Cosme

Partly due to the current world economy, many people are not spending as much money on makeup as before. It is also not surprising that many of us are looking for classic, wearable and trend-resistant colors.

If you are the kind of makeup fan that looks forward to unique shades, you might have already been disappointed with most of this season's lineups. It seems that, for spring 2009, many brands are coming up with wearable colors that don't easily date. But I find it very interesting to look into how various brands interpret "wearable colors", and here are three shades spring 2009 collections.


- Soft neutrals

(image from www.shiseido.co.jp/cpb)

Brown-toned neutrals will probably never date. This season, neutrals are soft, milky, and not overly intense. Neither too bronze nor too gray, these neutrals have maximal appeal for most complexions.

Some of the loveliest neutral palettes I have come across are from Clé de Peau and Dior. They are soft, elegant, chic, and easy to wear.

(Shiseido Clé de Peau Eye Color Quad
in 121 (top) and 120 (bottom))
(image from www.shiseido.co.jp/cpb)

(Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow in 553 Elégante)
(image from www.iswii.net)

(image from www.iswii.net)

(image from www.giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com)

If you think neutrals are too predictable, try a little bit of pink. Soft light-to-medium pinks that are very slightly on the cool side should give you a youthful and gentle look, as seen above in the ad image from Giorgio Armani's Pink Light collection for spring 2009.

Like Giorgio Armani, YSL includes pink in the brand's only new quad for the season. (Check my previous post to see the main makeup look).

(Palette D'Artiste Colletor Powder for the Eyes)
(image from www.cosme.net)

Jill Stuart regularly brings out pink shades, and this season's Blossoming Pink collection adds two pink-toned palettes to Jill Stuart's eye palette lineup.

(Illuminance Eyes in 06 Blossoming Shine)
(image from www.jillstuart-beauty.com)

(image from www.lancome.co.uk)

(image from ep-bko.com)

I think lilacs are just as wearable as neutrals and pinks. Like how we find the right neutrals/pinks, as long as we find the shades with the right color intensity and the right amount of warmth/coolness for our complexions, lilac can be a great everyday eyeshadow color.

Lilac was part of the spring 2008 makeup trend, and, as a lilac fan, I am pleased that it is still a very prominent shade this season, especially in Japanese beauty brands. Beauté de Kosé's Esprique Precious is using the lilac-toned palette (from the new True Impact Eyes range) in the ad campaign. Lunasol's Layer Bloom Eyes in 03 Purple Gradation is also the feature item in the brand's Floral Purification collection. (In the image below, it seems that the palettes are blossoming under the fresh spring sun.)

(www.kanebo-cosmetics.jp/lunasol)

In addition, AYURA's only new eye palette for spring 2009 is a cool-toned lilac/gray palette, somewhat reminiscent of Maquillage's Clean Contrast Eyes 2 in SV844.

(image from www.ayura.co.jp)

- Mix & Match

(image from woman.excite.co.jp)

There are quite a few collections that feature two or more of the three colors mentioned above. For example, all four of Elégance's eye palettes incorporate pinks, lilacs, and neutrals. (There are one neutral palette, one pink palette, one lilac palette, and one with an off-white pink and an off-white lilac.)

Beauté de Kosé's two new Eye Fantasist liquid eyeshadows are of pink and lilac hues:

(image from www.iswii.net)

If you want pink and lilac in the same product, look into Shu Uemura's Spring Mode Makeup Eye Palette in Fantasia and the Nature Temptation Eye Palette from Clarins, which also includes some neutrals. (The picture below shows the version sold in Asia. The European/American version also has a pink and a lilac, which are paired with slightly darker shades.)

(image from www.shuuemura-usa.com)

(image from www.joseishi.net/voce)

If the pinks and lilacs above are too pale for your complexion or if you want a more striking look, try Magie Deco's Shadow Brilliance palette in 022 Flower Show.

(image from www.cosmedecorte.com/magiedeco)


So, do you like this spring's trend (or non-trend...), and what colors will you be wearing this season?