One lipstick, three ways: Here’s how to create beautiful Living Coral lips for 2019

Lips

Jan 8

Living Coral blew our collective minds when it was announced as Pantone’s color of the year for 2019. It is such a beautiful color, and it’s so easy to work into our existing wardrobe! We probably already have a piece (or five) in this shade just begging to be put back into heavy rotation. Of course, makeup-wise, the color itself is quite flattering on any skin tone. I’m here to share three of the lip looks I came up with to inspire you to wear Living Coral more. Here’s the twist: I used only one lipstick shade!

I’ve had the Revlon Color Charge Lipstick in High Energy (P350) for a while now, but I haven’t been wearing it as much because it can be difficult to match with my looks. It’s not even really a proper coral; it’s more of an orange-red. It does have a beautiful pink undertone though, which makes it a ton of fun to sheer out and layer with!

Consider this a reminder that bright lipsticks are not as scary as you think. There are many ways to manipulate the formula and color as there are more options since you can adjust the level of pigmentation depending on how you apply it. With a muted or sheer lipstick, you don’t have as many options because the saturation is limited.

Let’s begin!

Lip Look #1: The Juicy Coral

People ask me if I use a gel/water lip stain and honestly, I don’t. The best stain is achieved with a bright, bright lipstick sheered down to its most basic color. For this technique you can use your favorite lip balm, but here I used the Revlon Kiss Plumping Lip Creme in 505 Apricot Silk (P375) since it’s hydrating just like a balm while providing a glossy finish.

How to:

Apply the balm/gloss to moisturize the lips and provide a base for the stain. Add a few touches of the lipstick then blend it all over the lips with your finger, or just smack your lips together! Voila, you’ve got a long-wearing, non-drying stain! You can really see how beautiful (and more wearable) Revlon’s High Energy is in this form. The coral really comes out!

Lip Look #2: The Ombre Coral

One of my favorite, favorite ways to do my lips is with a graded effect - Korean style! The effect is girlish and flirty at the same time and makes full use of your lipstick’s pigment capacity. It’s easier than it looks, too. You don’t even have to use different colors since you can just layer on a single bright lipstick.

How to:

Apply your favorite balm (if you want a matte finish) or a balm/gloss (if you’re going for the shine) to serve as a base for easier blending. Then, apply your lipstick from the inner side of the lips, end to end. Make sure to keep away from the edges. Smoosh your lips together to see how the color blends out. To fix the final shape, use a cotton bud to sheer out the edges even more.

Lip Look #3: The Golden Coral

This is inspired by Pantone’s official image when they announced the color of the year. If you check the photo above, there’s this goldfish peeking out from behind. Gold and coral are obviously MFEO so I thought of doing a texture play with this look by layering gold lip powder on top of the lipstick.

Yes, you heard that right! Lip powders exist, and Revlon makes a pretty good one called the Color Charge Lip Powder in Peach Pucker (P625). I’ve been using these ever since they came out last year! I like that this particular palette can also be applied as eyeshadow, blush, and highlighter depending on the color.

If you don’t have this palette, you can also use any gold and/or pink eyeshadow you already have.

How To:

Mix the coral pink and gold (marked with x) lip powders with your finger. You can also use a small eyeshadow brush if you want, but I personally get best results with just a finger. Pat it on top of the lipstick - don’t swipe! - until you get the level of golden coral you need. You might notice that the lip powder has taken down the brightness of the lipstick a bit; if you want an even lighter result and bring out the matte metallic finish, you can blot your lips first with tissue.