Life Features

Summer makeup colours borrow from nature

By Simone Andrea Mayer Mar 1, 2012, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Cosmetic companies have borrowed from some of the brightest colours found in nature to create eye-shadow and lipstick for the summer.

Women will find eye-shadow in violet blue, frog green and chick yellow and lipstick in flamingo pink and rose red at the makeup counter. They can expect a joyous display of bright, bold and even screaming colours in the summer of 2012.

'In summer a bit of colour isn't bad,' said makeup artist Beatrix Isabel Lied, owner of the label Beauty is Life. 'It looks super on brown skin.'

Light colours make skin look pale, especially brown. Lied therefore sees a lot of different colour nuances for women this summer: A combination of medium May green and a nearly yellow lime green on the eyelids and a discreet salmon tone on the cheeks where Lied says the colour should be a bit softer. 'The makeup shouldn't be too colourful,' she said.

She would apply an intensive red lipstick only if the woman wants to make a dramatic entrance. Otherwise, a shade of rose that makes the lips appear almost natural is better for ordinary occasions or day-to-day.

The cosmetic company Aveda is also promoting the bright makeup trend with light lavender combined with flamingo rose on the eyelids, algae green on the lower lid and magnolia rose on the lips. The colours could be compared with those of a coral reef, Aveda says in its promotional materials.

Yves Rocher makeup also seems to be inspired by the sea: The eyelids are covered with a dark green and the lower lid with violet. The lipstick is mauve. Don't assume this makeup trend is aimed strictly at young women.

'Generation 'Happy Plus,' as I call them, can wear the colours,' said Lied. But women between the ages of 50 and 60 don't have to play with the entire colour palette, rather they can use a lively tone on their eyelids, for example, to create a fresh look. 'This can help detract from sagging lines around the mouth,' she added.

Clarins also has taken a cue from nature in selecting colours for the summer, but a degree less shrill.

'The eye-shadow palette with its turquoise and green-gray colour nuances reflect the colours of spring,' said Carsten Fischer, manager of makeup artists at Clarins. The colours are meant to create a very natural look and are appropriate for everyday use.

A trend colour identified by Lied is yellow, which is rarely found in makeup palettes. From tender eggshell tones to bright sun yellow and canary yellow through to gold, Lied sees only advantages to using it. It helps create an aura and a positive impression.

Estee Lauder seems to go along with this. Tom Pecheux, creative makeup director, said the gold-yellow of the desert sun, the changing brown tones of sand playing off light and shadow and an intense turquoise comprise the company's spring colours. The overall look, however, is discreet: the matte gold-yellow is applied to the eyelid with beige and a chocolate brown. The blue turquoise tone is applied only lightly as eyeliner.

An unusual color goes on the lips: glimmering lemon yellow. But the colour doesn't look yellow on the lips, rather it has a more natural and discreet look.

Shades of bright blue - the absolute hit eye-shadow colour in the '70s - have long been out of style, but they are now acceptable, said Stephan Schmied, a makeup artist at Max Factor. Schmied recommends matte and powdery tones. However, he said eye-shadow in cold nuances such as dark blue and silver are further variation for spring-summer 2012.

Lipstick should be neutral - rose or nude - when combined with such bold eye-shadows, said Schmied, a point with which the other makeup experts agree.

Rose shades, tangerine and the tender green of a summer garden are the core colours in Lancome's makeup collection. Aaron de Mey, international artistic makeup director, uses very tender foundation tones. Thus the complexion is only lightly emphasized so that the eye-shadow - matte mint green, for example - compliments lip colour in rose, orange and fuchsia.

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