Sun-kissed
Provence and the Hypokhloros
Many of the spring makeup colors that we
have featured, and that I have seen in stores, have
inspired me to contemplate different, new and fresh
"palettes", or color themes, for the face that
evoke spring and the beginning of summer. Whimsical, yet
wearable, these colors can flatter, make a completely
different statement, and appeal to one's fantasy.
Two such themes that have really engaged
my imagination are, first, of the sun-drenched beauty of
Provence, with sunshine, heat, flowers, dusty roads, and
colors: earth-toned, rich terracottas, coppery siennas.
The second current color obsession of mine is a baby
spring green impression that I have dubbed the hypokhloros
(I will elaborate later).
To create my Provence look , I
envisioned a lovely Provencal maiden juicy and ripe and
healthy. So, I decided to create a Provence
"maiden-goddess" look. I used products by
L'Occitane and Chanel. Over my foundation I used a light
bronzer for a golden look. By the way, check out
Prescriptives "Cool Bronzer." It comes in a
compact with two shades of powder, and it's a little
cooler in color than most bronzers, not so orangey -- very
natural. I tried it at the Prescriptives counter not too
long ago, and would definitely buy it once I use up my
Christian Dior bronzer (which I love too). Then I used a
powder blush by Clinque called Lucky Clover, which is a
pink, but with a little ruddy brink hint of color to it,
not cool. For the lips I applied L'Occitane's lipstick
pencil in Copper, which looks exactly as it sounds, and
then over that L'Occitane's lip gloss in Aventurine, which
is a deeper copper than the pencil, and glossier, with a
little pink in it. A lovely subtle, yet, glowing effect.
For the eyes I dragged out my Chanel Eye Shadow Quad in
Plum, Amber, Nectar and Peony, which was wildly promoted
last year, and is actually very nice, but the shadow
really crumbles and is a bit messy. It probably would be
best to transfer the colors into little tubs. For my upper
lid I used Nectar, a soft yellow orange and on my lower
lid, under the lashes, I applied Peony, a very soft light
pink. Then I used a brown eye pencil along the upper lid
up against the eyelashes smudged lightly, some black
mascara, and, for the piece de resistance, a swipe
of L'Occitane's lipstick pencil in Gypsum, a sheer frosted
apricot, under the brow bone, blend and finis.
The overall effect is glowing and
healthy; as if you were in sun drenched fields picking
lavender, and had just run up a hill in a flushed gorgeous
way. All ripe and dewy and full of promise. This look is
especially nice for the "gray-March-why-isn't-it-really-spring-yet?"
days. And the guys dig it.
Every spring brings back the memory of
reading Homer in college. I recall translating the passage
in the Odyssey where Odysseus observes the cattle
grazing on the "tender blooms" of grass; and the
color of the grass is described as khloros a yellow
or young green. We get the word chlorine from this root.
Homer also "sings" of the hypokhloros,
which is the uber-green, the greener than green, green.
The khloros is the color that one sees in the early
spring, just peeping out, the hint of color in the still
brown grass, in the trees, on the bushes. It is the
faintest of blushes, the harbinger of the verdant flush of
summer. I have just started to see it here, in Central
Park, and it delights me. Especially the small patches of
grass which are as delicate and soft as the muzzle of a
Shetland Pony.
I've always loved green as a color. I
think it's restful, soothing, flattering, and lucky.
I could go on and on, but let's get to
the makeup. There are many shades of green in evidence for
spring, and most of the shades are, of course, for the
eyes (but don't that limit you -- remember the Shibuya
article we did in January!). These greens, all of them, I
think look great with any eye color. We are in a very open
period of makeup and fashion where one doesn't have to be
so literal that you if you have blue eyes you use this,
brown eyes only use this, blah, blah, blah.
My number one favorite green for the
eyes is Face Stockholm Eye Dust #15. If they had asked me,
they wouldn't have called it just plain old #15 but it
should have been named "Emerald City," because
it is exactly the green of the Emerald City of Oz that
Dorothy sees in the distance on her way to it along the
yellow brick road. This is a real nice color, ladies. It
looks goooood. I applied it as one would an eyeliner, very
saturated. A little pink blush, and dusting of a little
bronzer if you wish, but don't need it. Add to that the
Stila lipstick, and you have a lovely rosebud look. Like a
wood nymph. I must say that Liza is a fantastic color, and
I've been instinctively reaching for it non-stop. It is
sheerish, and is the color of a pink petunia, or a Persian
pink rosebud. Yet it looks so natural, that it makes your
lips look irresistibly kissable. It's very sexy in an
innocent sort of way.
Another excellent Face Stockholm eye
dust, in another hue of green, is called Purpose. I don't
understand why some of their products are named and others
numbered....oh well. This is a great pale green, slightly
yellowish, a lichen green with sparkle, so when you open
the pot it looks like crushed gems. This a more
"neutral" green than Emerald City, and I would
think would look especially nice on hazel-eyed people. I
think this eye dust can be worn as a shadow or liner,
bother on the lower and upper lids. With Purpose I paired
the eye dust with a Face Stockholm lipstick called Citrus,
which looks like this wild neon Barbie doll orange, but
when applied is subtle and sheer and it works. You would
think that no one's coloring would suit this, but it's
lovely. This is a warmer look than the green ensemble
above, which was cooler in hue and tone.
There is also by Stila an eye powder
called Kiwi, which is a pretty minty sprout shoot green,
close to the color of kiwi but lighter in value. It has a
little sparkle, so you can dress it up or down depending
on the amount you chose to use. Since this is a subtler
shade I chose a brighter lip color, a very nice lip liner
by L'Oreal called Berries/Mauves. It is a burgundy/red
berry color, and I used it as a lipstick instead of a
liner, and added a little sheer gloss over it. An white
opal gloss over it would be nice too, but more for
evening.
There are even more greens to
investigate: Lime Shimmer from Maybelline, Moss Agate from
Nars, and of course the green eye shadows in the lovely
spring line by Shu Uemura. Have fun mixing and matching
these colors with your lipsticks, blushes, eye pencils and
so on, for a themed look, or palette, and relish in your
sun bronzed goddess-ness or your mermaid green beauty.