Accentuate the positive! The hot new trend this spring is to accent one feature. It's not about not minimizing make-up but having fun with eyes, lips, or cheekbones in a playful way. Don't be shy, find that best feature and show it off! Let's start at the top. Bangs are back. If you haven't had bangs for a while, now's the time. Short, blunt, cut bangs that rest at the top of the brows or even cover the brows are really hot this spring. If you can't wear them straight, try sweeping your bangs to the side and slightly layered. They take a little less effort to grow back and will blend into your hair easily with a lot less commitment. The benefits of bangs are that it is much cheaper than Botox! Bangs should be soft and feathered whether you choose to wear them straight down or swept off to the side. Next, let those brows grow back. Full, defined brows are back in style. Brush your brows up and out. Fill brows in with a brow powder in sparse areas. If you do not have brows, you'll need to draw in a soft, natural brow line with a full appearance. If your brow hair does not want to re-emerge, try dabbing a little Women's Rogaine on using a cotton swab. Look for Shimmering Shades. If you choose to emphasize your eyes, go with metallics. Gold and silver and all shades in between are colors you'll want to have in your makeup kit. Don't wait to wear them at night; shimmer is hot for daytime wear. Choose two colors: one for the lid shade, carrying it into the crease, and another for the highlight. Be sure to line your eyes. Select the darkest shade of shimmer and wet an eyeliner brush to line your eyes. If you feel that you need a little extra depth, line the outside of the eyes too. If you've chosen a warm metallic shadow, use a rich brown liner; if you have selected a cool silver or pewter shadow, use a soft black or deep gray liner. When you're using lots of liner, keep the lips and eyes understated. Liquid liner is back, so don't be afraid to emphasize those baby blues! The skin is pale and delicate and without a tan this season. The sunless tan is gone. You need just a shimmer of highlights on the face to give the skin a little color and healthy glow. Blush may be emphasized or kept to a minimum. Remember it's all in the accent you choose. Think pink and pretty pastels. Cool tones are the choice of the season, although they don't always work for every skin tone. Does your skin have too warm of an undertone to wear pink? Cheat it! Try mixing a little soft coral or apricot in with a sheer pink to create your own version of pink. Bronzers this season are more about the look of shimmer and highlight. The fake tan is out, and so is the sun-kissed look of the bronzer. Highlights on the skin are created with soft shimmering shades of gold, apricot, or pink. Lips are nude and pale unless of course you have chosen lips as your accent. Lips are so nude that they could be missed -- soft shades of nude, pink, or apricot. If you're not sure of your best color, look at the inside of your lower lip to see your best tone of natural, and then go a shade lighter. Lipstick is back, glossy gloss is last year. Lipsticks should be moisturizing and have a little shine or shimmer. They should not be matte! Getting older is getting better. Magazines and make-up companies are choosing to use older models and actresses to sell their brands. Why not when the largest, most affluent demographic is represented by women ages 39 to 52? If you happen to fall into this category, setting trends isn't always the best way to go. You can still be stylish and pull off many of the new looks, but you must do so in the right way. Let's face it, after 35 a heavy brow line is not the way to go. But because brows frame the face, a nicely shaped brow can take years off. Try adding a little length on the underside of the brows where they start to grow and just above the arch so it appears fuller but still has a defined arch. Be careful of the shimmers you choose; all shimmers are not created equal! Stay away from extreme frosts if the eyes are dry or beginning to show signs of aging. Instead, select a color that has a little shimmer and press on to the eyelid. Choose a matte contour shadow to give the eye the lift it needs. Keep the color slightly darker than the lid shade so it frames the eye. The highlight can have a little more shimmer but be sure and keep it right under the eyebrow. Then, line under the lower lashes with a metallic liner to pull this look together. Blush colors should be pinks, corals, or apricot. Do not use this as your accent feature if you are following the trend. Bright cheeks can age a face and draw too much attention. Keep the cheeks soft and neutral. Always keep skin looking moist and luminous. A little shimmer placed strategically on the face will add a soft glow to aging skin. The spring lipstick colors are nudes and pinks. They are not matte, but slightly glossy and moisturizing. Many times, older women need color on their lips so they don't look washed out. You may want to brighten the lips a little more than your younger counterpart. Don't be afraid to choose one single feature to accent. Any age can pull this one off! You may even want to switch things up and accent different areas at different times to keep things interesting. Promoting the New Look of Spring. For any promotion to be successful, marketing is key! The budget of the salon or spa will dictate how you should promote the new look to your clients. Check with the owner, manager, or spa director to see how you should proceed. Get the word out. Send out an e-blast, mailer, post signs in the spa, or make phone calls. Tell your clients about the fresh new look of spring, and suggest they come in for a color consultation. When the client arrives, spend some time talking with them discussing the spring look. You may want to prepare a questionnaire for them to complete so you have an idea of what they have in mind. Be sure and read over the questionnaire before you begin (See example of questionnaire with possible answers and what to do with the information). This will help you to create a look they will love wearing! Put together a notebook with some of the new looks of spring. Be sure you include pictures or tear sheets of various ages and skin tones so no one is left out. Flip through the book with your client and have her show you the pictures she likes. Having the notebook available will allow her to see photos of women with similar coloring or features to her own. Apply the make-up on the client. Explain to her each step and your reasons for selecting a color and why you chose to use it on her a specific way. Be sure and record their colors on a chart so she has something to follow once she is in front of her own make-up mirror. Review the chart with your client and the make-up application. You want her to feel confident that she can re-create her spring look. Then close the sale. Ask her what she would like to take home. This is a simple, non-threatening way to ask for the sale. Follow up in a few days with a phone call. You want to make sure your client is not having any challenges with the application of their new look. If they are, invite them back in. Have them wear their make-up in so you can see first hand what may need correction. Trends come and go. Take advantage of the ones that play up your best features. Go with what you feel comfortable wearing and don't get stuck in a rut. Remember, make-up is as fun as you make it! Client Profile Sheet - Spring 2007 Name ___________________________________Birthday _________________ Address __________________________________________Apt ____________ City ______________________________ State __________Zip ____________ Day Phone _________________________ Evening Phone _________________ Cell Phone _________________________ Email _________________________ 1. What do you consider your best feature(s)? ___________________________ 2. How much make-up do you wear? __________________________________ 3. Do you wear the latest trends in make-up? ____________________________ If so, do you apply all of the latest techniques or a few? ____________________ 4. What features would you like to minimize? ___________________________ 5. How much time do you spend each morning on your make-up? ____________ 6. How much time do you spend on make-up when you are going out or to a special event? __________________________________________________ 7. Why do you like or dislike make-up? _______________________________ 8. How often do you change your make-up look? ________________________ Common Answers - Where to Take It from Here 1.What do you consider your best feature(s)? these features will become your accent features. 2. How much makeup do you wear? natural look - keep the eyes soft and understated, cheeks soft, and lips in the nude shades. wear it but not a lot - a little stronger color than the "natural look". Show the client how to accent each of her best features. This client tends to wear more makeup for special occasions, show her how to enhance her makeup for these times. won't leave the house without it - this client likes to have fun with their make-up and wears the latest colors and trends. Don't be shy with your application! She is going to want to learn all of the tips and tricks you can supply her with. 3. Do you wear the latest trends in make-up? If so, do you apply all of the latest techniques or a few? yes - show her pictures to determine the direction to go. You will probably want to show her several options. no - show her the softer side of the look of spring. Be sure and show her a mild version of accenting a feature, which knows she might want to get a little adventurous! 4. What features would you like to minimize? Show her how to minimize this (these) feature(s). 5. How much time do you spend each morning on your makeup? 6. How much time do you spend on makeup when you are going out or to a special event? 5 - 10 minutes. This client probably prefers a minimal amount of makeup. Keep in mind the answers the have previously given. Keep the application simple; foundation, 2 eye colors, soft blush, gloss or lipstick. 10 - 20 minutes. This client is probably a little more of a perfectionist in her make-up application. Spend time with her to determine her best looks of spring. Apply full make-up including concealer. 20 - 30 minutes. Go all out, this client is going to want to see and learn it all. Apply full makeup and show her different accents for her to try. She can still look glamorous without her make-up looking "caked on". 7. Why do you like or dislike make-up? do not like the way it feels on my skin - use a mineral make-up or a lightweight foundation. Keep color sheer and understated. it makes me more confident - make-up evens out skin tones and helps to hide problematic skin. Make-up should be applied a little stronger on this client. They want to look like they are wearing make-up. love the way it makes me look and feel - this client prefers an extreme application of make-up. Determine her best features and really play them up. 8. How often do you change your make-up look? not often - show them a basic look and teach them how to incorporate a few of the spring tips. Be sure and tell them the spring tips so they do not carry it over into the next three to four seasons. every season - you will want to put this client on your contact list for all make-up promotions. She enjoys wearing make-up and wants to know how she can look her best each season. Mary Van, owner and founder of Mineralogie, a leading mineral makeup company, has been a make-up artist for over 20 years. She has worked freelance, along with owning her own spa, but now concentrates solely on her cosmetic line. She attributes her success to creating products that work, and are on the cutting edge. Working with celebrities such as Jessica Simpson and LeAnn Rimes, keeps her always-creating new products as trends keep changing. For further information, go to www.mineralogie.biz.Want to read more? Subscribe to one of our monthly plans to continue reading this article.