Recreating the Mystery Lipstick

Last Monday, I posted an image of a woman I found on Pinterest and called for an S.O.S. because I wanted to track her lipstick down. I didn't really expect to get "correct" answers, though I thought it would be fun to see everyone's suggestions.

If you've ever doubted that the Internet is a powerful resource, you only need to read the comments on that post to ascertain your faith. Thank you to every one of you who gave suggestions, obsessed with me, reposted the photo in various forums to widen the search, and miraculously, tracked down the woman. I don't know how or what kind of search terms you used, but I need your research skills!

Reader London Girl found a link that indicated the girl in the picture was a model, and another reader emailed me to let me know the exact show she walked in, with a link to the full makeup look. According to the Allure article, the model walked in the Dior S/S '12 show last fall. Unfortunately, the hue in question was not mentioned.

Not to be deterred, I set out to recreate the hue.

A few days after I saw that picture, I went to Bergdorf's and played around with some lipsticks. After trying a handful (and irritating a number of SAs with my nitpicking) to no avail, I went to the Le Métier de Beauté counter to mope. I looked at their lipstick selection and mentally started ticking the too reds and too pinks off. Nothing clicked, but at a whim I decided to try on Riviera. I knew from previous experience that it was a bright orange coral (the exact tone of Ken Downing's Kontagious Koral from last summer, except with sheerer texture) and it wouldn't fit, but I thought I might dab it on to my lips with a finger and see how it looked.

Riviera Color Core Moisture Stain Lipstick

This is applied directly from the tube

Therein lies the stroke of genius. Riviera did not fit the bill, but because I finger-dabbed it on, my original lip color (light pink) peeked through the coral and the resulting color was almost exactly what I was looking for. If the secret ingredient was a dash of pink, then all I needed to do was add it in, right? A smidgen of Mum's the Word later, and voila:

Riviera + Mum's the Word

It's not matte, but I think the shade is pretty close. Besides, it's now apparent that the model had been sporting that lip for some time (the picture looks like it was taken post-show), so chances are after four hours my lips would look exactly like hers, right?

Le Métier de Beauté Riviera Color Core Moisture Stain Lipstick retails for $32 and is available at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks Fifth Avenue. But the whole point of this post is to say that you guys are the awesomest and I heart all of you!