Spring Beauty Forecast

For some of us ‘Spring’ doesn’t seem to exist, as the weather seems to go straight from winter into some sort of ‘summer’. Still the thought of spring does make the first half of the year seem less depressing. 

Guys, you’ve already made it to reading this far into the post so here’s a tip. Stumped for getting your Valentine something? Depending on her taste, rather than stick to the classic ‘red’, getting your boo something- a bag, a spring frock, a journal, jewelry with a stone(s) in one of the following colours, or even body and bath products with this theme, may give you extra points for creativity. Who knows, you may be even allowed back in the bedroom.

This also works for those of use with people in our lives who are anti-Valentines day. Some hand picked flowers, or those that look hand picked i.e. no fancy smanchy elaborate packaging – it’s very impersonal, in these hues or perhaps a unique looking orchid are very cool, non-Valentines day gifts that would still get the ’You mean the world to me, even though you don’t agree with the commercialization of Valentines Day’ point across. 

With respect to Makeup, the Spring beauty forecast seems to focus on 4 colours:

- Plum
- Coral
- Gold
- Pink  

Plum

As if to facilitate an easy transition from the Fall colours into Spring, Plum is still pretty much present. This colour works well for my dark skinned beauties (go for more blue based plums).

These complexions have the ability to carry deeper, richer, jeweled tones a lot easier and more effortlessly so, especially when the base skin tone is yellow. Yellow and plum/ purple are what are referred to as ‘complimentary’ colours, i.e. when combined, yellow and purple, make each other appear much bolder and richer in colour.

From plum eyeshadows to lip sticks, stains and glosses, this hue is all about sass. Dare to be noticed. 

For the minimalistas, plum eye liner works just as well, or a gloss with a ‘hint’ of plum can work well for a daytime pouty sultry look.

For my fairer skin tone divas, careful with incorporating too much of this one colour palette on your face as you can tend to look more on the goth side. Goth is a look in itself yes, but if it’s not the look you were going for you can end up in a territory that you may not be familiar with.

Coral

A very flattering colour for darker to medium skinned tones, although most of us do not suspect that it would be. Choose corals that are more on the yellow side rather than those that are more on the red side. 

Darker skin tones with hyper-pigmentation (darkening) issues on the face, which is usually found around the mouth, may find this colour uncomplimentary as Coral has a tendancy to make these darker areas look even darker.

The same thing with wearing coral around the eye area on these skin tones with this hyper-pigmentation skin condition, or for those of us with dark circles. Blame it on the red/ yellow combination of this particular colour against the darker areas.

Medium to lighter skin tones – As there are less issues regarding darkening of the skin the lighter the skin tone, these shades of skin wear the corals that are more red than yellow extremely well.

Gold

My personal favourite for opening the eye area as well as for definining cheekbones.

Gold/ Amber eye shadow can act as the perfect base for eye colour and can assist in opening smaller, almond shaped eyes. A bit of golden eyeshadow over blush, in the area where cheekbones (should) appear, will give the appearence of higher, more defined cheekbones.

Nude lip colour with a natural, or goldy shimmer works well for both daytime sophistication as well as night-time glam when paired with smokey eyes.

Gold eyeliner also makes a very fashion forward statement, but should be paired with the appropriate eyeshadow, so that your eyes don’t just appear to be making a random, not-very-well-thought-out statement.

Pink

The standard for spring, pink of course is on the colour palette, which goes right along with the classical thought that pastel colours are for spring.

My fairer maidens can rock the lighter hues of pink with ease while the medium to darker skinned toned among us should go with, that’s right, medium to darker pinks. Fuchsia lips work VERY well on these darker skinned tones and gives a very pretty pout. Be prepared to be the life of the party as all eyes will certainly be on you. 

As far as possible bright pink hues on eyelids ought to be avoided as this can make your eyes and face appear more bloodshot than they really are, especially when you insist on replacing sleep with caffeine in your daily routine.

The caffeine in your system usually results in heightened nerve activity, which can lead to increased sensitivity on your skin, and can give the appearance of redness, or inflamed/ irritated patchy areas, as well as dehydrated, flakey skin. Just a heads up. 

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