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Pantone 2019 colour of the year: 8 best makeup products in the shade Living Coral

Beautifully bright and fresh, there's plenty of ways to wear this surprisingly versatile shade

Monday 14 January 2019 18:27 GMT

It's time to move on from millennial pink, and make way for a new coral hue (The Independent)

2019’s Pantone Colour of the Year is Living Coral, a vibrant orange-pink with gold undertones that’s all set to lift and energise us this year. According to Pantone, Living Coral is a “nurturing colour”, and represents “our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits”. So if 2018 was a year of darkness and negativity, injecting some of this colour into every day life could change the mood of 2019.

And of course, beauty products are never far off the latest trend. Coral’s pink hue also means there’s no shortage of it in every kind of makeup – making it highly flattering and easy to take from day to night. We've searched high and low for the perfect products that are in shades similar to Living Coral, so you can start the year looking your best while rocking the trendiest colour on the market.

Lime Crime Venus XL Palette: £50, Selfridges

Although not strictly Living Coral, this huge palette is the piece de resistance when it comes to serving up coral-inspired looks. Filled with 18 shades that complement one another, the shade that stands out as closest to Living Coral is Flora, and there are a number of eyeshadow looks one can create around it using this palette. Our testers especially loved the high pigment and buttery formula that blends colours easily.

MAC Amplified Lipstick in Vegas Volt: £17.50, MAC Cosmetics

This super creamy formula glides on easily, delivering bold colour and big smiles for our testers. Full coverage means the colour is perfect with just a few swipes, and our testers especially loved the non-drying formula, which meant no cracks or dried lips after several hours. The shade, which is very close to Living Coral, complements a wide range of skin tones and is best worn to pep up your working day.

NARS Liquid Blush in Torrid: £23, Cult Beauty

The formula for this liquid blush is by far the most easy to blend and complements any skin colour. It blends out into a lovely, natural pink that doesn’t smear or fade as the day goes by. The best part? A tiny bit goes a really, really long way. However, our testers found that the pump tends to pump too much product out for one use, so be careful!

Essie Sunday Funday Pink Coral Shimmer Nail Polish: £7.99, Boots

This is the perfect nail polish to help transition from the glitz and glam of New Year’s parties into every day life. It’s a bright, positive colour with just a touch of glitter to make you smile, our tester’s found this the formula for this nail polish to be smooth and chip-resistant, even after doing the dishes multiple times a week.

Huda Beauty Coral Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette: £25, Selfridges

A small but punchy palette packed with highly pigmented matte and glittery colours. The bright coral shades are complemented by darker browns and warmer oranges, and our testers loved creating dozens of new looks using different combinations. The eyeshadow powder is packed tightly to minimise fallout on application, and our testers found that the colours lasted all night long.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Incadescent Electra: £35, SpaceNK

As a more subdued coral, this compact powder blush is a great way to introduce Living Coral into every day makeup looks if you’re nervous about the bold colour. It delivers a soft flush of colour that is subtle and effective, lifting even the wintriest of moods, and made our testers glow with its “Photoluminescent Technology”.

Too Faced Melted Latex Liquid Lipstick in ‘Rated R’: £19, Too Faced

Not for the faint-hearted, Too Faced’s lipstick-lip gloss combo packs some serious bright coral colour with a high-shine punch. Our testers found the formula quite sticky to start with when applying – it has the thick texture of honey – but it dries into a smooth slick of colour and keeps your lips moisturised. A word of warning: like most lip glosses, it’s best worn on a non-windy day.

Nude by Nature Defining Lip Pencil in Coral: £14, Debenhams

With loads of moisturising ingredients and anti-inflammatory properties, this luxurious-feeling lip pencil is definitely one to keep, especially in the winter time. It contains macadamia oil, mango seed oil, meadow foam seed oil, shea butter, and vitamin E and delivers a lovely soft coral colour that can be worn on its own or with a brighter lipstick layered on top.

The verdict: Best makeup products in the shade Living Coral

This cheerful shade is great fun to wear and versatile enough to look good on any skin tone. If you’re keen on creating a range of different makeup looks surrounding Living Coral, our top pick is Lime Crime’s Venus XL Eyeshadow Palette, which gives you the most bang for your buck. For a surge of colour that’s bound to draw a smile, MAC Amplified Lipstick in Vegas Volt is a firm favourite with our testers. Finally, keep the pale winter blues far, far away with NARS Liquid Blush in Torrid.