Five Picks for Spring: Tried & Tested

It’s spring and time to clean out our makeup bags and update with a few new trends. In makeup, spring 2007 broke away from the dramatic black-gray smokey eye and reinvented it with pink, blue, and purple pastels. This spring, the natural look is in (yes, less is more … until the sun goes down), but you can still incorporate the pastels from last year. Also, ROY G. BIV is back, so we can all have fun playing with color to change our daytime looks into a night look to die for. I’ve been trying and testing all the latest spring arrivals and these are my fave five for spring 2008:
 
1. Shu Uemura’s Glow On, $21.00
Shu Uemura has an extensive line of blushes that fit every skin tone. They come in matte and pearl finishes. For daytime use, lightly apply color over your cheeks, such as a light beige, pink, or coral. You can accent this by applying a light amount of complimenting shimmer powder. Why Shu Uemura? Unlike MAC blush that is highly pigmented, as it is meant for the stage and messy stains (i.e., Benefit’s Benetint), Shu Uemura’s line goes on sheer and allows you to build the color for a stronger look. I love this product because it gives a beautiful, healthy, and natural glow.

Tip: I recommend using a contour brush, as it allows for a more precise application than a regular round blush brush. Start at the apple of your cheek, and in swift up-and-down motions, move the brush up towards the hairline. When you begin, you should apply more pressure (to deliver more color) and lighten up as you move up.
 
2. Chanel’s 4 Fleurs de Chanel, $ 65.00
The great thing about Chanel’s spring 2008 collection is that there are pre-set palettes with everything you need to create the perfect look for your eyes. This quad comes with colors that compliment each other and are easy to use, so we don’t have to fuss with color wheels ourselves. The quads are wonderful, especially for people who don’t wear makeup on a daily basis because they provide you with either cool tones (blues, grays, silvers, etc.) or warm tones (yellows, pinks, etc.), and there is a crease, highlight, all-over, and lid color. They are also compact, so they don’t require much space on your bathroom counter, and the essentials are all in the compact so you don’t have to go searching for individual products. In keeping with the classy, never aging look of Chanel, the colors are light and natural to suit everyone, young and old. As an added spring bonus, the shadows in this palette are shaped like camellias. If you are unsure where to use the colors, the artist at the counter will give you tips on what will look best with your eye and skin coloring.

3. Vincent Longo’s C-Scope Collection, $18.00–26.00
Vincent Longo never fails to impress me. He has tapped into ROY G. BIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet) to create this excellent line of highly-pigmented products. While you can wear this during the day, I wouldn’t recommend it unless you really know what you are doing. They are great for adding a punch to your look, without making you look like a rodeo clown (who got punched in the face!). The collection includes: eye liner (liquid), mascara (in white, blue, green, red, and yellow), lip gel, and lip liner (colors vary for the lip products).