When it comes to beauty looks, bare is always beautiful—but so is a bit of color on the face. Fortunately the spring shows offered us both options this season. Makeup artists swept brilliant shades of blue and green on the eyes at Stella McCartney and Versus, slicked vivid crimson hues on lips at Jason Wu and Burberry, then emphasized neutral lips and glowing skin at shows like Dolce & Gabbana. There were moments of major lashes and brows but all of that was balanced by softly smudged-in eyeliner backstage. To emphasize this mix of strong versus subtle, play up the features you want to draw attention to with color—or a touch of sparkle (see Chanel, Gucci)—while keeping the rest of your look simple and glowing. Plus, check out the most anticipated hair trends of Spring 2013.

Red Signals

At first, it seemed like spring would be a season of pale lips. Then red colors hit with a bang, most noticeably at Burberry where models wore a creamy scarlet hue that generated major buzz. At Prada, makeup queen Pat McGrath went for a matte crimson, outlining the outermost part of lips in red pencil that accentuated the shape of the mouth (tip: this makes lips look bigger and fuller). All told, the season’s rouges ranged from pinky-red at Missoni and Oscar de la Renta to the classic power red at Jean Paul Gaultier to the dark and dramatic black cherry at Jonathan Saunders, proving the enduring appeal of being in the red.

 

Featured: Akris