Day 20: The Pinks and Roses
by MUA's Cavewoman

Nine days out of ten, I'm reaching for a pink lippie. I know that cool-toned pinks and roses look best on me. I've tried to do browns, pinky-browns and nudes, but I always go back. But what's pink to me may not be pink to someone else. Sometimes I think we should all walk around with Pantone swatch books in our bags! I often see a lipstick described as cool-toned on makeupalley, and when I see it in person, I think to myself that I must be pretty bad in judging color tones. And although photos and color renditions may appear differently on different computer monitors, I'll take a stab at showing some of my favorite pinks and roses today



As I was gathering up my pink and rose lippies for these photos, I discovered something that surprised me. MAC makes some of my favorite pinks! Granted, many of them are Limited Editions from past "collections" -- Fafi, C-Shock, Naughty Nauticals -- this is the kind of lippie longing that has Ms. Blodorf and me hitting the local MAC counter on launch day for every new collection that is released. I've rediscovered Vivacious, a bright, shimmering blue-based pink that is a bit more wearable than the even bluer and brighter Fun N Sexy from the Fafi collection. Sweetie has been one of my favorite go-to colors for many years. I'm on my fourth one, and thank goodness this color is part of the regular always-available MAC line.

In terms of fabulous formulas, the Clarins Candy Pink is part of the newer Joli Rouge group of lipsticks. Creamy and well-pigmented, the formula is comfortable and lasts very well. A softer and more sheer pink that I love, a bit more on the mauvey side, is Awake Desert Rose. I had a brief but passionate love affair with all things Awake a few years ago. YSL Rouge Volupte is their newest formula, and maybe my favorite lippie formula of all time. Caress Pink is the most wearable of all of their pinks in this group. I wish I could wear the others. They're really bright.

Lancome has always had some fabulous roses and pinks. Last year, they released a group of six special rose lipsticks, all of them beautiful. The Fleur De Lis is a soft muted pink, and the Frambois a lively, brighter shade. Prescriptives does not offer too many pinks, but I've been wearing Cerise quite often lately. And the Shiseido Titian (a Dick Page creation!) is a bit warmer but the formula is luscious.

Chanel has long discontinued my favorite formula, the Infrarouge, and they have not offered any new cool-toned pinks in the Hydrabase in a long time. I love the scent of Chanel lipsticks, and Pretty is my favorite of all of them.
I remember clearly the day I bought Dior's Uncontrollable Pink, because Shawn, my buddy and trusted makeup artist, told me it was a perfect shade for me. I think of him fondly whenever I wear it! Recently I ran to a Dior counter to get another Rose Vision, which is the original Rouge Addict formula that's now being discontinued for the newer formula. The Rose Starlet is part of that new collection of Addict lipsticks.

Don't discount the discount and drugstores for fun pink lipstick shades! Some of the best can be found on the Revlon racks. Revlon is introducing Limited Edition collections quite often, and the Paparazzi Pink and Wink For Pink are from two of those collections from 2008. The Moon Drops lipsticks in the green tubes are old colors that just seem to linger around, probably being bought by the same women who bought them twenty years ago. I'm glad that Revlon hasn't pulled these pretties from their lineup. And at the Milani display, I could not resist a shade called Tiki Tiki Pink. It makes me happy just to say the name!

I know that my rose and pink lippie collection is big. But that won't stop me from stopping at the counters to peruse the displays for yet another pretty pink. You will find Ms. Blogdorf and me at the MAC counter on Thursday. I'll be buying the new Viva Glam.

It's pink!!