VANCOUVER -- Spring 2011 is a bright, bold, colourful antidote to the dark gloom of winter, especially when it comes to makeup.

“It’s fun this year. I like it a lot,” says Silvia Pensato, a cosmetics manager with London Drugs. “And it’s stuff you can do yourself. You don’t have to be a makeup artist.”

Forget the muted lips and smudgy eyes of the past few seasons. This spring it’s all about a vivid coral lip or a swoosh of dramatic green eyeliner. They’re simple looks with major impact, a perfect complement to fashion’s neutral palette.
“Usually you see fall as being more dramatic, but this spring has a lot of drama,” says Carla Chalmers, the national education manager for Elizabeth Arden.

“It’s going back to the ’70s – but not so hippie,” adds Alexa Williams, a makeup artist at Beauty Mark in Yaletown. “It’s just so refreshing. I find in springtime I want to wear brighter colours. You want to wear something that brings you out of the darkness of winter.”

At the same time as this colour explosion, we’re seeing a subtle palette of neutrals: nude nails, clean complexions, bronzers for a soft glow, soft blush, nothing heavy or murky.

“Natural’s always a really nice look for spring,” Williams says. “Keep it clean, maybe just add a bit of bronzer and definitely some self-tanner.”

Most importantly, this is a great season to have some fun with your makeup and get creative.

“The main thing is experimenting with colour,” Pensato says. “And the good thing with makeup is if you make a mistake, you can take it off and start again.”
To help you get started, here are the season’s top five beauty trends:

1. In the pink

“What’s really big in lipstick is pink, from light pink to really bright pink,” Chalmers says. “Pink, pink, pink. Everyone’s liking the pink. Everyone can wear it.”

Barbara Atkin, vice-president of fashion direction at Holt Renfrew, describes it as “soft, feminine looks highlighted with pinks and mauves for lips tints and glosses, lipstick, blush, eye cream and shadows.”

And blush is back in a big way.

“But these are not what you think of as a traditional blush,” Pensato cautions. “They’re more illuminating. People don’t want the big pink cheeks.”

Get the look: Dior Addict Ultra Gloss in 516, $31, Lancome Blush Subtil in Shimmer Pink Pool, $38, Laura Mercier Lip Tint in Rose, $23, all from Holt Renfrew; Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lipstick, $29, at department stores across Canada.

2. Bright eyes

“The emphasis is on bold and brightness,” Williams says.

Atkin calls it a “pop of eye colour” that illuminates the eye with “green and turquoise brights, blended in with beige and bronze accents.”

The more daring can experiment with orange, yellow and neon hues, but most of us will be looking at the blues and violets on the cooler side of the spectrum. The key is to go bold with liner on the top lid, staying close to the lash line with a subtle cat’s eye swoop at the corners, and keep the rest of the eye area clean.
And be sure to focus on one feature only.

“Don’t do dramatic eye makeup and bright lipstick,” Pensato cautions. “It looks really overpowering.”

Get the look: Lancome Ultra Lavender eyeliner, $30, Cover Girl Liquid Line Blast in violet, $10.99, L’Oreal Double Extend Illuminator, $13.49, all from London Drugs; Elizabeth Arden Smoky Eyes Powder Pencil in Black Violet, $16, at department stores across Canada; Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue Palette, $85, Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadowliner in Samba-dy Loves Me, $22, both from Hot Renfrew.

3. Cleaning up

Heavy foundations are out for spring; what’s in is a clean, fresh, healthy-looking glow. Look for sheer foundations, primers and concealers, especially products that do double duty, like moisturizing foundations. Self-tanners and bronzers are also key this spring, and so is nude nail polish.

“There are the pastels as well, but the nudes were really big on the fashion runways,” Pensato says. “Rihanna was wearing nude recently on her album cover and Katy Perry was wearing nude recently, too.

“It’s easy, it’s low maintenance. Basically, it’s making it as easy as possible.”

Get the look: Giorgio Armani Cosmetics Face Fabric, $55, Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15, $55, both from Holt Renfrew; OPI Coney Island Cotton Candy, $10.99, Sally Hansen Choco-Latte, $7.99, both from London Drugs; St. Tropez mousse self tanner, $49.50, Paula Dorf neutral eyeliner, $20, Nanoblur clear gel foundation, $19, Cargo bronzer, $26, all from Beauty Mark; Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Ultra Lift and Firm Makeup SPF 15, $49.50, at department stores across Canada.

4. Powerful hair

The past few seasons, hair has been all about Hollywood glamour. This season, expect to kick things up a notch.

“It’s still trending in that glamorous look, but it’s more edgy,” says Rasa Jurenas, national educator for Schwarzkopf Professional. “Hollywood glam with a bit of a twist to it.”

Expect to see bold colours, strong lines, powerful shapes and a strong dash of red. There are ’70s and punk influences, but, Jurenas cautions, “Don’t go way back with the ’70s to do your hair. Do a modern version of it. Really pay attention to the trends, but don’t go back to that era.”

The good news is that you can achieve big drama with new high-tech and lightweight products such as serums for volumizing and lift, and spray waxes for hold.

“Even with an architectural look, you want it to look like hair, not a helmet,” Jurenas says.

Get the Look: OSiS Shape Gloss Wax, $21, Essensity Natural Shine Serum, $21.25, OSiS Flexwax Ultra Strong Cream Wax, $21, OSiS Glamour Queen H2O free Volumizing Hairspray, $20, at salons everywhere.

5. Orange you glad

The fastest way to bring your look into 2011 is with a coral lip.

“Coral is really big, but it scares people,” Chalmers says. But there are corals that aren’t our grandmother’s corals. It’s much more the wearable easy corals.”

For instance, she says, this year Elizabeth Arden brought back its Tropicoral lip gloss due to popular demand.

“There you go,” she says, “even the customers are looking for coral. Because it’s a gloss it works on everybody.”

Get the look: Studio Makeup Tropical Coral lipstick, $18, Lise Watier Coral Pop Glamour lipstick, $20, both from London Drugs; Elizabeth Arden High Shine Lip Gloss in Tropicoral, $15, available at department stores.

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