The Autumnal Look That Convinced Me Orange Makeup Is Flattering
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My fall palette generally consists of one color: brown. Once September hits, I whip out my coffee-colored lipstick (eitherCharlotte Tilbury’s Birkin BrownorGlossier’s Gen G in Leo, a cocoa brown, for a more smudged effect) and my cinnamon eye shadow (I use myCanmake palettefor that) and immediately feel cozy and autumnal.
But recently, I was scrolling through my beauty-inspo Pinterest board (anyone else have one of those? Just me?) and found a photo I’d saved over a year ago. It was a photo of Lily Aldridge, with the prettiest makeup look: her skin was natural,freckly, and flushed, almost as if she’d been out in the sun, but the color story (her lids, her lipstick) was pure autumnal orange. It was, I decided, the perfect transitional glam: not quitesummer, not quite fall. The makeup artist behind this look, I quickly deduced from her tags, was Hung Vanngo, who also works with Emily Ratajkowski, Selena Gomez, and Bella Hadid.
I messaged Vanngo immediately, and didn’t hear back — which might have something to do with the fact that he has 1.5 million Instagram followers. And since I wanted this look on my face immediately, before the in-between season shifted fully to fall, I decided to get on it myself. I did some serious internet sleuthing, and got my arms very dirty with swatches, and within a couple of days, got very, very close, if I do say so myself, to Lily’s beautiful, ruddy, pumpkin flush. Below, the products I used to copycat Vanngo’s brilliant pre-Autumn glam.
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I generally tend to gravitate toward pink and red tones for my blushes (I find that they most closely mimic the color of my natural flush). And I’d never evenconsideredreaching for an orangey shade until I saw how natural and sunlit Lily’s tangerine-tinted cheeks looked. I believed that orange blushes were so far from mynaturalflush shade that they’d look garish and clown-like (in other words, a makeup disaster). I decided to go with anEm Cosmetics Serum Blushfor this experiment because the formula is so light, buildable, and blendable. This formula is amazing in any shade, but this warm coral blush got rid of my orange-based fears. When applied, this blush looks like a lovely, soft (and extremely natural-looking) sunset across the cheeks.
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NYX Professional Makeup Control Freak Eyebrow Gel
Hung made Lily’s brows look bushy and big, but not too sculpted, so I opted for aclear gelversus a tint. This, from NYX, is one of my all time favorites for just that. And it also happens to be the best dupe out there for the very-popularAnastasia Beverly Hills Brow Gel— it’s under $5, makes your brow hairs look super natural, and won’t move all day.
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I searched high and low to try to find exactly what color lipstick Lily was wearing in this photo: I triedFenty’s Poutsicle in Sunsnatched (a little too neony),Colourpop’s Check Please(not enough red undertones), andGlossier Play in Casino(so pretty, but too sheer and glossy for this look). I don’t think I got it100 percentright, but I did find this shade from Make Beauty that is practically identical. Before this little experiment, I felt the same way about orange lipstick that I did about orange blush: I thought it would look too bright and loud. But when I tried this nude-ish, tangerine-y orange shade on, I absolutely loved it. It’s very flattering and pretty, and I found it actually added some warmth into my complexion. And like all Makelipsticks(Scarlett and Radicchio are two of my all time favorites ever), this product has square edges, which makes for really easy application and lip lining.Thislipstickis a total treat and if you’re in the market for a pretty, autumnal color story, it’s theone.
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To replicate Lily’s clean yet natural looking base,I decided to first apply the Stretch Concealerfrom Glossier with myIt Cosmetics Heavenly Perfecting Brush #7. It’s on the lighter side (for more pimple-busting coverage, I’d of used myFenty Pro’Concealer) so it gives my skin this perfect, radiant tint, and just enough coverage to take the edge off of any dark marks or red patches. Iadorethis concealer.
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Vanngo wrote in the photo’s caption that he usedMarc Jacobs’ Coconut Dew Dropson Lily, which thrilled me, because I already own and love them. They give your skin the mostbeautiful blinding light-bulb effect. A lot of makeup-obsessives I know mix a few drops into their foundation or tintedmoisturizerto get an all-over gleam, but for this look I just tapped it along the high points of my face (cupids bow, cheek bones, brow bone, inner corner; you know the drill) until it seamlessly blended out. And that was it! I can’t wait to wear this look on picnic dates with my boyfriend, to weddings, or even to the office if I’m feeling extra cute. And I know for a fact it will look amazing with a big navy sweater when it gets colder.
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