Colour theme: Radiant Orchid

OMG I'm so late to the party with this colour themed post - we are now halfway through 2014! -  but I had to do it because Pantone's colour of the year Radiant Orchid is one of my favourites.  Do I love "...an enchanting harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones"? Yes I do! It turns out I have quite a lot of it too so I'm opening up my makeup wardrobe.  I'm doing this post purely for fun as playing with colour always cheers me up and if you're a lover of purple-fuchsia-pinks hopefully you'll enjoy this little colour post as well.

When I say I have a lot of Radiant Orchid-esque makeup in my collection it makes perfect sense in the context of my tastes because I've loved purple and purple toned pink for a long time and my eye is always drawn to it when I'm out perusing makeup counters. Of course it doesn't hurt that these makeup shades are flattering to my complexion and eye colour so I have something in just about every category...


Lips

From top left of picture and swatched in the same order:

 

Maybelline Color Whisper (Mad For Magenta) - This sheer lip colour veers more to fuchsia but wears very easily for day because of its sheer sheen.  I bought this when the range was initially released and only wore it ONCE or maybe twice?! I have no particular reason why.  I think I'd better swipe some on this weekend!

 

MAC Amplified (Up The Amp) - I love this highly pigmented vibrant cool toned pink-purple.  It looks like it shouldn't work but somehow it just does. I always get compliments whenever I wear it because it's not your typical lipstick shade yet it's a flattering one.  I love MAC's Amplified formula too.

 

Revlon Super Lustrous (Berry Haute) - When I first bought this I thought I'd ended up with a dupe for Up The Amp!  As you can see above it does come reasonably close but it's just a little warmer and rosier in the pink undertones. If you want to try these kinds of lipstick shades but feel that Up The Amp is just a little too cool toned for you, this creamy lipstick from Revlon is a good (and more affordable) alternative to go for.

 

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids (Hot Plum) - This striking fuchsia-purple is a killer lipstick! The formula is super-pigmented but lightweight and the colour is just impossible to ignore - if you want to make a big lipstick statement this is how you do it!  I save this shade for those kinds of days.  Damn I need more of those kinds of days because I honestly think this is one beautiful lipstick... 



Nails

Left to right and swatched in the same order:

 

China Glaze (Fly) - Shimmery blue toned magenta and beautiful coverage in two coats.  Click here for nail swatches.

 

Revlon (Plum Seduction) - The nail wheel swatch makes this look straight up hot pink but let the shade name Plum Seduction guide you as this is definitely a plummy fuchsia cream.  I'm putting this one high on my list of polishes to wear this winter.  Winter blues be gone!

 

Canmake Colorful Nails (41 Candy Berry) -  Pink-purple sprinkled with holographic micro-glitter.  Click here for nail swatches and a full review of this Japanese polish.

 

Ulta3 (Purple Passion) - I've had this polish sitting in my collection a long time and was a bit surprised at how sheer this polish is as it took three coats to get the rather patchy coverage on the nail wheel.  The colour's best described as a high shimmer purple with pink highlights.  

Eyes

A few of these colours are more on the paler, lilac end of the colour wheel but I decided to keep them in because they're still pink-purple hybrids and work well with the other shades!

Clockwise from top left:

 

Essence Shimmer Effect (56 Hyped Up) - As you can tell from the picture above I've not worn this eye shadow!  It got buried in the eye shadow drawer *cough* and only surfaced when I went on my Radiant Orchid hunt.  Of course it just so happens to be the truest Radiant Orchid eye shadow in my collection.  Right. Enough said about that.  Hyped Up is purple with strong pink undertones and reminds me of the colour combinations I used to wear when I was a teenager - still I think this could work well as a transition shade.
 

Inglot Pearl Mono (441) - This soft pearl, almost duochrome pink-purple is definitely in the Radiant Orchid family. I like to wear this buttery eyeshadow as a crease shade paired with...

Inglot Pearl Mono (440) - This is the palest pick of the bunch by far and more of a complimentary shade in the colour family.  You can still see it's not a pink nor a purple per se but sits the fence between them so I've included it as a purple-pink which I like to wear as an inner corner highlight or all over the lid.  As with all Inglot eye shadows in my teeny collection (I have one quad) this is very buttery and smooth - almost too buttery because these shadows are very fragile and prone to crumbling and gouging at the slightest touch.

MAC Satin (Parfait Amour) - I bought this a few years ago when I was looking for a purple with cool undertones because I just had to have it and then it pretty much sat around barely used.  Parfait Amour is very pretty with its slight pink duochrome although - potential deal-breaker - it can look like a bruise if not properly applied.  I'm going to have to get this out and do some serious experimenting to see how to make it work for me.

Essence Shimmer Effect (16 Go Glam) - I've worn this lovely buttery satin eye shadow a few times because it sets off the green in my eyes beautifully.  This pink-purple wears as lilac on the skin so it's a gorgeous pastel option washed over the lids or applied in the inner corners.
 

Swatched left to right on unprimed skin:
Inglot 441, Inglot 440, Essence Hyped Up, Essence Go Glam, MAC Parfait Amour



Cheeks

 

NYX Mosaic Powder (Plummy) - Not strictly Radiant Orchid but the closest I could find in my blush collection!  The five shades in this cheek palette swirl together to give a radiant, glowing flush as swatched below:

So now you can see I do love this colour just a little bit - regardless of whether it was going to be colour of the year or not!

Until next time