The wannabe sister of red has been trying to show up the quintessential color of classy and Christmas for as long as we can all remember, being dubbed only ‘secondary’ to the pertinent one-third of the ‘primary’ colors. With numerous failed attempts to insert herself into popular culture and conversation, (i.e. as the pitiful punch line to a joke; the one word no one can rhyme with; the struggle to be the preferred flavor of Starbursts and Skittles), the washed-out socialite is now trying once again to make a name for herself, but this time, on the runway.
During this September’s New York Fashion Week, orange was seen throughout many designers’ collections as the new bold lip color used to brighten up the not-so-popular neutral crowd; going head-to-head, especially with black and white. As the outbreak star in the collections of Prabal Gurung, Creatures of the Wild, Rag & Bone, and Marissa Webb, it appears orange may have found her in. The final test, however, is establishing a following with the elite fashionistas of society- beginning with of course, those of us at the University of Pittsburgh. So with the legendary reputation of fall fashion on the line, featured below are this season’s top looks to determine whether or not orange made the cut, or if she should just stick to jumpsuits and pumpkins…
For fair-skinned beauties, it seems that the orange lip is best paired with an equally bold eye and barely-there blush. Balance out the autumn color-palette with shimmering brown eye shadow like Kirsten Dunst, or create a striking contrast with a dramatic black liner like Coco Rocha.
Notice the orange lip has a slight pink tone to it, to complement their porcelain white skin.
Test & Try: MAC Cosmetics’ Limited Edition Lipstick in ‘Tart & Trendy.’
Girls with golden-olive skin keep orange as the center of attention by maintaining a more muted face of flawless skin and light mascara: an au-naturale look.
These days, sun-kissed stunners like Jessica Alba and Emmy Rossum are wearing the red-orange statement shade.
Test & Try: Maybelline’s Color-Sensational Vivids in ‘Vibrant Mandarin.’
Last but not least, for the deep brown bombshells, a lightly faded lip does the trick. Jennifer Hudson ties her look together with dark navy liner and dark brown shadow, while Kat Graham keeps things simple by accenting her eyes with thick brown liner and black mascara.
These two confidently and successfully went for the matted peach-orange lip.
Test & Try: Revlon’s Super Lustrous Lipstick in ‘Kiss Me Coral.’
Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that red’s lost her touch, but orange has clearly picked up some speed. Needless to say, the orange lip color does not seem to be the end of fall fashion as we know it. Instead, a comeback has been set in motion, and it looks like orange may finally be climbing the social ladder.