Spring Clean

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Spring is the time of year when Mother Nature gives herself a makeover, trading brown grass for green lawns, replacing an overcast sky with one in deep blue and highlighting her assets with bright pops of pink and yellow. So it only makes sense to follow suit and indulge in fresh new makeup colors for the coming season.
        “Colors for spring are reflecting a lot of light,” says Roberta Hughes, president and CEO of Avidere, LLC. “Not only are they making the visual weight a lot lighter, they are more freeing and uplifting, not so intense.”
        Breathing life into the quickly fading winter months, the hot trends and colors in makeup are moving out of the deep, serious fall tones and into the light hues of spring. Toned down and elegant, yet still with an edge of playfulness, the primary colors for the season’s makeup take their cue from the nature-inspired feel of spring and include deep blues, faded greens, taupes, khakis, warmed-up pinks and coppery corals.

The eyes have it
      Playing up the eyes is one of the strongest trends this season, moving away from the heavy focus on the mouth that has been popular in seasons past. “The hot color palette for eyes will see a return to the shimmery look—bronzes, pale golds, pale pinks, opal and very soft dark blues,” says Maurice Stein, Hollywood makeup artist and founder of Cinema Secrets. The oceanlike blues are especially popular because they enhance the natural eye color, says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and author of More Alive with Color (Capital Books, 2006).
      A warming trend with russet and purpled earth tones, as well as a hint of gold, is also in this spring. “Earth tones are great, neutralizing colors that you can spice up a bit with a pop of color,” says Hughes.

Palatable pout
      Just because the eyes are experiencing a renaissance of color doesn’t mean the lips should be neglected, however. Pale shell pinks, tan-tinted corals and nearly nude-hued lips are the best picks for this spring, designed to highlight the eyes without overpowering them. “It’s a great color for the lips, like pink warmed up,” says Hughes.
      The golden trend continues in the lips as well, with colors such as sandy rose, shimmery gold and coppery pink lightening up the mouth for spring. And, though matte shades still are popular, lips with a touch of gloss and shimmer are very hot.

Natural woman
      Along with the earth tones of the eyes and the pale pink colorings for the lips, the complexion also is going au natural for spring, with the less indication of foundation, the better. To match the freshness that comes with the season, only subtle pigmentation is suggested for the face with just touches of color in the cheeks for the traditional sun-kissed look of the warmer months.

The one and only
      To make sure a woman is wearing her makeup as well as she possibly can, keep all the colors she’s wearing in the same family—matching cool colors with cool colors and warm colors with warm colors. Remember to not take the matching too far, though.
“Just because you’re wearing a forest green skirt doesn’t mean you have to wear forest green eyeshadow and forest green lipstick,” says Marvin Westmore, Hollywood makeup artist and president and founder of the Westmore Academy for Cosmetic Arts. “The color harmonies should be complementary of each other.”
      And even with the bevy of beautiful makeup colors the springtime has to offer, it’s important that the makeup works for the individual and not the other way around. “Clients should wear colors that flatter the individual person’s color. We consider eye color, hair color and complexion; you want them to work together, not fight each other,” Hughes states. If a color just doesn’t seem to fit on the face, move it around. “Sometimes a particular color looks better on a purse or shoes,” Hughes recommends.

Awash in color
      With spring comes the promise of new life, clean and fresh, and the colors of this season’s makeup reflect that natural, new way of looking at things. Subtle and muted, the earthy shades of brown, pink and gold, as well as the nature-inspired hues of blue, purple and green give touches of shimmer and color minimally, just where they’re needed. They highlight the features of the woman and give a chance for a fresh life—or at least a fresh makeover—this spring.

This is an excerpt of an article that ran in the March 2007 issue of Skin Inc. magazine. 

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