Every year, Pantone comes out with their Color of the Year. We’ve covered quite a few years already – Marsala, here, and Rose Quartz and Serenity here. This year’s Greenery is quite a challenge for makeup enthusiasts – how am I to wear a spring-y yellow green? Might you ask. And also, Color of the Year. Why should I even care? Short answer: Because Pantone subtly influences your shopping behaviour. Go ahead, scoff and laugh – I’ll prove it to you after the cut! (Also, pretty makeup.)

Pantone begun as a printing business, thought about a wonderful new way to market their goods and is now, essentially, a trend scout, just like Anna Wintour is for Vogue. Remember that scene in The Devil Wears Prada when they discuss the blue of Andy’s sweater? Pantone discussion (without mentioning the name) right there! Last year’s choices, baby blue and pastel pink, have wormed their way into our life and Instagram channels. Think about glossier for example, the hip ‘indie’ beauty brand and their packaging (and their website, really). Rose Quartz. Now think of all those pretty Instagram flat lays with their backgrounds of light blue or pink – Serenity and Rose Quartz again. And Kat von D is releasing a palette called ‘Pastel Goth’ right now. The queen of grungy makeup influenced by Pantone. There you have it.

Greenery
Pantone’s Color of the Year 2017 – Greenery

Pantone also have subtly imbued their annual release of a new colour of the year with a social and even political meaning. Leatrice Eiseman, Exec. Director of Pantone, tells it like that: “Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment.”

Huh. So, buying a light green eyeshadow becomes somewhat of a statement, right? Or maybe Pantone recognised a yearning for cocooning, the ‘hygge’ and a (literal) back to the roots amid turbulent times. Or it is just a green eyeshadow. Whatever you want.

 

Greenery Pantone Color of the Year 2017 makeup and how to wear it

When I rummaged through my stash in growing exasperation, I realized I had about one beauty product in that shade of green. One! And that was a no-brainer – a nail polish. Astrid, though, had already some products in her stash. Which tells you a lot about the skintones and beauty types that can wear Greenery easily. I’m hazel-eyed and fair skinned, and I can imagine wearing eyeliner in Greenery for an interesting pop of colour of a nude and neutral eye look. It should do interesting things to my eye colour. But then, that’s it. Lipstick? Forget it. I’m much too warm-toned for that, and I can’t even begin to imagine how horribly this would clash with my purple hair.

Astrid, though, looks wonderful in those warm, vivid colours. They pop against her warm NC 42 skin, and she can even pull off a very, very green eye and not make it look garish. Shadow? Yes! Liner! Yes! Mascara! Oh yes!

 

Eyeliner and mascara

This should work for everyone, no matter what skintone, warm or cool complexion or eye colour. Do a neutral eye and use the eyeliner for a bit of Greenery goodness (go a bit cooler in your colour selection if you’re blonde and blue-eyed). Same goes for mascara – choose a green mascara and see how your eyes are subtly drawn into focus! Choose a rather neutral blush and lip colour, too. Astrid is wearing BeYu mascara Color Play Lash Tip in No. 16 ‘In Paradise’ here.

Greenery makeup products
Astrid wearing BeYu mascara in In Paradise (over a white lash primer) and MAC’s lipstick in Wild Extract here.

Eyeshadow

If you’ve mastered those coloured accents on your eyes, why not go all out with a shade like Urban Decay’s Freak (here pictured in the Electric Palette, but it’s available as a single as well)? The obvious choice is, of course, to pair it with neutrals like browns and beiges, but why not create a green smokey eye? You can pair it either with yellow-greens like khakis, but also with blue-greens. If you’re a beginner, just apply it to your inner corners.

Color of the Year makeup
Astrid wearin Urban Decay eyeshadow in Freak all over her lids in this look. Great with her rather neutral lips and cheeks!

Lipstick

For the bold ones and those with a deeper and warmer skintone. Astrid is wearing MAC’s Wild Extract lipstick in this look, and we couldn’t believe how pretty this looks. It brightens up her whole face. It has a frost finish which makes it more wearable than matte versions.

Greenery makeup products
Swatch time! F.l.t.r. BeYu mascara in In Paradise, Urban Decay Freak without a primer and with a primer, MAC lipstick in Wild Extract

Nail polish

Green nails? Yes, indeed! I’ll show you some simple green accents that are actually quite understated and go with a lot of looks: First one is a green and nude ombre (simply achieved with patting on the green color with a bit of sponge). Second one is a twist on the classic French look that looks really elegant, and last one is a playful green dotticure (learn how to do a dotticure here).

Greenery nail art
Some options to incorporate some Greenery into your nailpolish routine! I used Formula X’s Radioactive in every mani.

 

Other products shown in the pic above

Rituals Gingko handcream – incredibly good. Rich and moisturizing, but without leaving an annoying sticky film on your hands for minutes. It also smells amazing.

My Beauty Diary Aloe Vera sheet mask – I buy those in bulk. Great for a shot of extra moisture and also calms my angry skin after long-haul flights. It says ‘optimal hydration, calming and soothing’ on the package, and that about covers it!

Hèrmes Le Jardin de Monsieur Li – star perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena’s last perfume for Hermes, created an olfactory Chinese garden with notes of aquatic and fresh citrus notes with a bit of jasmine. A light unisex scent.