This year’s spring/summer make-up collections are full of pastels, from fresh pale mints to dreamy lilacs, fizzing peaches and pale, pretty pinks. Lovely as they are to look at on catwalks and cosmetic models, a lot of us will struggle to see how they fit into our real lives and onto our real faces.
Pastel make-up conjures images of 1960s Twiggy make-up, in chalky shades and matte textures that are unforgiving of age or imperfection. So is it possible to update our look with a pop of pretty pastels, or is any attempt going to look like a garish grab at girlishness?
“I think what’s different about this pastel trend now is that it’s colourful and wonderful, and it’s what I would call pastel warm, rather than pastel cold,” says Mary Greenwell, the make-up artist who has worked with the likes of Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Princess Diana and Jennifer Lawrence, and has collaborated with Chanel for 20 years.
“But it’s also that formulations have improved so much and are very wearable. They go on very easily, so you don’t have to be scared of these colours. Just remember to build the colour, rather than going on directly with lots of it. Rather than putting a lot on a brush, I use my fingers for everything and that allows you to start with a little and then build it up to the effect you want.”
Where is a good place to start with pastels, if they seem a bit daunting?
Greenwell says that a pastel-coloured eye liner in a vivid green or a purple can be a great entry to this kind of trend. It’s not an add-on to your regular look, she advises, but a standalone shade. So don’t line first with black or brown when using liner, and if your pastel pop is an eye shadow, do not apply it beside or over your usual eye shades.
“Use these as your normal make-up because anything underneath, like your usual beige or b...
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