Aqua Culture

Tangerine is certainly having a 2012 color moment, but it seems brands are flipping across the color wheel this season towards muddled tints of teal and turquoise. In lieu of vibrant summer primaries, we’re seeing a shift towards more interesting, textural variations of green and blue. Dirtied celadons, creamy chlorophyll, and botanical teals give new life to expressive brights, and we’ve rounded up our must-haves for the season.

LANCÔME Le Stylo Waterproof in 502 Green Petal

Sometimes a soft line of color is all you need for a pop, and Lancôme’s Green Petal eye liner fits the bill. We love smudging this celadon pencil in the inner and outer corners (and on the waterline) for a fresh take on bright eyes.

RESCUE BEAUTY LOUNGE Nail Polish in Halcyon

Our jaws literally dropped at the sight of RBL's newest fan-created color, Halcyon. Mossy green with a splash of pink iridescence, the color concept originates from the rosy green nuances found in succulents—we’ve never seen another lacquer like it. RBL founder Ji Baek totally nailed it, and we’re buying backups!

OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE COSMETICS Lip Tar in Chlorophyll

With a much-awaited packaging makeover, cult brand OCC has launched a garden-inspired collection contrasted with brights and warm neutrals. Our eyes instantly gravitated towards Chlorophyll, a toxic teal. Wear it as a lip color or use this as experimental face point, and pick up the matching nail polish for a color-coordinated look!

DIOR 5 Couleurs Palette Garden Edition - Garden Pastels Harmony

For those who prefer a subtle wash of aquatic pastels, we absolutely insist you play with Dior’s latest shadows. Pairing buttery textures of white, gold, and pink with unexpected tints of olive and robin’s egg blue, this quint certainly makes for a stunning, hand-picked-from-the-garden-eye.

ILLAMASQUA Nail Varnish in Nomad

Nails be bold! We reveled in Illamasqua’s Human Fundamentalism a couple of weeks back, and we’re still going crazy over the hyper-bright set of hues. But one of our favorite products from the bunch has to be the Nomad nail varnish, a creamy bright jade.

REVLON ColorStay 16hr Eye Shadow Quad in Inspired

Heading to the drugstore? Add Revlon’s “inspired” set of shadows to your shopping list. Mixing turquoise, grass, mint, and sapphire blue, we’ve never seen a quad of brights quite like this.

CLARINS Wonder Waterproof Mascara in Wonder Mint

Colored mascara is the new It eye trend of the season—everyone’s tinting their lashes technicolor! And what better hue to explore than a vibrant turquoise? We love the look and feel of Clarins’ Wonder Mint mascara, premiering alongside their Enchanted summer collection. And good news for poolside loungers: The waterproof texture ensures splash-proof wear! Available May 2012.