Elle’s Spring Makeup Trends for Darker Skin Tones

Doll-Like Prettiness

Ethereal dolly-like prettiness was the order of the day at Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Jonathan Saunders. Glowing, dewy skin and a strong, straight exaggerated flicked liner made the girls look romantic.
To get the look, bronzes give the impression of an inner glow, so try mixingEstée Lauder’s Bronze Goddess Luminous Liquid Bronze, £21.50, with your foundation. Also ditch the pastels, as they can often look chalky on darker skin. Instead celebrity make-up artist Kay Montano suggests using, “fruity shades likes peaches, watermelon, raspberry and strawberry on the eyes and apples of the cheek to give a fresh healthy glow”.
For the doe-eyed look, coat your lids with Dior’speachy Limited Edition 1 Couleur Eye Gloss in Sunset, £20 (available nationwide), and line the eyes with Clarins creamy Limited edition Kohl Kajal Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Violet, £15, and finish with a pop of fruity fun on the cheeks and lips with BeccaBeach Tint in Raspberry, £20.

Metallics

Foil-like, gold encrusted and metallic lids made the models shimmer down the catwalk at Just Cavalli, Fendi and Dsquared 2. Darker skin tones absorb light, so dense metallic eyeshadows work well as they reflect the light and look intense on the skin. Go for warm golds, burnished bronzes and khaki shades. Hannah Murray, Topshop Make-up Artist created the look at Just Cavalli and explains, “for a wearable take on the gold leaf, use a black or navy kohl, line the waterline of the eye and smudge slightly into the top and bottom lashes creating a feline shape. Take TopshopPaintstick Crayon in Sunshower, £7.50, and literally colour in the eyelid, blending with your ring finger. Coat top lashes with black mascara. For added sparkle, press on some loose gold or Rose Gold glitter to the centre of the eyelid, which is exactly what I did at Just Cavalli SS/12”. Play around withShu Uemura’s loose powder Shine Mystique Eye Colour in Ivy Gold, £16, for extra blinged-out lids.

Big Bold Brows

Step away from the tweezers ladies. This season brows are going big and bold, as seen at shows Versace, Derek Lam and Giles. Matching the right colour for your brows is key for the BBB look. Avoid products, which are too dark, as this makes the brow look too solid and ashy. Paul Herrington, Head Make Up Artist at Bobbi Brown Cosmetics recommends, “always going with a powder versus a pencil and go for two shades- a caviar and a mahogany, as this makes the hairs look more natural. Create a more angular squared-off shape and have it thinner and tapered off on the outer corner for a strong yet beautiful look”. Create this fresh faced look using Bobbi Brown’sLimited Edition Brow Kit in Dark, £35, and keep the rest of your make up minimal and dewy withYSL’s new light infused weightless foundation Le Teint Touché Éclat, £28, which comes in 22 shades.

Statement Stained Lips

Worn-in wine-stained lips rocked the catwalks of Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and Donna Karan. Look for rich plums and reds with blue/red and violet undertones, which all make darker skin tones pop. Don’t be scared of vibrant shades, as they’ll look softer once on the skin. Fred Letailleur, Northern European Make Up Artist for YSL explains, “use your finger to build the colour by rubbing the colour into the middle of the lips in 2 to 3 fine layers depending on the drama you want to create to enhance your pout”. Blend your own customised colour with Max Factor’s double ended Flipstick in Gipsy Red, £8.49 at Superdrug, or dab on Nars’raspberry Valparaiso Pure Matte Lipstick, £18.50.

Smoky Eye

You won’t want to escape the big smoke this summer as sexy, dark glossy eyes were seen at Gucci, Emanuel Ungaro and Pucci. A new generation of heavily pigmented and creamy eyeshadows have made creating the look super easy but first Sharon Dowsett, UK Make-Up Director for Maybelline New York recommends, “starting with a soft pencil like Maybelline New York Master Drama Kohl Liner, £4.99, available nationwide, as it’s very smudgeable. Line around your lashes, top and bottom, and blend out into the desired shape. Try art deco like at Gucci (oval), Egyptian as at Pucci (horizontal) or winged like at Emanuel Ungaro. Finish by pushing in colour with your fingertips or a brush”. A smouldering multi-dimensional black you can slick on with your fingers is Chanel’s Illusion D’Ombres in Mirifique, £22.50 (atSelfridges ). Why stick to black? Try layering a molten red on top of your black liner with Tom Ford’s new Limited Edition Cream Colour for Eyes in IIIicit, £28, (call 0870 034 2566 for stockist details), for a seductive smoky eye.
courtesy of elleuk.com