ORANGE CRUSH
How to wear the season’s happiest make-up shade
If I say orange, chances are you’ll visualise the fruit. Or perhaps there’s an Aperol spritz in your mind’s eye, or an Hermès gift box? Students of Ayurveda will know that orange is the colour of the second chakra, or energy wheel, and associated with joy, creativity and compassion – lovely, positive things. But if I said ‘orange make-up’, you would be forgiven for hesitating. Too harsh, too 1970s (but not in a good way), too much? However, consider orange in its infinite varieties: apricot, tangerine, copper, terracotta, coral, persimmon and rust, just for starters, with myriad shades in between. Factor in the textures that modern make-up brands gift us – glosses, sheer washes, metallics, mattes, dews – and suddenly orange has possibilities. ‘It’s a colour that complements any skin tone and any eye colour, but looks especially good when you’re sun-kissed,’ says Neil Young, Givenchy UK beauty ambassador. ‘Making it modern is about texture and placement and playing with intensities and volume. However you choose to make a colour statement, I recommend that it reads as 60% of your make-up, with the other 40% pared down. So, if you wear a bright orange lip, for example, that’s your 60% and the other 40% of your make-up could be a little bronzer and mascara.’
Balance is key, yet orange is also about having fun, says make-up artist Anita Keeling, who created the looks on these pages. It’s more unexpected than summer’s stalwart pinks, but it’s equally as wearable. Here’s how…
SATURATED FLUSH
For a pretty ‘caught by the sun’ glow, first reach for an apricot-toned illuminator, says Young (I like Bourjois serum-textured Healthy Mix Glow Primer in Vitamined Apricot, £9.99), and apply over the cheeks. Thanks to its light-reflective particles, this will give the skin some architecture and lend a more radiant
FILL YOUR MAKE-UP BAG WITH SUMMER’S HAPPIEST SHADE, SAYS RED’S EVE CAMERON styling JODIE DUNWORTH
finish to any cream or powder blusher (blush on its own doesn’t add much shape or contour to the face). Now take the blusher over the centre of the cheeks and lightly over the nose. The idea is to look sun-flushed, which is why shades such as watermelon and terracotta work well. If you’re fair, go peachier. The darker skinned you are, the brighter or deeper a colour you can take. With sun-kissed cheeks, keep make-up on eyes and lips pared down. The look needs nothing more than a single coat of mascara, eyebrows brushed through, perhaps enhanced with a little pencil, and the lightest dab of lip balm. Orange nail polish optional.
ORANGE IS THE NEW RED
A bold, matte orange lip set off by luminous, lightly bronzed skin is a summery twist on the perennially chic red-lipsticked-bare-faced-frenchgirl look. To bring subtle warmth and a natural-looking sheen to the skin, Keeling advises blending a few drops of Burberry Fresh Glow Luminous Fluid Base in Nude Radiance, £34, with tinted moisturiser. Once applied, use fingertips to dot a little more of the featherweight Fresh Glow fluid on cheekbones, over eyelids and down the centre of the nose for light-bouncing highlights (keep not-so-pretty shine away from the sides of the nose, chin and forehead with blotting paper or a light dusting of translucent powder). Using a large round brush, blend a liquid bronzer, such as Nars Liquid Bronzer in Laguna, £28, under the cheekbones to create a subtle contour. Mascara on the upper lashes only adds definition without being distracting. With skin and eyes enhanced, all that’s left is to slick on a bright lip. Matte lipstick, more than any other texture, requires lips to be in peak condition (scrub gently and be generous with lip balm for ongoing maintenance), but to cheat a smoother surface, a primer is a worthwhile step. MAC’S Prep + Prime Lip, £14, is a classic buy, filling in lip lines as well as delivering a matte layer that lip colour can glide over and grip.
‘IT’S A COLOUR THAT COMPLEMENTS ANY SKIN TONE’
THE COLOUR WASH
Painterly eyeshadow washes can be as bold or as soft as you want, says Young. ‘Softer shades are always easier on fairer skin, though the contrast of something punchier looks fabulous; it all depends on your comfort zone.’ A holiday feels like the right time to experiment, I say. Be fearless. Keeling took a vivid tangerine shade high up over the socket line and towards the brows for a strong look that makes eye colour pop (this placement also makes small eyes look wider), but if that feels too edgy, keep colour to the lids only. Finish with a few coats of black mascara and a red stain on the lips to ensure the look is tonal. Skip the blusher because it fights with the eyes and lips.
A FLASH OF EYELINER
More surprising than jewel tones, orange ticks the playful box when it comes to eyeliner. It’s at its most wearable and grown-up when it’s shot with a little gold or a soft pearl, which dance with light on the curved surface of the lid. It’s more forgiving to apply than an opaque liner, too. You can draw straight on to a bare lid, but it’s better to anchor it and create depth and a frame for the eyes by first stippling a waterproof black eyeliner between the upper lashes. Throw in some extra sparkle too, says Keeling, who used a creamy shadow in a complementary copper tone over the lids before pencilling a simple, casual line. Mascara? Always. It might look cool on the catwalk to pair naked lashes with coloured liner, but IRL it looks unfinished without a few coats. A nude lip colour, pressed on with fingers, keeps attention focused on the eyes.
GLOSS OVER IT
There’s an ease and freshness to a gleamy, wet-look lid. But be warned: gloss won’t stay in place for long; it tends to migrate to the crease of the eye however you apply it – and touch-ups are to be expected. The least fussy approach to creating a subtle, shiny lid is to use lip gloss, dabbed on imprecisely with a finger. To ramp the colour up a notch, a purpose-made dewy lid tint, such as Surratt Lid Lacquer in Shu Iro, £34, delivers. For a stronger, longer-lasting look, it’s a two-step process, which means first applying a liquid, gel or cream formula eyeshadow over the lid and into the socket line, then applying a clear or tinted gloss over it. Here, Keeling layered 3INA The Eye Gloss in 502, £12.95, over MAC Chromaline Gel in Genuine Orange, £17. A high-shine lip pulls the look together when it’s balanced with matte skin.