More Coral Looks to Try: The Mac Edit

As I was looking through my lipsticks, it hit me that after all of my recent ramblings about my deep love of pink and coral lipstick, I'd managed to leave out what is possibly my favourite lipstick for spring and summer: MAC's Costa Chic (left).  Also, while I was off spending money I don't really have yesterday (you can read my post about what else I picked up here) I finally decided to go for MAC's Morange (right).  

Top: Morange

Bottom: Costa Chic

Costa Chic is a creamy pink coral.  It's a frost finish which I am usually not a fan of at all but for some reason it works.  I think because the colour is quite warm, the frost doesn't make it look too outdated.  It really is a classic colour for spring and summer that I think would look great on a range of skin tones.

I actually picked this one up over a year ago on a whim, and didn't think too much about it. I tossed it in my makeup bag for a trip I was taking and put it on rather lazily one day.  It wasn't until I was looking at the trip photos and going "what have I got on my lips, it's beautiful!" that I realized how gorgeous the colour really is.  It probably sounds a bit odd that it took me such a long time to warm up to it but now I think it's stunning.

In the tube, Morange is rather intimidating.  I had heard a bit about it but this was during a bit of a break I took from buying makeup (okay, I bought a few drugstore products, I couldn't help myself) so I hadn't actually seen it in person.  The other day when I finally got to MAC, I was able to pick it out immediately.  It's an amplified finish, meaning it's pigmentation is pretty insane.  While Costa Chic is very much on the pink side of the coral tones, I would describe Morange as almost completely orange, with a hint of coral.  I did find that because it's quite a bold, pigmented colour, you do need to work with it a bit more to get the look you want.  In the picture, I applied it over a good deal of lip balm because most bright colours like this do emphasize dry patches and mixing it with lip balm lessens the pigmentation slightly, giving you a more glossy look and making it easier to work with.

I did mention that I would pick up Morange in my Coral Lips Post and compare it to Revlon's Siren so here are the swatches.

Top: Revlon Siren

Bottom: MAC Morange

As you can probably see, the colours are very similar.  Siren is slightly more peachy and sheer and Morange is more opaque. However, you can build up Siren to get a bit more opacity.  Do you need both? Probably not.  Unless you really want a super-bold orange lip in which case I do think Morange has a bit more to offer.

What do you think of MAC's coral lipsticks? Do you have any others to recommend?

If you want to see more coral lip looks, don't forget to check out my Coral Lips Post which focuses on drugstore options.

I hope you're all having a great weekend!

Kendall

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Trend to Try: Coral Lips

Coral lips are without a doubt my favourite trend for spring.  It's not often that a trend is so universally flattering but thanks to the wide range of products available, from pink to red to orange tones, there's a shade of coral that suits just about everyone.

This post is just going to cover drugstore options so if you're a little afraid of rockin' the coral look, you've got some cheaper options to try.  I'm currently coveting a few higher end brands (cough YSL cough) but those will have to wait.

 Back L-R : Maybelline Baby Lips in Coral Crush, Revlon Lipstick in Siren, Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Fruiti, Maybelline The Vivids Lipstick in Shocking Coral, Revlon Balm Stain in Rendezvous, 

Front L-R: Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain in Flame, L'Oreal Aqua Lip Lacquer in Coral Tattoo

Swatches in the order listed above (top to bottom)

I've been told that there are three colours that look good on everyone: aqua, ivory, and coral.  Trying a coral lip can be a bit intimidating at first, especially if you decide to go heavily towards the pink toned (Eg Maybelline Shocking Coral) or the orange (Revlon Lipstick in Siren) but they are actually surprisingly flattering- and did I  mention one of the biggest trends for spring?

I've talked about all of these lip products in previous posts, particularly my Lipstick Alternatives Post and  Makeup on the Cheap so if you'd like to hear about the specific products, I'd recommend checking those out.  I did mention quite a few lipstick alternatives because I find that when you're trying a bolder trend, sometimes it's nice to have the flexibility of a gloss or a more sheer lipstick.

 Revlon Lipstick in Siren

L'Oreal Aqua Lip Lacquer in Coral Tattoo

Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Fruiti

Once again, sorry for the picture quality but you can probably see that on the lip, these products all look much more natural than you might think.  If you want to see a picture of me trying out Maybelline's Shocking Coral, check out my last Monday's Face.

A Few Tips:
If you are very pale or have ashy skin, you might find neon corals a bit more difficult to work with (especially towards the very pink or very orange tones).  A more subtle way to work this trend is by taking the colour on your finger or a brush and working it into your lips, rather than using the tube.  You'll get more of a "flush of colour".

I've been doing a bit of research (aka flipping through magazines and other beauty blogs) and it looks like MAC Morange is going to be one of the biggest colours this summer.  I am biding my time until I can get it through Back to MAC but once I do, I'll let you know! I've also heard that Revlon's Siren is a dupe for Morange so I'll try to do a comparison in the future.

I think this is a really fun and flattering trend for spring and I hope you give it a try! I honestly never thought I would be an orange/coral lips fan but I've been sporting them every day this week.
If you do try this look, let me know how you like it, or let me know what your favourite orange/coral lip products are in the comments!
Kendall
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