this one, but nothing too over powering. It leans more towards orange than anything else, and I've always found orange toned lipsticks to be surprisingly flattering!


Sugared Grapefruit just about gets away with fitting into my corals selection, although it has more pink undertones than any of the others. It's also far more sheer, to the point where you wouldn't have to use a mirror to apply this. I've layered coat upon coat just to see how pigmented this will go, but the end result is sheer no matter what I do. The lipstick has a lovely moisturising feel, and I wear this a lot during the day time. This is shimmery and quite glossy. Very natural looking!


Coral Splash was another gift and again, such a good choice for me! This is the first and only Bodyshop lipstick I have, and while I was surprised at the lack of colour payoff, I still like it!
It's quite a light coral, but not as bright as Costa Chic. It's another one where you could apply it on the go without use of a mirror. It has undertones which lean mostly towards tangerine, and a bit of subtle shimmer too. It's moisturising and I'll definitely wear it a lot during the Spring / Summer this year! 


And if I absolutely HAD to wear a red lipstick, I'd go for Lipstick Queen 'Medieval'. This is so sheer that it's more of a red tint than a lipstick. You can also build it up and apply a couple of coats to get a more noticable look. It's £20 and only available in the UK at Space NK. I bought mine from a US beauty blog sale, but now that I've tried it I would say that it's worth the price. I can't think of any cheaper alternatives for this one. There are tints and balms but closely match in colour, but 'Medieval' has the staying power and texture of a good long-lasting, nourishing lipstick.



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