Blaze Maze

There's nothing more sensational and glamorous than metallic makeup. However, there are few tips you should follow before you go ahead and apply metallic makeup on your face. The idea is to portray subtle shimmer and not look like a gilded statue

Gold, silver, bronze, copper and the hues; accents, crème, dust, liquid or sparkles–metallic makeup has been playing hide and seek on the trend-scape. Sometimes, we hail it and sometimes we hate it, but come colder months and metallic makeup evidently makes a comeback. Each season, makeup brands across the globe, release new tones and textures of metallic makeup, and experimentalists and makeup artists embrace them and unveil a whole range of styles. Usually, there are two fundamentals to metallic –either, walk the path of subtlety, or go guns blazing with metallic power. The former fad with its simple appeal is perfect for all your dos, whereas the latter is better when seen on catwalks and galas. We revisit trends – some evergreen and some new that redefine metallic makeup.

L’Officiel India DigitalRead L’Officiel India in the digital libraryEvery issue and every cover story, on TCG Media.Read now

Glide with Gold

Gold in all its glory, is also a colour of confidence, apart from being an epitome of glitter. While it goes particularly well with Indian sensibilities, internationally too, it is a celebrated trend on the ramp and has been sported by celebrities at various galas. Contrary to popular belief that gold is restrictive and loud, gold is rather versatile and is available in a myriad of shades across your makeup counters.

Silver Lining

Silver is perhaps not the colour for all skin tones, but those who want to and can wear it with aplomb, should march ahead fearlessly. Silver too can be found in a number of shades. From a pearly whites to greyish silver they come in an array of finishes. Silver is more of a colour for the eyes, they look particularly attractive and can redefine the shape of the eyes.

Bronze and Copper Grace

These shades have been best friends with lips for decades now and never go out of vogue. These are two shades that are not restricted by age and women across the spectrum latch on to this colour to up their glamour quotient. These two families of shades are also perfect for those women, who prefer only lipsticks when it comes to makeup. Just on the pout and these shades can turn a dull look into fab in minutes.

Haute hues

When it comes to other colours, bright tones especially like blue, purples, oranges and greens are all the rage in makeup. Here again, either you match a shade with what you are donning or play with contrasts or as per your personal style.

Look book:

Remember the key for all shades of metallics, apply one layer for a subtle sheen and more layers for a solid metallic look.

On the eyes, when it comes to gold and silver, the frost bite look is passé. Make it more glowing by putting in a solid base of crème or liquid gold eyeshadow. With a large eyeshadow brush put a thicker layer on the eyelids, and then use a sponge to give a lighter effect up till the eyebrows. Be careful not to move out of the eye area. Use a tissue under your eyes, so that the makeup does not spill beyond the eyes.

On the eyelid, apply a thick stroke of gold metallic eyeshadow and one line under your lower lashline and then finish off the look with black eyeliner and mascara.

Take an eye glace or dust and put about two dots in the centre on the lower eyelid and on the centre of the eyelid to get an ethereal gold embellished look. Finish it with a black or gold eyeliner.

Gold lipsticks are in. Either use a gold stick or a creamy gold tone on your lips. If you want a graphic effect, put a darker shade of a lip liner.

Other metallic colours for the lip like orange, pinks and reds too look hot.

Give a twist to classic smoky eyes by replacing the grey or charcoal base with a metallic silver shade to create a striking glittery smoky look.

Use a white shade of creamy shadow and put it inside the corners of the eye to the middle lid, and a little along the bottom lashes to the middle of the eye for a hypnotic effect.

If you want a simple look and just want to highlight metal on the cheek, use a bronze or copper blush with a hint of tint on the lips and round off with an eyeliner.

For the nails, there is no particular rule book, and you can go and choose what you want. Metallic nail paints with a shimmer of gold and silver are still ruling the fashion-o-meter. Contrast or matching, you can make let your nails rage a fashion storm.

When it comes to metallic, subtlety is really the key. You can pretty much experiment with eye-liners, eyeshadows, lipsticks and blushes. However, prefer refined shimmers rather than dusts and glitters to avoid looking like a disco ball. And be sure to choose a colour that best suits your skin tone, so go ahead and rock your look with powerful patinas.