One girl's cabinet of curiosities.

March 3, 2011

Makeup Trends + OCC Lip Tar 2011 Color Mixing

By Meghan Did It

The color Honeysuckle (seen above) is slated to be the it cosmetics color for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2011 season.    It’s being described as a “playful and flirty rosy-magenta pink”  and is a definite attention getter.

I’m going to show you how you can mix this color at home like the pros do.   It’s really easy once you understand color theory.  I’m going to use MAC’s Lipmix’s and OCC Lip tars for two separate demonstrations.  Let’s see what we can come up with.

Warm version of Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle: Color Mixing Guide using MAC Lipmix’s

MAC Lip Mix Tubes

To begin I tested three potential Lipmix colors on the back of my hand to see which had the closest base to Honeysuckle:  Crimson, Red or Fuchsia.

(L to R) Crimson, Red, Fuchsia - blended with white

Crimson (on the far left) had that cool blue toned base I was after, so I went with that.   To mute the vibrancy of the honeysuckle a bit, so it looks more like the Pantone 18-2120 paint swatch, I mixed in a dot of brown to the white and then mixed this beige color in with the crimson.

(Note:  Some of the honeysuckle swatches shown  look more  peachy pink.   If you like this version of the color better, go with the middle color up above, called Red rather than the Crimson.)

Brown + Crimson + White

I used half this amount of Crimson

Caution: Don’t stir all your colors together immediately. Patience grasshopper.

During color mixing there should be a method to your madness.    Mix the brown and white together first and then slowly blend this new beige color into the red a little at a time, stopping to observe how the color is developing.  I ended up only using half the crimson show in the picture above.

Tip:  Use less Crimson if you want a softer daytime pink color, and add more if you want something bold and dramatic.

Here is the Honeysuckle color I came up with:

MAC Crimson based Lipmix - Honeysuckle

My camera had a hard time with this color - it came out too bright here

If your skin tones suits a more warm version of this color then mixing equal parts of the the red, white and a dot of brown will give you something looking like this instead:

MAC Red Lipmix based Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle: Color Mixing Guide using OCC Lip Tars

Lip Tars are another color mixing system I really like – and since they’re much easier for you to get your hands on I’d recommend you start with this brand.
I only have one red lip tar (more shades have been ordered) so I had to get creative with what was on hand.  Starting off, I tested three colors on the back of my hand to try to find one that had a base I could work with.

(L to R) NSFW, Demure and Hoochie

None of them were spot on,  but I chose Demure as it has a purple blue base which I felt I could build upon.

(L to Right) Demure, Petty Beige, Feathered and NSFW

Putting the Demure aside for a moment, I started by mixing a tiny bit of the Petty Beige in with the Feathered to get a light beige.  (see below)  A tiny bit is all that is required.

You just need a drop.

Now deposit a drop of the Demure color next to your newly mixed light beige.  Begin by dipping your brush into the Demure and slowly working more and more of this color into the light beige until you have created a nice vibrant pink:

Honeysuckle?

I love this pink color but it wasn’t quite “Honeysuckle” yet.  To fix this I dipped the edge of my brush into some  NSFW (a vibrant warm red) and stirred this into the mix.  It warmed everything up,  helping to elevate my color to Honeysuckle status.  See this difference it made below?

Honeysuckle!

Here’s what it looks like on:

Custom Blended Honeysuckle

I think the Honeysuckle color I created with the OCC lip tars is the best recreation of the color.  What do you think?

M.A.C. Lipmix ($14.50 USD) products can be purchased at M.A.C. pro stores or online:

www.maccosmetics.com – unfortunately MAC  no longer offer a large selection of Lipmix colors (I only see three on their website), but they do release them on special occasions as limited edition items.

OCC Lip tars ($13.00 USD) can be purchased online at:

www.occmakeup.com

Disclaimer:  All products featured were purchased with my own money.

Do you guys love this 2011 Honeysuckle shade or what?  If you’ve tried mixing this color at home, please tell me how it went.   If you’d like me to show you how to mix other colors,  mention your preference in the comments section below and I’ll see what I can do!
Enjoy.