What's new at the makeup counter? | Cosmetics & Makeup

You are here: Home

What's new at the makeup counter?

blide The Courier-Journal-One antidote I've found for a long gray day is a quick trip to the cosmetics department. It has all the essential ingredients for a sudden mood spike: the sense of glamour, the promise of reinvention and … plenty of free stuff and services.

Really, if you can give your inner skeptic the day off, there's no better place to play for a few hours.

So that's just what I did in the makeup department at Macy's at Oxmoor Center this week. They had some news (newly renovated and greatly enhanced lighting, a new Christian Dior counter and the arrival of one of my very favorite makeup artists, Sloane Winters, at the Chanel counter). All of that, and the gutsy new colors for 2008, seemed like a good enough reason to grab a model and a photographer and go on a mission for some fun, usable beauty news. We hit paydirt.

BRING ON THE BLUE EYE SHADOW

When Scooter, the model-cute makeup artist at the brand-new Dior counter, broke out the Eyeshow #342 aqua shadow, I fell at first sight. (For the shadow. ...) It had a gorgeous, glowy, watercolor-y kind of look that makes you forget all about that royal blue liner from the '80s.

And it's not just the color itself that's been updated. The 2008 application is much more fun and fearless than the severe liner of decades past. "We're not doing that harsh, skinny line of navy liner," says Scooter. "Instead, we're sweeping the color up onto the browbone and blending it really, really well. We're using more of the color, but there are no hard lines or angles."

Another modern twist? Scooter applied a golden nude color to model Sarah's lids before layering the aqua into the crease and above -- not on the eyelid. The effect is somehow both clean and colorful. And just plain pretty.

(But, no, not for day. Scooter's advice is to wear the shimmery nude for daytime and tuck the aqua into your bag for later. And your color doesn't have to go as far up onto your browbone as our model's. But, you know, it washes off. "It's about confidence and your sense of style; if you want a strong look, try it," he said.)

OR TRY THE VIOLET ... OR LIME

While the return of blue is big beauty news, the hue is obviously not for everyone, every outfit. It's not, for example, a great choice for those of us with blue eyes. "Usually, it's best to use a shadow that contrasts your eye color," says Scooter. That made blue a great choice for brown-eyed Sarah, a not-so-great one for me.

But the new year brought a slew of newly fashionable brights -- including violet, lime and even coral-toned shadows. So pick one that doesn't match your iris and you'll be bright-eyed and stylistically current. What's really modern is the idea of bright color in unexpected places.

BRIGHTEN YOUR SMILE (WITH A METALLIC-FLECKED GLOSS)

Visibly absent from the spring displays: soft, barely there pastel lipsticks. The newest ideas for spring are eye-candy lip colors that are either lollipop-bright or laced with metallics. Here, Scooter used Diorshow gloss #335 (a gorgeous, gold-flecked coral), applied painstakingly with a brush, to make Sarah's full lips look even more dramatic.

PUT A FLASH OF NEW COLOR AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

If you're looking for the next nail color of the moment, Sloane pointed me toward the new Chanel Azur. It's an ethereal sky-blue that's a more seasonal take on the color of the moment -- which just happens to be dark blue.

FLUTTER YOUR FAT LASHES

Lush lashes fit the luxe fashion moment we're experiencing right now. Fortunately, the thickening formulas keep getting more refined; now it really is possible to fatten your lashes without developing any of those telltale black blobs. Diorshow mascara, $23, for example, is one of the new thickeners that's causing quite a beauty buzz.

And I picked up a little thickening trick as I watched Scooter skillfully apply this wonder-formula to Sarah's lashes; he held the wand horizontally for the first coat and vertically for the second: "It gives you more definition and control and a slightly lighter application," he explained. And look ... no clumps.