My name’s Sabine Wiesel and I’m a coral-lipstick-aholic. And I say that out loud and proud. If I was in therapy for it, the therapist would try and make me pin-point when my addiction started. I know exactly where and when it did. Five years ago, in the ladies’ bathroom of a bar at after-work drinks, I was reapplying my favourite new shade in the mirror, when the person at the sink next to me turned and said ‘I love that lipstick on you, can I ask where it’s from?’ That’s all it took, a confidence-boosting complement started my love for the pinky-orange shade.
It wasn’t until I was packing for a girl’s trip to Ibiza when I realised I had a problem. I found myself sitting on the edge of my bed smudging bullets onto my hand and struggling to cut fifteen lipsticks down to a respectable holiday-packing of two. I caught sight of the clock and realised that I’d been sitting there looking at the different shades for way over an hour. Yes, I know how ridiculous that sounds. Just like the classic moment in the Devil Wears Prada, when two identical turquoise belts are held up and the fashion editor says, ‘it’s a tough call, they’re so different,’ which I’ve laughed at many times.
Let me justify the dilemma I had. You see coral may be a pinkish shade of orange to some, but to me it’s many different shades that sit between the colour spectrum of pink and orange – and lets not even get into textures. I think of Farah Fawcett in the 1970s wearing her dreamy peachy-pinks to Kendal Jenner’s signature orange-red she’s always seen in. So back to my holiday-packing, it took a while but I got the fifteen bullets down to a respectable four.
Coral is a suit all shade of lippy, which begs the question why is it always a spring/summer trend. Is it written in some out-dated beauty rule book that coral is only allowed to be seen in when its warmer outside. I wear coral in the autumn/winter too, because it simply makes me feel good – it brings a punchy pop of colour to the cold, darker months and adds warmth to my pale complexion. And finally it looks like someone agrees with me, as I spotted it on the catwalks this season.
So dig out your favourite pink-orange hue now, and be like Farrah and me. Rock it with the 1970s fashion on the high street, or use it to add some colour into your darker winter wardrobe. And the next time you’re touching up your make-up in a public bathroom, give the person next to you a complement. It will make their day!
Corals pictured (left to right);
Guerlain Kiss Kiss Crème Lipstick in Hot Coral, £27.50
Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort Oil in Tangerine, £19
Chanel Rouge Allure Velvet Luminous Matte Lip Colour in La Secrete, £31
Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss in Nectar, £28
