How to get creative with a pop of purple

Purple has been given a bit of an unfortunate wrap over the years. It’s been positioned as a hard-to-wear make-up hue and reserved only for those without inhibitions in the hair stakes. The reason? Because people have never understood how feminine purple can look – and how easy it is to wear.

Thankfully all that is changing, with many women – both locally and in Hollywood – beginning to embrace purple in all of its bold, striking glory. We’re seeing it on fingers, we’re seeing it on lips – and we’re definitely seeing more magically mauve hair looks than ever before.

Check out five of our favourite ways to utilise purple in your hair and make-up look – it’s a sure fire way to grab attention and showcase your creative side!

#1: Rock purple strands a la Katy Perry

If you’re after a way to really embrace the purple hair trend a la Katy Perry, a purple tint is perfect for you – especially if you already have light-coloured locks. We recommend using Schwarzkopf LIVE Colour Ultra Brights Magnetic Purple, as the semi-permanent hair colour washes out in six-eight washes, making it ideal to top-up your vibrant new hue or go back to your regular colour with ease. Better still, the vibrant purple shade will work as well as an all-over colour, or as an on-trend dip-dye effect for the ends of your hair.

#2: Sport purple nails a la Alexa Chung

For those who’d like to enjoy the purple trend in a slightly subtler format, lilac nails are perfect. Not only do they add a burst of colour to every outfit, they also help you to look on trend, without standing out from the crowd more than you’d like. Better still, purple digits are totally summer appropriate and perfect to show off tanned hands. Try: Rokk96 polish in Smooth Operator.

#3: Master lilac liner a la Kelly Rowland

If you’re looking for a new eye technique that makes you look like a master of make-up, mixing and matching purple eyeliners is brilliant. The trick is to choose two different purples hues and line your top lash line with one and your bottom lash line with the other, meeting at the inner corners of your eye. Try: Australis 10 Hour Wear Eye Pencil in Grape Cake paired with Designer Brands Kohl Eye Pencil in Metallic Purple.

#4: Experiment with purple eyeshadow a la January Jones

This look is perfect for those who aren’t quite sure what to do with coloured eyeshadow. Simply grab your purple eyeshadow and an angled eyeshadow brush, dip your brush into water and use it to create a winged eyeliner look. Then, using a blending brush, soften the lines until you’ve achieved a smoky, subtle winged eye. Try: Models Prefer Professional Mineral Eyeshadow Duo in Rocker Chic.

#5: Put some purple on your pout a la Leighton Meester

Leighton knows that a deep purple lip doesn’t have to be reserved for the chilly months. Better still, a purple pout is a perfect alternative to a girly pink or classic red lip – and is edgy while still being feminine, too. To make this look last longer, start by colouring in your lips with a matching lip pencil before applying two coats of your lip colour. Try: Mavala Switzerland Mavalip Lipstick in Florida.

As you can see, purple has become one hot commodity, which just proves our point that expressing yourself with out-of-the-box hair and make-up looks can really help to boost your self-confidence and make you feel beautiful in your own way. And that’s exactly why Schwarzkopf has created BE.YOU.TIFUL Confessions – a campaign that encourages you to be proud of how your beauty rituals make you feel – even if they see you spending more time getting ready in the bathroom than at the party, or seem bizarre or eccentric to others. It’s all about embracing the things that make you feel beautiful, no matter what other people think…

So how exactly do BE.YOU.TIFUL Confessions work? Here’s the deal… Simply share your confessions with Schwarzkopf (be it that you secretly long for bright pink hair, or that you always squeeze your pimples) and you’ll be in the running to win weekly prizes. There’ll be 10 prize packs given away each week for nine weeks. It’s super-easy to enter, just head to the beautifulconfessions.com.au website or Schwarzkopf Australia Facebook page and get confessing!

What is your favourite way to incorporate purple into your look? Which celebrity look do you like best?