when i first saw coral cosmetics hit the runways for the spring 2010 fashion shows, i cringed.  coral has always conjured images of old lady lipstick…something you’d only wear if you were over 80 and color-blind.  frightening, i know.  and when you add the fact that my complexion is impossibly pink, thereby automatically clashing with any and all members of the coral family, you’ll understand my skepticism.

but then a pot of the newest velvet eyeshadow shade from benefit magically appeared in my mailbox – in a shade called “nice melons”. (sometimes, i swear, i buy benefit products just for the names…)  i was still scared, but since it was already here, i swapped it out one morning for my usual bland pale pink.  turns out, this extremely light shade is actually pretty gorgeous on – it gives a touch of color, but is still light, sweet and perfect for spring.  and it happens to do lovely things for green eyes (i’m guessing brown would look pretty amazing too).

now that i’d seen the light, i ventured a bit further – bobbi brown released a whole new collection of “cabana corals” for spring, and i couldn’t resist checking them out.  most of the lip shades were still a little too, well, coral, for my pale skin.  but if you happen to have anything resembling a tan, or are just blessed with lovely dark skin, these corals were definitely not of the old-lady variety.  my favorite is the nectar shimmer brick (i’m an utterly devoted fan of bobbi’s shimmer bricks) – it’s going to look seriously amazing topping a little bronzer action this summer.  i can hardly wait!

what do you think?  will you be venturing into the coral trend when the weather warms up?