This season’s beauty trends are rife with contradictions. On the one end, we have the innocent charm of rosy cheeks and the prim femininity of pink lips. On the other, we’ll find bold surges of punk-rock-meets-’80s-pop color: mascaras in electric blue and purple, faux eyelashes covered in playful glitter, and Crayola box-worthy eyeshadows that practically scream in their irreverent flamboyance.
Here, you’ll find a breakdown of some of the hottest beauty trends for Spring 2009 — and the products you need to pull these looks off perfectly!
EYES
BRIGHT SHADES, BOLD STROKES
Want to have more swagger than M.I.A. in her most audacious outfit? Then check out these vibrant mascaras, liners and shadows, all of which will make you the life of any party. Opt for a wee bit of adventure by experimenting with green or blue mascara, or bring on the fireworks with easel-ready eyeshadow shades like taxicab yellow, pea green, and taffeta pink. Either way, you’ll razzle dazzle ‘em.
Napoleon Perdis Lash Patrol Mascara in Ultra Marine, Emerald Forest and Blinking Violet, $19 each. Visit NapoleonPerdis.com
DEX Mineral Loose Pigment Eye Shadows in Battery Park Brick Red, Radio City Yellow Gold, St. Patrick’s Olive, South St. Seaport Metallic Green, Top of the Rock Royal Blue, and St. Mark’s Place Purple Haze; $22 each. Visit DEXNewYork.com
Smashbox Muse Cream Eye Liner Artist Pencils in Lapis (Deep Blue Ocean), Slate (Dark Charcoal), Antique Gold (Deep Gold), Imperial (Deep Violet); $36 for set of four. Available at Smashbox.com
Foxy Mineral Makeup Eyeshadows in (from left to right and from top row to bottom row): A Mermaid’s Tale, Pink Hologram, Princess and the Pea, Cheeky, Chikadee, Deep, Yes Your Majesty, ’65 Mustang, and Pink A Boo; $7 each. Visit FoxyMineralMakeup.com
A NEW TAKE ON SMOKEY EYES
Who can’t appreciate the seductive quality of smokey eyes? Contouring your lids with deep charcoal and slate grays, you can create an irrestible aura of mystery, then add hints of white, light gray and silver to complete the magnificent enigma.
This season, however, the smokey eye is modified a bit. Rather than sticking to the gray scale, makeup gurus are experimenting with grayish purples and pinks for a slightly less severe take on the look (check out Rock & Republic’s Eye Colour Trio for some color ideas). Other makeup artists, on the other hand, are upping the drama factor by using thicker black eyeliner that they can diffuse and smudge as much (or as little) as they desire. Try deviating from your tired and true formula, and you might just be all the more satisfied with the results.
Rock & Republic Eye Colour Trio in Scene 1, $65. Available at RockAndRepublicCosmetics.com and at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales stores through April.
Givenchy Magic Kajal Eye Pencil in Magic Black, $21.50. Visit Sephora.com
BeautyADDICTS SolutionEYES Eyeshadow Quad in SeduceEYES, $35. Visit BeautyAddicts.com
Styli-Style Smokey Liner, $7.50. Available at beauty supply stores and Styli-Style.com
Purple is the color du jour for eyelids — from soft lilacs to pretty lavenders, rich plums, cheeky mauves, and bold prunes. Perhaps Prince (who, coincidentally, is releasing three albums this year!) has been influenching cosmetic companies this season?
N.Y.C. New York Color “Color Wheel Mosaic Eye Color” in Purple Rain, $3.99. Available at drugstores and mass retailers nationwide. Visit NewYorkColor.com to find a retailer near you.
Tarte Cosmetics “Indelible” Wink Liquid Liner & Shadow in Plum, $22. Visit TarteCosmetics.com
Prescriptives U-Pick Eye Color in Orchid, $16. Visit Prescriptives.com
NYX Trio Shadow in TS6 (Purple/Deep Purple/Prune), $8. Available at NYXCosmetics.com
Tarte Cosmetics emphasEYES Eye Pencil in Plum, $18. Visit TarteCosmetics.com
Korres Sunflower & Evening Primrose Shimmering Eyeshadow in 77S Plum and in 75S Purple, $16 each. Visit Sephora.com
CREAM EYE SHADOWS
It’s no wonder why so many consumers are tossing their cluttersome eyeshadow brushes away! Several cosmetics brands have finally mastered the art of the cream eyeshadow, offering them in hues as inticing as those available in traditional powder-based models, perfecting their formulas (as with Too Faced’s Lockdown cream eye shadows) so that the cream quickly dries out (hence eliminating the smudging problem previous incarnations faced), and including mess-eliminating applicators (like the flocked applicator in Urban Decay’s Cream Shadow) in their packaging.
Too Faced Lockdown Ultimate Creaseless Cream Eye Shadow in “Bedroom Eyes” and “I’m Guilty,” $18.50. Available at TooFaced.com and Sephora.com
Urban Decay Cream Shadow in Grass, Radium, and Moonshine, $17 each. Available at Ulta.com, UrbanDecay.com, and Sephora.com
GLITTERY EYE MAKEUP
You don’t have to be trek to Río during Carnival season (or moonlighting as a showgirl) to add some festive sparkles to those lids and lashes. Rediscover the love of glitter you had as a child through these funky liquid liners, precocious faux eyelashes and shimmering mascaras.
NYX Fabulous Eyelashes, $4. Available at NYXCosmetics.com and beauty supply stores across the nation.
Urban Decay Heavy Metal Eyeliner in Stagedive and Groupie, $18 each. Available at Sephora.com and UrbanDecay.com
Xtreme Lashes Wishful Blinking Eye Shine in Diamond Dust and Arabian Nights, $20 each.Visit XtremeLashes.com to find a retailer near you.
Styli-Style Liquid Metals, $7.50. Available at beauty supply stores and online at Styli-Style.com starting in July.
Givenchy Precious Sari Glittering Eyeshadow in Maharani Silver, $26. Visit Sephora.com
LIPS
PINK LIPS
Indulge your inner girly-girl (yes, the girl who once drew hearts over her “i’s” in there somewhere!) with a bevvy of lip colors in coquettish pinks ranging in intensity from cotton candy to cherry sorbet.
Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited Pink Collection lip glosses in Clear Baby Pink, Pale Pink Sparkle, Sheer Melon Pink, and Sheer Rosy Pink; $22 each. Available at ShuUemura-USA.com
Smashbox Lip Paint in Luminary, Artiste, and Virtuoso, $21 each. Visit Smashbox.com
Givenchy Rouge Interdit Satin Lipstick in Maharani Rose, $27. Available at Sephora.com
Liplicious Tasty Lip Color in Watermelon Sorbet and Cherry Vanilla, $5 each. Available at BathAndBodyWorks.com
Jouer Hydrating Lipstick in “Kiki,” $22. Visit JouerCosmetics.com
Purple Lab “Huge Lips Skinny Hips” Lipglosses in Worship Kate and Love Your Thighs, $20 each. Available at Scoop and Space.NK. Visit ScoopNYC.com for store locations.
Korres Guava Lipstick in 27 Mauve, $22. Visit Sephora.com
FACE
ROSY CHEEKS
After many seasons of being shelved in favor of bronzers, blush is making quite the comeback. The goal is to give your cheeks that just-pinched or just-in-from-the-cold surge of color, so you want to apply the blush in such a manner as to suggest a fresh, dewy quality.
Estee Lauder Vivid Garden Illuminating Powder, $32. Available at EsteeLauder.com
N.Y.C. New York Color “Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder” in Pretty in Pink, $4.99. Available at chain drugstores and mass merchandisers nationwide.
Givenchy Sari Glow Iridescent Blush in Maharani Pink, $42. Visit Sephora.com
glominerals glotint for lips and cheeks, $14. Visit GloSkincare.com
Smashbox Muse Blush Rush in Masterpiece, $24. Available at Sephora.com
NYX Cosmetics Powder Blush in Dusty Rose, $7. Visit NYXCosmetics.com
Origins Brush-On Color in Pink Petal, $18.50. Visit Origins.com
Jouer Mineral Powder Blush in Peach Bouquet, $24. Visit JouerCosmetics.com
NAILS
PINK PETALS
This is definitely one of those “Pretty in Pink” seasons when we can toast Molly Ringwald and coat our nails in garden-inspired rose, peony and carnation pinks.
Borghese Nail Lacquer in Primrula Primrose and Peonia Blossom, $8 each. Available at drugstores nationwide.
PURPLE HAZE
From Paris Hilton to Rihanna, trendsetting celebs have named purple one of the “it” nail lcaquer hues this season but, unlike the deeper, more rockstar-esque hues we saw in the fall, this season the volume gets turned down a bit with pastel shades inspired by lush flowers and berries.
Borghese Nail Lacquer Vernis in Campanula Bellflower and Argento Mist, $8 each. Available at drugstores nationwide.
Nailtini Nail Lacquer in Grappa and Parfait-Amour, $12 each. Visit Nailtini.com
OCEAN-INSPIRED HUES
Let your nails venture off on a relaxing trip to the Bahamas or to Turks & Caicos with these breezy maritime-esque shades of aqua and seafoam green. The laid-back vibe of these colors will have you practically reveling in the ocean mist.
Essie Cosmetics “North Fork” collection: Shelter Island, Greenport, and Sag Harbor, $9 each. Visit EssieShop.com
TOOLS
Trish McEvoy “The Ball” Sponge Makeup Applicator, $16, and “The Point” Brush, $40. Visit Nordstrom.com and SaksFifthAvenue.com, as well as Neiman Marcus, Henri Bendel, and Bergdorf Goodman stores.
