Be still my teenage heart. As soon as I laid eyes on Marsala, PANTONE’s 2015 Colour of the Year, I was transported to a time when everything was better: the ’90s. This muddy, brownish red hue was the lipstick shade of choice of all my teen heroes. Not everyone’s a fan, but probably because they don’t remember the ’90s. (My friend Michelle Villett over a BeautyEditor.ca certainly does.)

Let’s start with Shannen Doherty, who embraced the shade as Brenda Walsh on screen, and as badass off the screen. I will love her forever. Then there is Cindy Crawford, her Revlon ads, big hair, and signature Marsala-ish lipstick. Remember The Rolling Stone cover with the Twin Peaks girls? I was obsessed with them. And, finally, the ’90s trifecta: Winona, Drew, Claire! I owe these girls (and their lipsticks) for making me the woman I am today, for better of worse.

The PANTONE business is fascinating. I broke it down in this post from 2011.