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Rant & Rave: Coral Lipstick

Tell us what you love and hate about...

Coral Lipstick

All love! The only “rant” I have is that I tend to prefer a little pink in my coral so more orange-coral and red-coral doesn’t get as excited.

— Christine

32 Comments

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Kate Avatar

My only issue with coral lipstick is that the range of shades that use the term “coral” is so broad that it’s almost meaningless. (I have the same issue with “mauve” and “plum”.) Everything from peach to hot pink to warm red seems to qualify. But there are are a lot of lovely options out there.

Seraphine Avatar

I hate coral lipsticks because I can’t find a single one that looks good on me!!! It’s one of the two types of shades that I’ve given up on (the other is “greige”).

I’m ok with bright red-oranges, like MAC’s Lady Danger, but anything closer to coral looks terrible on me. I wish it weren’t so.

Jaime Avatar

I love coral lipstick! I do find that every company seems to have a different interpretation of “coral” so some lean more pink or more red or more orange. That said, I love every iteration of coral so I can’t complain. 🙂

Joyce Avatar

Same! Also, I don’t like when they have too much white in the base (e.g., MAC Ever Hip). I like them pretty shimmery and glossy, too! If satin or matte, then I prefer them quite bright ?

Rachel R. Avatar

I love corals of all types. For lips, red-leaning corals are my favorites. I think a bright coral lip can really bring my face to life.

Rants are few: It can be more difficult to find red-leaning corals than the other shades. There is such a wide-range of what is “coral” — because it can be pink-, orange-, or red-leaning — that it can be confusing and hard to define.

Mariella Avatar

Coral isn’t my shade – it always looks very artificial and “clashy” on me. So I really hate it when it’s decreed as “this Spring’s hot colour” and almost every Spring or Summer collection is full of coral lipsticks and glosses and there’s very little new for me to choose from since cool toned pinks, berries and reds get shoved right off the stage!

Nancy T Avatar

Just LOVE! Coral is one of those shades that I believe almost everyone could find a hue that works on them!
I personally love a rosy-coral or a red-coral. But I actually wear them all. From the old UD Revolution formula of Streak with it’s peachy-pink coral shade up into the vivid, almost neon red-coral LE MAC La Vie En Rouge! Still have Rose Dressing on my WL, too!

HATE? What is there to “Hate” about it?!?

Miska Avatar

Love em all from sheer to bold. Never met a coral lippy that I didn’t like. I feel like it wakes up my complexion and instantly brightens my face. I’m fair with dark hair…no idea about my undertones though…still trying to figure that one out cause I can pull off both warm and cool colors so who knows, lol. Oh undertones you are the bain of my existance!

CeeBee Avatar

LOVE coral lipsticks! I like a nice pinky or rosey coral or a really vivid red coral (Guerlain Bal de Mai still has a special place in my heart!) – they all look faboosh with gold eyeshadow!

The only ones I can’t wear are really light pastel corals or anything neon, but eh.

Deborah S. Avatar

Rant: Coral’s with white bases are very hard for me to pull off. They make my face look dead, but then that is the case with a lot of white based shades. I also cannot wear orangey based corals.
Rave: I do love a reddish or pinkish coral. My lips are pigmented so I need shades of coral that are deep and opaque. I know it is completely opposite of how and when we should wear coral but I like using a deeper coral in the winter time. I think it lightens my face and gives me a more cheerful, fresh appearance during the long, dark days of winter.

Anne Avatar

Corals are probably the shade that best suit me aside from plums, so I don’t have much to rant about. I’m not a fan of the super-pale ones as I look like something out of The Walking Dead with those, but that’s just because they don’t suit me personally.

Blue Avatar

I love bright coral in theory, but it doesn’t do me any favors. I can pull off a coral-pink (VG Miley) or a coral-red (Le Vie En Rouge, Burmese Kiss), but true corals never look right and the lighter they are the worse they look.

Nichole Avatar

I need red in my coral. Anything else doesn’t look good at all. Peachy/light pink/light orange – corals look horrible. I have a handful of corals collecting dust.

kjh Avatar

No corals. No. Oranges, yes, corals no. Especially pinky corals. For lips anyway. I detect pinks in things and deselect them. Something just does not work. That’s why I adore bite clementine, and chose it over blood orange and Nars timanfaya. The latter two lean coral. Orange corals don’t look too bad. Red corals look a tad worse. Pink corals are an absolute no go. They look far more garish than shades intended to be garish. I do admire many that I cannot wear. It’s the same with clothes. Peaches are fair, oranges are a go, and corals are completely unflattering. Love to rule out a passel of corals and save the money!

Silvia Avatar

Love corals especially on cheeks and lips. It has to be a cool bright pink or red, berry mixed into it not brownish or it’ll drag my face all muddy. Love it in Summer but anytime too. I actually find hot or vivid pinks make my teeth more yellow than coral. I wouldn’t mind it mixed with a golden bronze as eyeshadow either.

MacKenzie G. Avatar

I can’t seem to find a shade that looks good on me, and I don’t typically do brights on the lips very well. Also, while coral (in all its many variations) is pretty, the color never really catches my eye like a lot of other colors do. But, I can appreciate a good coral lip on someone else!

Elizabeth Avatar

I have fair pinkish skin, so a really bold coral looks pretty overpowering on me, but a pale coral looks nice. I think coral is flattering when you follow this rule of thumb. The trend is for everybody to try to rock a red-orange, bold coral, and it just does not suit some people except as an alternative look, imo. I do agree that what’s called “coral” describes such a broad range of colors, but really it’s just the same color at different levels of intensity – red/orange to pink/peach.

Bonnie Avatar

When I think of coral lipstick, I think of Revlon Moondrops, which at the store where I work is on the bottom row, 7 shades of awful corals. I don’t think anyone under 65 has ever asked for or bought one in the 6 years I’ve been there. I know there are some more modern versions, but my initial impression is that it’s a very dated look.

Ren Avatar

Christine, I really dislike coral anything, be it lipstick, blush, and ugh, eye shadow. I don’t think it flatters a living soul. Unless one has Chicklet white teeth it will cast a dingy effect on teeth. It also has a rep. as being only for elderly women. Now I’m one of those gals who feel that women should wear what they like. If an 80 yr old wants to wear shimmer, go for it!! But there is something so boring, staid and unattractive about coral shades. Of course, JMO.

Chris Avatar

Aah.. my first makeup love (an obvious choice with black hair and easily tanned medium skin). Many years ago when I discovered Costa Chic by Mac and played with coral blushes and that gorgeous coral Bobbi Brown shimmerbrick.

I own so many now, but mostly reach for the ones that have become “classics” for me. Costa Chic for its awesome frost, Tropic Tonic as the best matte, that Pot for cheeks and lips by Bobbi Brown (“Calypso”).

I am not as fixated on corals in summer as I used to be. But still after many summers of using them, nothing creates that summer feeling like a coral lip.

I have nothing but love for them!

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