Fantasia Salon / Spa and Wig Specialists

Summer 2008 is all about clothing with bright, bold colors and the makeup has to match accordingly.

From bright red lips and accentuated eyebrows to the neo-bohemian dark eyes and girly, electric-blue eye shadow, women can play with it all this summer. One thing all women should remember, no color will look good on damaged skin. so, before any makeup goes on, moisturizer and foundation are the key. Apply the moisturizer and wait about 20 minutes before applying your foundation.

Once the canvas is ready for the makeup, here are the main trends for summer of 2008.

The eyeliner is back. The 80-’s are gone- but some of their boldness has been brought back-minus the excess. Try electric and turquoise blues, bold purples, lilacs, and fresh baby blues. Use the color to border the eyelid in a smudgy streak. Use liquid eyeliner if the goal is to create a more dramatic cat-eye pattern for an evening affair.

The 60’s look, yep, the wild sixties inspire fashion and makeup trends. The eyes are the focus with women wearing two-tone eye shadow patterns and flirty eyelashes. The idea is to create a light smokey eye with combinations of blues, corals and greens. This look is great for daytime and parties, but not for women in the work place.

Golden eyes are in. Metallic shades are everywhere, and make-up is no exception. Once again, the eyes are the right place to play up the colors. Try gilding the eyelids with iridescent eye shadow in light colors for the morning and in darker shades for the evening.

Red lips are hot, they are back stronger and bolder. Red lipstick should be worn carefully, paired with sleek hair, well-groomed eyebrows and a tad of black eyeliner. Some women like a berry-stained lip color or a vibrant pink shade, to make a softer statement but still look totally stylish.

Pink cheeks are all the rage. Soft pastel pink cheeks make a comeback this season. This hue gives a girly, innocent air to those who wear it, especially when worn with minimal makeup. Make the eyes look daring with brown or black-brown mascara and darker shades of pink on the lips.

Experiment with all these trends but remember to go for those that complement your style, skin color and age. It’s all about looking good!

Deciding to go gray, or “natural” as it’s now being referred to, is not an easy decision. I know for me personally, it’s not something I’m ready to do anytime soon. If you are one of the brave souls who feel this is something you want to do, here are some suggestions to help you and your hair look good.

There are a couple of ways to transition to gray according to one stylist. If you hair is long or a medium length, cut it short so the gray doesn’t take too long to grow in. The easiest transition however, is to go with heavy highlights in blond, silver or gray. New growth will then blend in with the highlights.

A stylish cut is very important, to keep you from looking matronly. Younger women with gray hair advise having a stylish cut and staying current with fashion and makeup.

Gray hair tends to be coarser, so it is imperative that you use a good conditioner. A purple or violet-based shampoo used once per week will remove environmental toxins from the hair that can cause it to look yellow. A protectant spray will keep gray hair from turning dirty and brassy when you are in the sun. Look for a product that has thermal protection to deflect heat damage and add shine and luster to your hair.

As women age, they lose pigmentation, not only in their hair but in their skin. When this happens, the sun damage and freckles become more prominent. If you are going gray, you will have to rethink your makeup. Consider foundations with more luminosity, more moisture and just a hint of shimmer.

Let’s face it, if your skin is dull, it takes away from the whole package. So, if you have always worn pale, beigy pink, you may have to step it up to mauve or darker pink-brown. Or, perhaps a soft burgundy. You need to compensate for the loss of color in your hair, somehow, someway.

It’s not just about adding more foundation, lipstick or blush. It’s about adjusting the color. A bright lipstick will define the lips better and a lipstick will offer more pigmentation and last longer than gloss. A bit of color on the cheeks makes one look healthier.

Don’t ever go without mascara, that will “fade” you out with gray hair. People who go gray, go gray in their lashes and brows also. You need to add color to your brows and lashes as your eyes are a form of communication. If you are washed out, it can affect the way you feel. It’s important, if you have absence of hair color, that you put the color back in somewhere else.

Just know, if you go gray, that won’t be the only change you have to make. Oh, if life were only that simple!

For those of you who follow the trends, you may be interested to know that the one of the hottest make up trends for Spring is neon lip colors. Yes, neon, with colors so bright they just about leaped off the runway. If you are thinking the look is a return to the 80’s, think again. All the familiar colors you have known and loved such as your blue eye shadows (teal for me) and frosty pink lipsticks are history. This year’s neon and day-glo colors such as fuchsia, orange, yellow, teal and purple, are juicier and more exuberant. However, the makeup artists tell us that these colors are not easy to use.

If you don’t know where to start with the neon colors, choose one hue and go from there. The goal is to get impact without overwhelming your face, according to makeup artist Kathy Jeung. She knows what she’s talking about. Kathy’s clients include Gwen Stefani, Kylie Minogue and Natasha Bedingfield. Kathy says “try a single pop of vivid color on only one feature, concentrating on one area: lips, eye shadow on the lid or just along the lower lash line. Or, try turning colored cheek powder or eye shadow into a liquid eyeliner by first moistening the brush with water before putting it into the product.”

Just remember, whatever you do, a little goes a long way. Many people think that the neon hues won’t work with their complexion, but it’s all about how you wear them. Applied carefully, neons and brights will work with almost any complexion. Darker complexions will do better with the warmer tones such as oranges, pinks and yellows. Apply with a light hand, not a heavy hand says Kathy.

Focus on your eyes. Use either eyeliner or eye shadow, not both. But, it you want to try both the shadow and eyeliner together, use the same color. Kathy says this way the eyeliner will give more color saturation and intensity to the look.

Kathy says “A great barometer for knowing how to wear this trend is to ask yourself, do you feel you look good? Do you feel comfortable? You have to wear it with confidence. Just own it.”

Don’t get me wrong, I like trends. But this is one I’m not sure I could pull off. I think I would have to see a lot of “average Janes” wearing it before I’d take a chance. For now, I think I’ll leave this one for Hollywood.