Summer glow
This summer’s make-up colours are shiny and bright so make sure you tread with caution
It’s well and truly that time of the year when all our favourite brands are displaying their summer collections of make up in the stores. Those inevitable bronzer/blusher/shimmer effect compacts that pop up every summer are particularly good this year, with some brands offering much finer, sleeker textures, that give cheekbones a smooth, polished shine rather than bitty sparkle. (Check out Clinique’s).
However, close scrutiny of the publicity material that accompanies some of these collections reveals that the models are not actually wearing the make-up they are promoting! We will forgive this indiscretion by the cosmetics companies though as they make such divine products for us, and those visuals are works of art in themselves. Just don’t expect to look like those models.
As for the new ‘brights’, leave well alone unless you are under 30 or get some professional advice on how best to match them to your face.
Seriously though, the promotional photos are not intended for people to copy but to glean inspiration from and to inform consumers which direction the latest trends are going in.
At least some summer collections are more about textures than colour (except for the brights).
Companies are also offering better colours within their ‘bronzing powder compacts’ by blending softly glowing pink and salmon hues into the old standard of orange or tan coloured product.
Whatever your ethnicity, if you have become tanned, normal foundation is unlikely to look good on the skin. Choose instead a translucent gel type foundation or tan enhancer, perhaps one that contains subtle glints, for use all over the face, neck and chest. Don’t, however, use a shiny or shimmery all-over product and then add shimmering bronzing blusher on the cheeks. Try a no shine gel or cream rouge on apples of cheeks instead to give a natural, sun flushed look.
There are loads of great summer products to choose from, you just need to decide what suits you. If your skin is quite smooth and free from blemishes, you can use all-over face products that shimmer or blusher/bronzers that are quite shiny or with frost/metallic effects. If you have bumpy skin or wrinkles, go for a natural looking complexion and avoid sparkly stuff but do use a juicy textured sparkly lip product or warm metallic eye colours.
Some of the products that impress this season are: Lancaster, Elizabeth Arden, Est?e Lauder, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Clinique, MAC and Guerlain. For great budget buys check out L’Oreal and Bourgois for great shimmery blushers and eye colours.
