Wear What When

Lip Color of the Month: Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Candeur

A soft and subtle shade for the long-awaited arrival of spring.

Posted by: Amanda Zurita on May 11, 2012 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

See if you don’t want to tiptoe through some tulips in this Chanel shade.

Ah, May. It finally feels like it’s time for the sandals and flowy skirts we’ve been stockpiling. There is something very pink about this month—just ask Anna Wintour who required all her Vogue editors to don the color at the May 7 Met Gala.

Maybe it’s the blooming flowers, maybe it’s the sweetness and nostalgia of Mother’s Day. Who knows. But Chanel’s Rouge Coco Shine in Candeur (French for innocent) fits right into this fresh and delicate season.

More like a luxe tinted lip balm than a lipstick, we found that the color glides on, leaving a glossy finish that isn’t at all sticky. Chanel states that the Coco Shine line has a unique Hydratendre complex (what?) that moisturizes and softens your pout; all we know is that it did leave our lips feeling particularly smooth.

This ultrafeminine peachy pink hints at shimmer; pair it with an asymmetrical maxi skirt and soft updo for a romantic look, or let the shade balance the bold quality of spring’s patterned pants.

Find May’s best shade for $33 at Chanel’s beauty counter at Nordstrom, then wait for that flouncing-through-a-field-of-tulips feeling to set in.

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Tags: Health and Beauty Road Test, Lip Color of the Month

Lip Color of the Month: Bite Beauty’s Bramble

The color to wear after a season of red and before a few months of brights.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Mar 23, 2012 at 09:00AM 0 Comments

Bite Beauty’s lip rouge. All their products are inside black matte packaging that feels like some futuristic alloy of resin and silk.

One of my favorite local shopkeepers said it best, “March is a really &*$#ing weird month.”

Especially around here. You don’t know whether you should hope for spring or just lump the slow, quiet burn of winter—and how to dress? I don’t even want to go there, and I’m a professional.

But something about Bite Beauty’s high pigment matte pencil in Bramble feels really, really right for this in-between season. (And let’s not kid ourselves; the March-ness of March goes right into April, the way the winter-ness of winter lasts well into spring.)

The color is deep, and kind of moody, but not in a maudlin way. It’s not red, it’s definitely not wine, and it’s not magenta either. The name suggests a berry tone, but it’d have to be the kind of berry you’d make a dangerous liqueur with. It’s a little too alluring for a humble pie.

Bramble on.

The bruised jewel shade looks right against pale skin, and it goes well with the grays, beiges, and navys that are waiting patiently for the whites, lime greens, and funky neon oranges to come out and play. The thick tip means it’s more like a lip color Sharpie than a pencil—read: it goes on like a dream—and boy does it stay put.

But Bite’s Bramble is more than its beauty. I’m not sure we can make too much of the fact that its makers count resveratrol and other healthy stuff among the ingredients. I just don’t know how many free radicals you’re actually fighting with this stuff on your lips, but really, who cares? I think it’s enough to say that the red wine component and the superfruits (acai, pomegranate, et al.) definitely can’t hurt. No really, they can’t. Natural and food-grade ingredients are, as Bite likes to say, “good enough to eat.” Lick your lips to that.

The company also offers kisser color in traditional sticks, in rouge pots, and in other delivery methods; and sure, they have nudes and corals, too. Find them at your favorite Sephora.

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Tags: Health and Beauty Road Test, Lip Color of the Month

Lip Color of the Month: Sephora Collection

New series! Our February shade is Sephora’s Always Red, a dramatic and romantic hue for an equally amorous month.

Posted by: Amanda Zurita on Feb 03, 2012 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Sephora Collection’s cream lip stain in Always Red goes on glossy and dries to a flawless matte finish. Smack!

A fiery, vibrant red pout is perfect for the passion-filled month of February. Sephora Collection’s cream lip stain in Always Red is a classic matte-red hue that has it all: it’s vivid, velvety, and effortlessly long-lasting.

Attempting to channel our inner-Gwen Stefani, we first picked up a tube of Always Red after seeing dramatic pops of the color on last month’s red carpets, and we’re finding it adds just the right touch of studied glam to the coming season’s bright brights and glossy neons.

Unlike many stains, Sephora’s is ultra pigmented and delivers bold high-coverage color without drying your lips. It goes on like a gloss but dries into a smooth and silky lightweight stain that lasts the entire day and stays put, ideal for showering your Valentine with kisses.

Pick up this punch of lip color at one of the four Seattle-area Sephora stores or online. It’ll only put a $12 dent in your V-Day budget. Oh, and we suggest applying the cream stain with a lip brush in order to achieve a flawless cupid’s bow.

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Tags: Lip Color of the Month