Good.
Thought so.
My pick for years has been Ginger Fawn from Tom Ford's Private Colour Collection, and when I say private, I mean he keeps them in his home, locked up, and only if you say the magic password ("Gwyneth loves kale") do you get access.
But that's all over now. That shade was discontinued, as was the whole Private Collection. (I have a special knack for making great lip products I love tip-toe off to cosmetic heaven; be sure to never recommend me your most cherished lipstick shade.) Tom kicked all the privacy, and the (sexy, Dynasty-style) gold and white packaging, and went sleek ebony and gold casing for his lipsticks, now just called Lip Color.
Of course, they are just as less exquisite. And there are more shades. And they look incredible when pulled out of a handbag to be re-applied.
The replacement orange shade is Wild Ginger, and is it glorious. Sold out for ages, but is just back in stock. (From a handful of David Jones stores, $65.) A vibrant, exciting, POP of reddy-orange, (good if you aren't ready for pure orange) it instantly peps up my face, makes any bronzer or tan I happen to be definitely wearing sing, and makes my teeth and eyes beam. I feel awake, alive, polished. It applies like a dream, all smooth and creamy, and I don't get cracks and creases.
Here's mine, all pretty and posh before I mashed it on to my kisser.
And after, with a purple t-shirt which is not an accident because I highly rate orange and purple together.
A word on orange lip colour: I firmly believe that any skin tone/age can wear it. The very pale, the very dark, the very teenagey, the aged and elegant – all of us, all of us!
So try it, why don't you. Go on. It washes off.
Unfortunately, cheaper brands are a bit behind on the orange and coral wagon for some reason. They tend to stick to high-selling shades like pinks, nudes and red. And when they do attempt orange, they always dump shimmer in there, or make it too pink or bronze, or too sparkly.
That said, L'Oreal Colour Riche Lipstick inVolcanic is pretty excellent, and Revlon's Orange Flip is a bloody corker, and it's cheap and has been around since your granny was smoking in fast cars and kissing bad boys. (Also from Revlon is their new ColorStay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Cruise Collection, which I will go into detail about next week, and which is a terrific soft coral-orange shade.)
MACs Vegas Volt and Morange are both very popular (a bit more pure orange than red-orange like Wild Ginger), as is Bobbi Brown's Jenna, which is a nice matte version. And of course one N. Perdis' Hara lipstick is a much-loved and cult (very) bright orange.
But if you're feeling spendy-luxe-I-deserve-a-treaty, and I very much encourage dames owning one or two Special Lipsticks to flash around like posers given the chance, give Wild Ginger a nod.
Ms Bosworth would want it that way.
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