Celebrity make-up artist Dollei Seah dishes out tips on how to turn spring’s palettes into wearable, everyday looks.
BRIGHT EYES
Bright turquoise eye make-up and glossy, soft coral lips make for a fashion-forward and pretty look.
Complexion: Apply a make-up base to even out the complexion and add a glow with a sheer foundation.
Eyes: Draw on brows and apply a metallic turquoise shadow on the socket.
Accentuate the upper and lower lashlines with a turquoise liner. Using a stiff liner brush, smudge the turquoise liner on the upper lashline and blend it with the eyeshadow for a seamless gradient of colour.
Smudge a little dark grey shadow on the lower, outer corners of the eyes
Coat upper and lower lashes with black mascara.
Cheeks: Dust on coral pink blusher on the apple of the cheeks, and accentuate cheekbones with a highlighter.
Lips: Apply a coral rouge on lips and layer on a pink gloss.
URBAN'S PICK
SHU UEMURA METALLIC BOUQUET IN COPPER DAHLIA, $44, available at Shu Uemura counters
ASTALIFT LIGHTING PERFECTION LIQUID FOUNDATION, $72, available at Astalift stores from next month
LANCOME KHOL HYPNOSE WATERPROOF IN 08 VERT TUILERIES, $36, available at Sephora Ion
LANCOME MY FRENCH PALETTE, $90, available at Sephora Ion
BURBERRY FRESH GLOW LUMINOUS BASE FLUID, $70, available at Burberry counters
MAC TOLEDO BLUSH OMBRE IN AZAELA BLOSSOM, $52, available at MAC counters in March
RMK VINTAGE DROP GLOSS IN NO. 02, $30, available at RMK counters
MAKE UP FOR EVER SMOKY STRETCH LENGTHENING & DEFINING MASCARA, $42, available at Make Up For Ever counters from March
LUNASOL STAIN COLOR LIPS, $46 each, available at Lunasol counters from next month
GRADIENT LIPS
Create a new spin on these Korean-beauty inspired lips with bold brows and barely-there make-up on the rest of the face.
Complexion: Use a semi-matte powder foundation with medium coverage and a slight glow for the base make-up. The semi-matte texture will make the bright lips
Eyes: Fill in brows with a deep brown shade; you can even use a brown eyeshadow palette if you do not have brow powder.
Apply an iridescent nude shadow within the socket.
With an eye pencil, use soft strokes and line the upper lashline, making it look natural. Alternatively, apply a liner with a stiff brush from the centre of the lashline, towards the outer corners of the eyes. Then sweep the remaining liner on the brush towards the inner corners of the eyes.
Apply a mascara primer to lift and curl lashes subtly.
Cheeks: Dust on a pink blush sparingly, to complement the lips.
Lips: Use a darker shade on the inner part of the lips, and a lighter colour to outline the pout and fill the outer lip. Use a lip brush for a more precise application.
URBAN'S PICKS
LANEIGE TWO-TONE LIP BAR, $34 each, available at Laneige counters from March
URBAN DECAY NAKED SKIN WEIGHTLESS COMPLETE COVERAGE CONCEALER, $40, available at Urban Decay counters from next month
NARS EYESHADOW IN VALHALLA, $38, available at Nars counters
RMK VINTAGE CANDY CHEEKS IN NO. 01, $49, available at RMK counters
ROUGE DIOR BAUME IN 488 BELLE DE PRINTEMPS, $47, available at Dior counters
CLE DE PEAU RADIANT POWDER FOUNDATION SPF 22 PA++, $130, available at Cle de Peau counters from March
NARS VELVET EYE-OPENING ACT SHADOW STICK IN DARK ANGEL, $44, available at Nars counters
ESTEE LAUDER LITTLE BLACK PRIMER, $40, available at Estee Lauder counters
BERRY LIPS AND LASHES
Match pink eye make-up to your lip and cheek colours. Sounds intimidating? When done the right way, it looks pretty on both tanned and fair skin.
Complexion: Prepare skin with a primer to even out the skin tone and to help the make-up stay on longer. Apply a foundation with a semi-matte finish, so it does not take the attention away from the pink shades on the various points of the face.
Eyes: Fill brows with a soft brown shade and apply a sheer or pink lilac shadow within the socket.
Apply lash primer, or black mascara, on the top and bottom lashes. Then layer fuchsia mascara over the lashes.
Cheeks: Dust pink blusher on the cheeks. Apply a highlighter to define the cheekbones.
Lips: Slick on a bright berry colour.
URBAN'S PICKS
RMK W COLOR MASCARA IN 03 PINK GOLD, $65, available at RMK counters
SHISEIDO SHIMMERING EYE SHADOW, $32 each, available at Shiseido counters before the end of this month
MAKE UP FOR EVER STEP 1 SKIN EQUALIZER, $68 each, available at Make Up For Ever counters
URBAN DECAY SHEER REVOLUTION LIPSTICK IN ANARCHY, $33, available at Sephora stores from next month
GUERLAIN METEORITES PERLES DE BLUSH IN ANGELIC RADIANCE, $75, available at Guerlain counters
LUNASOL TENDER CLEAR EYES EYESHADOW, $77, available at Lunasol counters from next month
CHANEL ROUGE ALLURE VELVET IN NO.50 LA ROMANESQUE, $48, available at Chanel counters
CHANEL JOUES CONTRASTE BLUSH IN 190 ANGELIQUE, $68, available at Chanel counters
RMK VINTAGE SWEETS FACE COLOR IN NO. 01, $79, available at RMK counters
METALLIC PASTEL EYES
Be daring and wear a pastel and metallic liner on its own. Then swipe lashes with a mascara in a contrasting colour.
For a more conservative spin on this look, just draw on a dark liquid liner on top of the metalic liner and close to the lash line. And switch the coloured mascara for a black one.
Complexion: Apply a sheer make-up base on the skin. If you have a good complexion, skip the foundation.
Eyes: Apply a lavender shadow on the socket area. Draw on a metallic purple liquid liner in the shape of a cat-eye flick above the upper lashline. Feeling adventurous? Slick on a contrasting shade of liner, say fuchsia, on the flick.
Coat top and bottom lashes with a blue mascara.
Cheeks: Apply blusher on cheeks. Define cheekbones and browbones with a highlighter with silver shimmer.
Lips: Finish with sheer, nude lipstick or gloss.
URBAN'S PICKS
ETTUSAIS HEART CHEEK COLOR IN PK, $33, available at Ettusais counters
SHU UEMURA METAL:INK LIQUID LINER, $40 each, available at Shu Uemura counters
AQMW EYESHADOW PALETTE IN NO. 57, $82, available at Kose counters from next month
NARS BLUSH IN RECKLESS, $50, available at Tangs Beauty from the end of this month
GUERLAIN METEORITES BABY GLOW LIGHT-REVEALING SHEER MAKEUP ANTI-FATIGUE EFFECT BABY GLOW, $74, available at Guerlain counters
TOM FORD EXTREME MASCARA IN TEAL INTENSE, $65, available at the Tom Ford counter in March.
ESTEE LAUDER PURE COLOR ENVY SCULPTING LIPSTICK IN IMPULSIVE, $45, available at Estee Lauder counters
VECUA HONEY LUSTER LIPGLOSS, $58, available at VecuaHoney.com.sg and Tokyu Hands
AU NATUREL
Show off a flawless complexion with this make-up look. While it might seem simple, it takes skill and the right neutral shades for it to look good
Complexion: Smooth on a sheer and dewy liquid foundation all over the face.
Then buff on an illuminating powder all over, avoiding the T-zone if it gets shiny easily.
Eyes: Fill brows with a grey shadow or brow powder to make them look bold but soft. The brows and the skin will be the focus of this look.
Press on a luminous neutral shadow all over the sockets and just below the brows. Dust on a metallic taupe shadow onto the sockets.
Using a brush, line the upper lashline with a gunmetal shadow.
Cheeks: Accent the complexion with a blusher.
Lips: Finish with a layer of pink gloss.
URBAN'S PICKS
SHU UEMURA SHU:PALETTE PRESSED EYE SHADOW, $160, available at Shu Uemura stores from March
CLE DE PEAU BEAUTE EYE COLOUR QUAD, $110 each, available at Cle de Peau Beaute counters
Chanel Jardin De Chanel Blush Camelia Rose, $75, available at Chanel counters
YVES SAINT LAURENT BEAUTE LE TEINT ENCRE DE PEAU FOUNDATION, $89, available at YSL Beaute counters from next month
DIORSHOW FUSION MONO LONG-WEAR EYESHADOW IN 351 MYRIADE, $52, available at Dior counters
GUERLAIN METEORITES COMPACT, $84, available at Guerlain counters
DIOR DIORSHOW KHOL IN 079, $34, available at Dior counters
YVES SAINT LAURENT BEAUTE VOLUPTE TINT-IN-OIL NO. 4, $45, available at YSL Beaute counters
SHU UEMURA LAQUE SUPREME IN BG02, $40, available at Shu Uemura counters from next month
This article was first run in The Straits Times newspaper on January 23, 2014. For similar stories, go to sph.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore. You will not be able to access the Premium section of The Straits Times website unless you are already a subscriber.