Cosmetic Make-up Trends for Autumn/Winter 2010

Terry Barber, director of Makeup Artistry for MAC Cosmetics gave an insight on what looks we'll be wearing for the AW10 season. He sees makeup returning to the luxurious look of simple chic sophistication and where skin care and makeup really blend together.

REDD VELVET

Red lips are back with a passion. From a light orange red to the deep blackened red, it isn't about the actual shade but how you wear it. Lips will be full bodied; the pigmentation strong and the lip liner will make an appearance but this time to help define a softer contour.  But we are not talking about the resurrection of the 80's look where red lipstick was part of a fully made up face. This season the rest of the face will be paired down so the lips can take centre stage and ooze seduction. The eye shadow palette will be muted shades of taupe and the eyeliner greys and browns.

There will be a choice of textures: the lacquered look (applying lip gloss on top of lipstick the traditional way) or the dense matte look – whichever suits your mood. On the catwalk Donna Karan went for a glossy Film Noir look whilst Costello Tagliapietra went for the strong matte red.

Barber's tips: dab a bright red in the centre of a dark blackened red to stop looking too gothic.

For the women who are wary of bright red lipstick, go for brick red

MAC shades include Russian Red, Cherry, Charred Red and Basic Red. From their Dare To Wear range of high powered pigments, they have the bright red Bold & Brash lip glass. Their limited edition Dazzle range brings a deep red Baby's On Fire and the magenta Troublemaker. And their Prolong Wear range has the blackened brick red Extended Play and the true red Prolong.

It's a case of you can have any shade you want as long as it's red.

SATIN EYES

A reworking of the feline and doe eye's by tweaking the smokey look into glamour wild, beautiful messy or a romantic Goth.  It's taking the classics and making them playful. Lashes are made to look like fur by multi feathering and layering with lots of false eyelashes. On the catwalk, Carolina Herrera went for the late 70's opulent dark purples and deep reds, whilst Giambattista Valli showed a futuristic and sporty version of the Jean Shrimpton look and Max Mara went for the bad Bond girl with graphic cat eyes.

MAC's Fabulous Felines range shows a slinky seductive new take and introduces three debut colour collections:

Burmese Beauty- eye shades of pale yellow beige, dirty gold, frosted brown green and deep blackened brown framed with Superslick liquid eyeliner in sparkling dark green, chocolate brown with soft pearl and emerald green with soft pearl.

Palace Pedigreed (the Russian Blue)– eye shades of light pink beige, deep berry with dark soft pink pearl, mid-tone neutral mauve and deep neutral grey. Superslick liquid eyeliner in bright silver pearl, dark blue violet with soft pearl and dark navy with soft pearl.

Leopard Luxe – eye shades of mid-tone camel, frosted mid-tone yellow orange, dirty brown with gold pearl and frosted warm black. Superslick liquid eyeliner in bright yellow-gold pearl, mid-tone grey with soft pearl and true black.

But don't start sharpening your claws yet in readiness to pounce on these products as they will not be available until Sept.

VOILE VEIL

The most modern of the trends, here the face is in soft focus with no hard lines. The colours used are of the cooler end of the spectrum – silver/pewter/taupe/mauve. Khaki is used instead of black for a softer smokey eye. One look is gothic with the aggressive black taken away to create a more fragile romantic coquettish feel. Another is the worn in polished and manicured look in classic neutrals.  And another is a soft tragic heroine look – it's all about creating moods. On the catwalk Chloe chose the luxuriously sophisticated French actress look whilst Felder Felder chose a light and soft inspired gothic theme.

Lips are either nude shades with a hint of a grey undertone such as MAC's Fresh Brew, Honey Love and Honey Flower or just slightly stained in keeping with the soft veiled focus.

Barber's tip: On the catwalk the models wore smokey blue grey eyes. Real women should keep to minky grey browns to stop the eyes looking bruised.

With this trend you use the make up to express a mood rather than concentrating on particular features.

CASHMINK

A combination of cashmere finishes and mink tones this look relies on texture, contouring and highlights rather than colours. However it is not the 80's iridescent razor sharp contours and glitter highlights but a seamless complexion with slight contours and subtle highlights to create a plump dewy bare look. It's sculpting with cream colour base and MAC's mineralised products which add texture without being greasy. Warmth is provided by using shades such as minky toffee, caramel, tea, ochre and rust.  On the catwalk Christopher Kane went for the sporty young look and Isaac Mizrahi for a frosty Siberian winter storm theme.

Lips are neutral shades to blend and tone with the skin or very "au natural" with just MAC's Lip Conditioner

For the very brave, mascara free lashes brings a modern androgynous feel to this look.

Which look will you go for? Have fun experimenting and choosing your style.

For more details on personal shopping, image consultancy or personaly styling contact details for Karen an be found on www.frumpytofunky.com