Beauty As Art, Part 2

Yesterday I told you how Sephora is getting ready for Spring by rolling out some new ideas about beauty, with their Beauty as Art campaign. If you don't want to update your entire look, Sephora wants you to at least consider tweaking your lashes, your eyes, or your lips with one of these looks:

Surrealist Lashes: "Push the limits of reality with spring's newest mascaras. Guerlain Le 2 uses two different brushes—a big one for length and volume; a tiny one that's tilted seven degrees for super precision—to achieve unbelievable lashes. Smashbox Bionic Mascara is ionically charged, binding to and volumizing lashes with magnetic force (really!). LORAC introduces an innovative four-sided brush for a multitasking mascara that literally does it all, and CARGO's blu_ray™ Mascara was created to look perfect on High Definition TV—making you ready for your close-up, in HD, that is."

My take: Even though I used to swear by Great Lash (and still buy this beauty cult classic when I need to be nicer to my finances), I find myself smitten by the more expensive mascaras on the market. I've been trying the pricier brands lately and I love the extreme length and thickness you can get with them. I can't wait to try the Smashbox Bionic Mascara...that sounds fun! And how funny that CARGO designed a mascara to look great on HDTV. I love that technological advancements are changing the way we think about makeup!

Impressionist Eyes: "From eggplant to violet to burgundy, purple lids are spring's most avant-garde trend. On the runways, purples were given an Impressionist flare; different tones and textures were layered for a shimmering, Water Lilly-like effect. This approach may seem dramatic, but it's actually quite wearable. The light, shiny highlighters will soften the darker purples—start out bold, and take the color down with highlighter till you reach your perfect degree of purple haze."

My take: Be careful here...a little goes a long way. While violet, eggplant, and other purples can add a great deal of drama to your look, you have to be sure you apply it right and that your makeup is appropriate for the rest of your look. You can be subtle with purples by pairing them up with neutrals and by either smudging them or using a light hand. If you want to try this out for yourself, I suggest you practice, practice, practice!

The Kiss: "Lips stains that give a fresh, slightly rouged, just-been-kissed look are hot for spring. We love this new crop of stains because they're moisturizing (stains and chapped lips decidedly don't mix), infused with good-for-you antioxidants, and many (Stila, Too Faced and Smashbox) can actually personalize their color to a shade that looks best on you. Now that's a kiss we want."

My take: I love trying out new lipsticks! Lipsticks that contain antioxidants? Score! Customizable lipshades? Definite score! I think changing your normal lipcolor provides the most bang for the buck. If you don't want to invest a lot of money but want to shake up your look, always go for a new lipcolor. So easy, so fun, so just do it!

For all these looks or other ideas to inspire you, visit sephora.com.