“Marsala?! Really?! It’s nearly summer!” some of you may have thought when you read the title of this post. “That’s soooooooo last December!” But hey, accompany us on a little shopping trip to see what beautiful Marsala items you can buy today, and how to combine them for some nice, summery makeup looks!
We are still totally into that muted wine colour and after shopping our stashes in our last Marsala stores, we went to see what’s in store right now and what’s also totally suitable not only for a wintery make up look, but something that eases us into spring and ultimately summer.
All products we chose are perm and easily available both online and in-store at various retailers.
Marsala at MAC
Beginning with everybody’s introductory make up drug, Mac, we found some items that are perm (gasp!) in their impressive line up.
For lipsticks, have a look at Capricious (lustre finish) that is like a beginner Marsala shade. Wanna ease into the wine coloured look? Then Capricious is your colour. Its lustre finish makes sure that the colour is never overwhelming even for a makeup newbie or a neutrals loving girl, but the rosy plum colour with a smittering of golden sparkles gives off a whiff of Marsala nevertheless! Party Line, a plummy wine red Cremesheen, packs some more punch in a creamy, saturated formula.
Fancy a bit Marsala in your eye look? Both Sketch (Velvet) and Deep Damson (Matte, a pro shade) might be what you need. Sketch is a wine red with golden shimmers which make the colour lighter (and easy to blend). Deep Damson is a rich, red burgundy.
Fever is a matte blush that is described by Mac as a reddish burgundy. Sheered out it gets that slightly muted quality that Marsala as a trend colour is all about. It’s also fabulous to pair with really bright lipsticks in the same colour family to give your look some balance. Try it with a hot red-pink lipstick and see how it pulls your whole look together. Just remember to use it gently to avoid looking like a circus clown. Another blush option would be Stubborn from the Pro Longwear line, a ‘midtone rose plum’.
High- and low-end lipstick choices
Moving on to other high-end brands and a cornucopia of lipsticks that Astrid and I have splurged on lately: Burberry Rosewood and Guerlain KissKiss in Air Kiss (honorary mention goes to Laura Mercier Paint Wash Liquid lipstick in Rosewood that was a runner up for both of us but didn’t make the cut. This time. Don’t be sad, Rosewood!) Burberry’s Rosewood comes in a few incarnations. Astrid as a well known fan of matte and long lasting lipsticks got the Lip Velvet that reads as a great neutral with some oomph on her skintone.
I was really curious of Guerlain’s revamped KissKiss line they launched last year, and when I recognized that they offer a nice Marsala colour in Air Kiss (No. 304) I was quite eager to buy it. In terms of colour, it’s a bit cooler and redder than Mac’s Naked Paris, while the finish is somewhat similar to Mac’s lustres. It has some amount of fine glitter (I could detect some red and some blue in it, so let’s just call it multicolour), which can be felt if you press your lips together. It’s a quite light and creamy formula, so don’t expect any feats of longevity from it.
I like it and find it neither especially nourishing nor drying on my lips, but I bought another KissKiss lipstick that I vastly prefer because it ticks all my boxes (comfortable, shiny, leaves a light stain), which this doesn’t. It’s not bad, but I don’t love it.
A very cheap – and for me a bit controversial – choice is Makeup Revolution LipHug in To get lucky. I love Mac’s Huggable lipsticks, which were sadly LE, so when I read about the LipHugs my ears perked up and I had to order some to see if they’re comparable. Well, leaving the whole topic of make up companies that don’t do anything than copy high-end brands aside, I can say yes, they are comparable. A bit. And To get lucky is a good colour choice for a Marsala lipstick – a somewhat muted, plummy wine colour – and cheap as chips besides.
Marsala on your nails
If you’re interested in nailpolish, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered! A good, solid choice you can get in the drugstore is Essie’s Angora Cardi, light, powdery plum in Essie’s nice cream formula. If you’re a bit more adventurous, why don’t you have a look at KBShimmer’s Men are from Mars-ala? A nice holo polish from an indie company that’s known for their innovative shades and formulas (Get it from Harlow & Co. here).
Marsala for spring/summer?! What?
Yes, really.
On deeper skintones a lot of Marsala lipsticks read more neutral, so you can go wild with your eyes and cheeks. A nice option – if you’re wearing a cooler toned Marsala lip – is a purple look on your eyes. For a summery look try a combo of greens on your eyes with Marsala cheeks and lips, or pair an aqua eyeshadow with a Marsala shade in the crease.
On lighter skintones, you can’t go wrong with the winged liner – Marsala lips approach that is suitable for all seasons and gives you a classic, subtle pin-up look. Also, at the first ray of sunshine think bronze goddess. That’s one of my fave Marsala looks: use a bit of bronzer, pile on a shimmery bronze eyeshadow and pair that with your Marsala lips. Done!
