“The biggest trends for spring/summer are metallic eyes, bright clean clear corals, reds and oranges for lips and lightly bronzed skin,” said Philippe Chansel of HSN’s exclusive beauty brand Ready to Wear, New York. “Working backstage at NY Fashion Week, I was able to see these trends first hand. A lot of platinum and gold used on eyes to highlight over either nude/natural shaping or burnished sexy, strong eyes. The eyes were balanced with beautiful creamy, shiny lips. Corals and orange reds were the most popular but nude toned shiny lips were also a designer favorite. Bronzed skin was still popular at some shows, but in a more natural way- not obvious. Beautiful skin—natural looking—with gold highlight on the cheekbones was a must on all runway shows.”  A pop of bold color on the eyes completes the look, according to industry experts.
 

“I love using a cobalt liner around my eyes in spring time to add a touch of color … the blue hue makes the whites of anyone’s eyes stand out,” said Nicole Artmont, makeup artist for NYX Cosmetics. “For cheeks and lips, I love switching it up with brighter neon colors like fuchsia and coral. For girls with cooler skin undertones (more olive or darker skin) use the fuchsia and for the ladies with warm skin tones coral looks amazing!”

 

 

NYX is debuting a Spring Fling Palette for the season, a mix of 12 blossoming eyeshadows with a rosy dual blush set and two flushed lipglosses that complement every springtime look, according to the company.

Mineral marketer Jane Iredale is “Feeling Alive” this season with her sunny new range. According to Iredale, “This collection brings that feeling home to you wherever you happen to be, and we provide you with a virtual passport to Rio or LA, your choice. Now that’s how travel should feel. Enjoy your trip!”

 

Colors include creamy eye glosses in pink and turquoise, a bronzer quad with rosy hues and a petal-pink lipliner, among other items.

 

Besides pastels, bold brights like orange are hot for Spring 2012, according to industry insiders.

 

Roncal recommends pairing Mally Beauty Lip Gloss in Be a Peach with Mally Beauty Effortless Airbrush Eyeshadow in Brightening Brown to achieve this trend. To complement bold lips, Mally Beauty is rolling out some new eye products for the season, including the Eye Amplifying Shadow Trio, which features three shades custom keyed to eye color. The kit contains an Illuminator (lightest), a Shaper (mid-depth) and Liner (deepest) and varies from Opulent (Hazel/green eyes, Salmon/Burgundies) or Gilded (Brown/Blue eyes, Golden/Brown/Plum).

Hot pink, offset by black or brown, is the latest shade at Urban Decay, which is bulking up its eyeliner empire with three new 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil shades for Spring 2012: Perversion, Demolition and Woodstock. Perversion first appeared in its Limited Edition 15-Year Anniversary Pencil set, but by demand, Urban Decay is launching it as a standalone shade. Also previously only available in gift sets, Demolition, a deep matte brown, and Woodstock, a bright sparkly pink, also join the collection. The waterproof pencils feature nourishing ingredients such as vitamin E, jojoba and cottonseed oil, according to the company.

 

Some new purple and green SKUs are big at Three Custom Color this season. The brand’s latest rollouts for Spring 2012 include Vivacious Violet Lip Gloss, a bright purple with a delicate pink sparkle and rich, high-shine formulation, as well as Seine-Sational eye shadow, a deep green wet/dry powder, enlivened by a kaleidoscope of gold and silver shimmer.

Estée Lauder’s spring collection, Pure Color Topaz, also focuses on lively hues.

 

“My inspiration behind the collection would be vacation in Arizona with healthy, warm sun. I was thinking of an amazing and gorgeously healthy woman that had an element of fantasy in her personality,” said Tom Pecheux, creative makeup director at Estée Lauder.

 

Pure Color Topaz, a limited edition makeup collection, features a mosaic of bronze, taupe and sand shades punctuated by an twist of citron yellow and a boost of teal by way of a kohl liner, as pictured at left on the model.

 

Also new from Estée Lauder are the Illuminating Perfecting Primer and Matte Perfecting Primer. According to the company, these technologically-advanced primers make it possible to create a photo-ready, airbrushed finish for a flawless complexion that lasts all day.

“Every good artist knows that the key to a good foundation in every masterpiece is a skillfully primed canvas,” said Pecheux. “Primers are essential to a perfect canvas, giving you an even, smooth foundation application, greater pop in your color pigments, and a flawless, lasting finish.”