Tips and Tricks for Spring and Summer Makeup Trends

Spring has finally arrived (somewhat, in its rainy form!), and summer is right around the corner. The change in weather brings about all sorts of other adjustments, not just to our wardrobe, but our makeup routine.

Most of the makeup trends this season are fun and easy to pull off, with a few that may require a little practice and proper product selection to ensure you don’t look like a child who got into her mother’s makeup bag!  For instance, lilac and purples are hot colors for the season, so it’s important to apply them right; luckily, a well-placed pop of color on the eye is an easy and fun trend anyone can pull off.  Also, they come in different intensities, so whether your personal style is more bold and fashion-forward, or subdued and neutral, this should be easy to pull off. Trying out different brands and shades at a makeup store or counter will give you a good idea of which products are best for you.

Brow-Building for Beginners + The Newest in Lips

Another big trend is bold brows. Whether you have naturally thick ones or not, there are plenty of products available to help you achieve a more sculpted brow. And be sure to note that bold brows do not mean wild, out-of-control unibrows. A clean spoolie brush or disposable mascara wand (not the one that comes with your mascara) is great to brush your brows into the shape you want. There are also brow gels and pomades to help hold your brows in place. A makeup pro’s tip: lightly spray your spoolie brush with hairspray, then  comb your brows into place to set them.

The process of filling in your brows properly is something that often puzzles and intimidates many women. No one wants to look like they have thin lines over their eyes, yet it is easy to get carried away. If makeup technique is not your thing, using a brow powder (or a brown eyeshadow that matches your brows) with a brush works well. However, instead of wiping or painting the shadow over your brows, dot the shadow in the areas that need a little filling,  then brush through your brows with the spoolie brush. You can do the same thing with a brow pencil — just use short strokes to mimic real hairs.

As for one of your most noticeable assets — your lips — the easiest spring-to-summer trend is the statement lip. You can do red, coral, bright pink, or any shade that you feel comfortable wearing. If you have already been wearing a bright lip color, to transition it from winter to a more spring/summer look, blot it. It tones down the shade, and you don’t have to worry about if you applied it perfectly or any bleeding of the color. Also, one of the hottest trends right now is lip oils — every brand from YSL to the Body Shop is offering these multi-taskers (which not only add gloss, but often plump the lips as well, as Clarins’ version does).

Contouring: How to Morph Your Look in a Minute

Contouring is a huge trend right now for everyone from celebrities to everyday women. However, it is being presented as not only do you need a makeup artist’s palette of foundations and concealers and the brushes to apply it all, you also need to be pretty good at the artistry itself. What no one is talking about though is how to contour if you are not a makeup artist. You can easily contour your face without all the products and tools a makeup artist would use — and you may actually be doing it now, and not even realize it.

Contouring makes certain areas on the face recede and others come forward to make your face more three-dimensional in the way you wish you looked. Here are some indispensable tips:

• Apply bronzer to the areas you want to recede.
• To carve out more defined cheekbones and slim your cheeks, apply bronzer right under your cheekbones and blend it downwards and backwards in small circular motions towards your hairline.
• The same applies if you want to make your nose look thinner: apply bronzer to the each side.
• For a chiseled jawline, apply it right under the jawbone, and blend downwards.
• With all of this, just be careful to choose the right shade of bronzer, so you don’t look too orange or dingy — the aim is to look more sun-kissed.

Trying out a new trend to kick off your spring and summer will help you continue to evolve with your personal makeup style. This evolution doesn’t have to be drastic, but by adding small changes here and there, you can update your makeup style, bringing back a youthful glow to your look – and who doesn’t want that?