The fashion and beauty world are gaga over the orange trend for spring. However, orange is a bold color that not everyone is comfortable with trying. Most of the time we think of orange as a pumpkin or tangerine shade, something that is dark and vibrant. These shades look great in fashion but can seem overpowering for makeup. Don’t fear; let me show you a look that displays the subtle side of orange makeup for spring.
Subtle Orange Makeup for Spring
There are varying intensities of orange. Obviously the bold and dark oranges like pumpkin, neon orange and tangerine create a vibrant look that is easily noticed. Then there are the more subtle orange shades like melon, mango, soft papaya, light coral, apricot and true peach (not that Crayola pinkish hue). Unlike the darker and bold orange colors, these subtle orange hues look great and natural worn on the eyes, cheeks and lips.
Juicy Melon-Tinged Lips
For the look shown I chose to pair a neutral lip liner with a melon lip gloss. My picks were SuperSHOCK Liquid Lip Shine SPF 15 in Melon Madness, $8.00 and ULTRA LUXURY Lip Liner in Neutral, $6.00 at Avon.
Prep lips with a lip balm or lip moisturizer. Line and fill in lips with the neutral liner. Apply gloss.
Give Eyes a Coral Glow
A warm coral shade looks pretty on most skin tones. A sweep of coral on the lid with shades of copper and brown to add depth and a little smoke are great subtle ways to wear orange. In case you did not know copper and brown appear on the orange color chart as well. For my look I used TRUE COLOR Eyeshadow Quad in Sandy Corals, $9.00 and GLIMMERSTICKS Diamonds Eye Liner in Golden Diamond, $7.00 at Avon.
Prep eyes with concealer to diminish dark circles and use as a base for shadow. Sweep the coral shade (second shade from the top in the sandy Corals quad) from lid to just under the brow bone. Use the pale peach shade (first shade in eh quad) to highlight the brow bone. Line the lower lash line with a gold liner. Apply one coat of ExtraLasting Mascara in Black, $9.00 to upper lashes only. Lightly sweep darkest shadow shade (dark brown shade in the coral sands quad) over brows. Brush brows into shape.
Finish with an Orangey Blush for Warmth
I am not a blush wearer. However, from time to time it is needed. Since this look calls for a subtle citrus glow, cheek color is a must. For this look I used SEPHORA COLLECTION Harmony Trio Bronzer in Apricot, $16.00 at Sephora. This is a three shade blush featuring rose shimmer, orange-apricot shimmer and gold shimmer. Working with a striped tri-color compact like this can be tricky here are the steps I took to work around it:
Flake off a dusting of each shade on a clean sheet of printer paper. Make them about a half-inch apart. With a fluffy blush brush swirl and mix the rose and orange-apricot shimmer shades together and apply to cheek bones. Dust off any remaining powder on the brush. Swirl brush in gold shimmer and sweep across forehead, down nose and across chin to highlight. Optional Step: I don’t like a lot of shimmer on my face so I lightly dusted loose powder to mattify the blush and highlighter a bit. If you prefer the shimmer, leave this step out.
This featured look can be used on various skin tones without looking overly made up. However, for fair and dark skin tones you may need to modify the shade choices to make certain the look remains subtle. Now you can see that orange makeup does not always have to be bold and vibrant. It is also be pretty and subdued. The best part about this low-key orange makeup look is that it’s work-friendly. So get glowing ladies with subtle orange makeup for spring!
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