Embracing Winter Lips

(Doesn't that sound romantic?)

From talking and listening to Winter women, particularly on the 12 Blueprints Facebook page, I've learned that deep, vivid Winter colors can take some getting used to.

It can be difficult for a newly identified Winter to see past the intensity of the color in a swatchbook and imagine how normal it will look on a Winter face.  Even seeing the color on the lip, it can be hard for a Winter woman to take in how the color is balancing the rest of the face.

Let's start with True (Cool) Winters.

The beauty industry has trained us to believe that a natural lip will necessarily be a medium peachy-beige color. Hence all the tubes of this shade that are called Nude Something.

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A True Winter might believe such a color is the only hue that can create a natural look. Nude = natural, right?

Not in your case, True Winters. On a woman who needs both coolness and depth, this color looks anything but natural.

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What will read as natural on you is a color you might not expect:

You know those cool, fairly bright, medium pinks in your swatchbook? The ones that look like Barbie cars? They look absolutely normal on a True Winter face.

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Cool Winters Sarah Silverman, Mary Louise Parker & Shalom Harlow

Match the swatch; don't be afraid. In the tube it may seem very, very pink, but on your lip it will be natural.

Christina Ricci

Doesn't this look loads more normal?

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True Winter, when you see a shade that's supposedly "nude" or "flesh-toned," stay away from it. That's not your natural look.

(Probably it's True (Warm) Autumn's. Seems like all their best lippies are called Creamy Nude, Rosy Nude, Nude in the Afternoon, Nude at Breakfast, etc. A very sexy season, apparently.)

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Now, Dark (Deep) Winter... you are a Winter of another sort altogether.  A light lip won't cut it for you.

Consider this particular light, cool pink.
It might look natural on a Light Summer:

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Cate Blanchett

But on you, this lip is utterly unnatural:

With a lip like this, you may feel like you're playing it safe, but the opposite is true. You're standing out... for all the wrong reasons.  

You'll look healthier, happier and more normal in a deep, dark shade that the other seasons are afraid of. Like this one.

Don't fear the color! It's absolutely right for you.

See?

Penelope Cruz

Notice the balance.  This lip is miles more natural and less made-up than the one above.

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Readjust your eye and your mind to understand that this deep wine is a safe color for you. Puny, pale pink is not.

Consider this more dramatic Dark Winter look. It's still beautifully balanced, not overwhelming.

Jennifer Hudson.

In a swatch, this color may be scary.

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But you don't need to fear it, Dark Winter. No matter what you think you see when you look in the mirror, it absolutely does not look like this on you:

Don't get freaked out by the word "dark." Your colors are only dark compared to the other seasons'.

On you, they're perfectly balanced.

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Question: Who could possibly look balanced in a hot pink lip?

Well, not True (Warm) Spring, that's for sure.

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And not True Autumn.






Give up?

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Bright Winter, that's who!   :-)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

All right, you probably guessed that one.
I just get  silly when I look at Bright Winters. I heart them.
They make me believe in magic. Sort of like unicorns.

Bright Winter, if this post is for anyone, it's for you.
Own your colors. They're perfect on you. Don't listen to the voice in your head that says they look crazy. They don't.

You know what looks crazy on you, Bright Winter? This:

Sophie Ellis-Bextor, sadly.

No! Don't do it!

Don't even think about leaving the house in this wishy-washy lip, telling yourself that since it's called Nude Something it will let you fade into the background.

If anything, it draws attention to you - negative attention - because it looks so totally wrong.

Here is Sophie Ellis-Bextor yet again, alongside Alek Wek. Both of them look miraculously natural in the same "crazy" Bright Winter lip color.

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This season makes me feel playful, so I edged the graphic with other fantastic BW lip options. All of them will look awesome and absolutely right on you, Bright Winter.

(BTW, aren't these two models a great example of how two people with very different coloring can have the same undertone - i.e., season  -  and how the same palette can work beautifully for both? Google them and you'll see: their best colors are the same. Wild.)

Bright Winter, embrace the gift that is your magical palette. The magic lies in the fact that the outrageous colors make you look more normal than wishy-washy colors ever could.

Leave the wishy-washy colors to Soft Autumn, who's glorious in them.

Gloriously Soft Autumn Mischa Barton.

 

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(Not sure which Winter you are? Try draping yourself affordably at home.)