Trend colours: Corals

image thanks to furnish.co.uk

Coral-based shades are so summer-typical, they're usually the one shade I ignore the hell out of, roll my eyes, and wait for summer to be over so we can get back to more dramatic colours.  But this year, for some reason, I'm just loving them.  Probably because coral is ev-ery-where - do a google search for "coral trend 2013" and you'll see it.  Stir-in some rare great weather of late (possibly prompting my latest obsession) and you have a recipe for a summer trend-based post.

There are some really beautiful coral shades out this summer, and some really unusual takes on what constitutes coral.  Bear with me - I am not just talking namby-pamby peach-toned orangey corals;  I've moved on from NARS Orgasm (and its myriad of dupes - although this does feature in my corals collection).  I'm talking corals on a base of pink, or gold, or even yellow, or with a flash of a red undertone, or even a tangerine-apricot-shot-through-with-fuchsia.  Either way, I'm loving 'em.

Warning: image-heavy post.

So let's start by looking at some over-exposed over-saturated pictures, taken on one of the most stunning days we've seen in Ireland in many many moons.  If you're anything like me, looking at these shades is going to make you crave a hot sunny day and an overly-large sun hat (and an equally overly-large jug of sangria :-))

Cream products from NARS, MAC, Urban Decay

Starting with various cream products - from the top left:

• NARS Multiple in Portofino
• MAC Lip & Cheek Colour in Out for Fun
• NARS Multiple in Orgasm
• MAC Cream Colour Base in Fabulush (LE)
• MAC Cream Colour Base in Hush
• Urban Decay Glide-on Cheek Tint in Score
• NARS cream blusher in Cactus Flower
• MAC Cream Colour Base in Improper Copper
• MAC Cream Colour Base in Seaside (LE)
• Urban Decay Glide-on Cheek Tint in Indecent
• NARS Multiple in Orgasm

My favourite?  Either the Multiple in Portofino or the NARS blusher in Cactus Flower - both are orange-peach, the latter has some gold and is really vibrant.  Yum.  These can be used on the cheeks, some as highlights or even on the lips...

Cream eyeshadows from MAC, Benefit, Mad Minerals

Cream eyeshadows are a fantastic way to whack on a base, or to use as a really fast one-shade look, or to use to provide a flash of highlighted colour to the centre of the lids, or the inner corner/tear duct.  They're categorically going to crease if you don't use the build-and-buff method to get them on, but boy are they gorgeous.  These all vary from pink to peach to apricot to gold to champagne based nods to coral, MAC Indianwood is probably my all-time favourite coral-and red- undertone gold product ever.

From the top left:

• MAC Electric Cool Eyeshadow in Dynamo (LE)
• Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow Liner in Bunny Hop (LE)
• MAD Minerals Indelible Creme Eyeshadow in Apricot Frost (a dupe for MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot)
• MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood
• Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow Liner in Sippin' & Dippin'
• MAD Minerals Indelible Creme Eyeshadow in Nude Frost (a more shimmery version of MAC Bare Study Paint Pot)

Cream eye products from Chanel

Ahhhh, Chanel.  Always makes me pause.  Beautiful products.  Look here for a review on these.

• Chanel Illusion d'Ombre in Abstraction
• Chanel Stylo Eyeshadow in Pink Lagoon (LE)

Powder eyeshadows - they're all showing up a bit orange in the hot sunny weather!

I use these powder eyeshadows on the eyes and occasionally as blushers.

From the top left:

• MAC eyeshadow in Coppering
• Stars Makeup Haven eyeshadow in Hot Ginge (a more vibrant and pigmented dupe for Coppering)
• Inglot Pro-5 eyeshadow in AMC/51 (gotta love Inglot's sexy names ;-))
• MAC Pro Longwear eyeshadow in Hot Paprika
• Inglot eyeshadow in Pearl/407
• Inglot Pro-5 eyeshadow in AMC Shine/15 (very like NARS Orgasm powder blush)

Sleek Good Girl Palette

And how about this for a fantastic and cheap trend-based option!!!  The Sleek Good Girl palette features a bunch of coral, red, pink and orange-based shades and it's fantastically pigmented, like all Sleek products - and inexpensive, around the €9 mark - delish...

Various powder blushers from Sleek, Illamasqua, Make Up For Ever, Becca, NARS, Lancôme, MAC

Most of these as you can see are orange/peach/apricot/warm red-based coral!  Top left down:

• Sleek powder blush in Aruba (LE)
• Sleek powder blush in Life's a Peach
• MAC Sheertone Shimmer in Peachy Keen
• Lancôme powder blush in... dunno, the back has worn off!  It's one of my favourites though!
• NARS powder blush in Taj Mahal
• Make Up For Ever blush #77
• MAC Sheertone Shimmer in Spring Sheen
• Becca blusher in Songbird (a way nicer, softer, version of NARS blusher in Orgasm)
• Illamasqua blusher in Excite

Pigments from MAC & L'Oréal

The gold-coral pigments I have in my stash are:

• MAC Pigment in Rose
• MAC Pigment in Melon
• L'Oréal Color Infallible Eye Shadow in Magnetic Coral (if I recommend anything?  Pick this - it's a gorgeous metallic shimmery shade of a vibrant orange-based coral, shot through with fuchsia.  It's amazing.  I've had so many queries about this one when I wear it!)

NARS Illuminators

Of course no coral post would be complete without good old NARS orgasm.  I have both the Orgasm and Super Orgasm Illuminators, the Orgasm Multiple and a huge bunch of powder products that dupe the Orgasm blusher very nicely ;-)  I guess NARS are doing something right to have such a cult following for one single shade!  Super Orgasm is just too sparkly and glittery for my personal liking, but the Orgasm Illuminator is fantastic.

Various coral lipglosses from Collistar, Bourjois, Urban Decay, Chanel, OCC, Topshop & Jemma Kidd

My favourite of all, Collistar (an Italian brand) is a kind of burnt copper/coral shot through with gold.  The rest of them all are all variations on a peach-orange theme (and nowhere near as orange as the overly-exposed shot would suggest LOL).  They're all sheer enough with the exception of the OCC Lip Tar in Grandma - a brilliantly pigmented highly opaque matte lip pigment.

Which leaves me just one lippie to cover: Rimmel's #030/Tell No One, an orange-based coral satin finish lipstick.  Not something I wear a huge amount, but great when you want a pop of a very orange coral shade.

Coral lippie from Rimmel

Whatever else you say about it, it's one of those extremely versatile shades that suits old and young, there's a reason it's loved by brides everywhere, and depending on what base (pink, red, peach, orange, gold...) you choose, you'll find a shade to suit your colouring.  Wear is simply and prettily, or smudge it up for a more grungy look - I'm loving pairing it with a sludgy grey on the lashline and in the outer corner at the moment, and a really pale and contoured face.  But if I get a colour, I'll be sporting it au natural, with a slick of a brown mascara and not much else!

Other ideas?  A twist on the coloured hair trend - find yourself some pink/peach chalks and use them to chalk your hair coral... why not!  I think I'll do just that at the weekend!

And that's all she wrote!  Now, go forth and coralise yourself :-)