Pantone’s Colour of the Year is one of the most anticipated announcements of, well, the year. 

Whether you work in a creative field or just love to stay up to date on the latest trends, Pantone inevitably sets the tone for the year ahead with their palette predictions. And Colour of the Year 2022 — Very Peri — is no different.

“As society continues to recognise colour as a critical form of communication, and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red violet infused blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us,” says Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute.

Delivering a much needed air of optimism to a year filled with stuffy days spent in lockdown, this lavender-leaning shade is surprisingly wearable (one could even argue it bridges the gap between the blue eye makeup trend and the purple eyeshadow trend).

How to wear ‘Very Peri’

As Gigi Hadid demonstrated at the 2021 Met Gala, blue-leaning eye shadow shades with a polite pinch of purple are always going to turn heads on a red carpet. But this periwinkle hue would be just as cute with a light lick of mascara and some lip gloss on the weekend. 

A-list makeup artist Georgie Eisdell also created a holographic ‘Very Peri’ eye look on Anya Taylor-Joy (to match her dress in the same hue), while Yara Shahidi paired her matte lavender eyeshadow with a flick of blue eyeliner.

After some ‘Very Peri’ eye makeup? We recommend:

ANASTASIA BEVERLY HILLS Norvina Eye Shadow Palette ($76 at Sephora); FENTY BEAUTY Snap Shadows Eyeshadow Palette in ‘Cool Neutrals’ ($39 at Sephora); and HUDA BEAUTY Mercury Retrograde Eyeshadow Palette ($103 at Sephora).

Another unusual eyeshadow colour we’ve been loving this year? Green eye makeup: The trend we never thought we’d get behind.

Main image credit: @pantone and @gigihadid