Show Off A Fresh Face: Makeup for the season with Miss Margot

Every stylish girl knows to change her make-up colour scheme to match the season. Spring is here, so let’s freshen up and introduce some bright, happy colours to our faces . When it comes to spring make-up, it looks like my favourite colour purple will be the hue of choice.

I spoke with the amazing make-up artist Margot who has worked with many talented recording artists including the Backstreet Boys, David Archuletta, the Hidden Cameras, Kids on TV, Peaches, Final Fantasy, Gentleman Reg, One Second 2 Late, Boy George, The Priests and Gloria Gaynor. She also knows MAC, Chanel, Dior, Armani and Guerlain(I Heart Guerlain) like the back of her hand.

Q: What colours will we see on fashionable faces for spring?

Purple is the colour this spring. Variations on purple for eyes and lips – nude, almost lilac colours have been seen on Lady Gaga and on the runways for Lanvin and Cavalli. Darker, dramatic, deep violets are popular on the lips with a high shine gloss for runway, but for high street wear, we will see more of the purple drama happening on the eyes. It’s a modern,Bridget Bardot eye – smoky, with winged liner and nude lips.

Q: Any tips on how to acheive the trendy look for spring?

If you want to do a dramatic eye with purple, try applying your eye makeup first, then wipe away any shadow that has fallen on to the cheeks and continue with foundation, blush and lips. This will help create a clean smoky eye that does not look bruised or tired. I like to start with concealer all over the eye lid, then a base colour like Shroom(MAC’s number one seller) and an eye colour over the lid and into the crease. If you’re a little shy on trying purple, why not use a purple liner? I like using purple eyeshadow with an angle brush. Add a drop of Visine to your angle brush and dip into the shadow to make it a waterproof eyeliner! You’ll never buy another eye pencil again!

Q: What is the must have make-up item this spring?

If I had to choose one, I would have to say a beautiful sheer lip colour like Dior Addict High Shine in Couture Pink #260. It brightens up that nude day look with a light flush of colour and the packaging is glorious. It’s a treat that every woman looks good in. It also pairs wonderfully with the purple eye.

Q: What have you seen on the runway lately?

There are three key looks for spring:

1>>One which is a combination of ‘recessionista’ fashion and eco-consciousness – very muted, natural looking makeup, moving into natural ingredients as well. Lines like Dr.Hauschka,Jurlique and Korres, which were once deemed ‘health food brands’ are now in demand and carried at boutiques such as Holt Renfrew, Pure and Simple and even Shopper’s Beauty Boutiques. The over all look is fairly matte skin, eye colours which are variations of brown in satiny shimmers on the eyes, long, curled eyelashes, structured faces with natural bronzer over the cheekbones and a  new nude lip. Get rid of your old C-thru Lipglass by MAC and move into a creamy, beige lipstick like Blankety, also by MAC.

2>>Purple is the strongest colour on the runway for spring. Whether you choose to do a strong, dramatic purple eye (if it’s applied correctly it will not make you look bruised or tired!), or a romantic deep violet lip with shine, purple is it!

3>>Spring is also the season to wear focus on both your eyes and lips. This is the opposite of our eco-conscious kind of girl, this is the strong resurgence of 1980′s Robert Palmer girl decadence! Pair that shimmering brown eye with an unapologetic red lip! Save the gloss for Fall, and keep your lips matte!

Q: Where do you love to shop for make-up?

I am very partial to MAC. I usually go to the Queen Pro location for all my wild glitter and pigment. I also love going to Tutti Frutti, the health food store in Kensington Market. That’s where I buy all of my skin care. Sussman’s Bridal on Queen West has a great selection of reasonable priced lashes. I rarely go into department stores of any kind, but will occasionally pop into the Chanel Boutique on Bloor and Sephora.

Q: What do you think of the Hello Kitty Mac line?

I am a MAC girl at heart and worked for them for many years. The Hello Kitty line is fun, cute, colourful with great packaging. I loved the Dame Edna Collection,which featured a lot of violets and mauves (Drag Queens are always a step ahead!). I blogged the Hello Kitty video by Floria Sigismundi on my site, which you can check out here: http://apps.margot.ca/blog/

Q: As the world celebrates Barbie’s 50th, what make-up techniques can we use to celebrate our inner Barbie?

Barbie is looking pretty flawless for 50! There has been so many incarnations of Barbie! My old favorite was the Cowboy Barbie who could wink and in this case I would recommend wearing Brill Eyeshadow by MAC for that frosty, light blue hotness, a giant pair of false eyelashes to amp up your wink, Refined Golden MAC Bronzer because it has a little shimmer, that makes your skin look a bit surreal and doll like, and my favorite lipstick Sandy B. which is a light pink frost. I used to wear Flavour all the time which is the perfect Barbie pink, but it is discontinued now! I think the one thing everyone can do to bring out their inner barbie is to put a pair of false eyelashes on! It is hard the first few times you do it, but once you get the hang of putting them on yourself it is easy! And do not be afraid of wearing pink blush! It adds a lovely
glow to the skin, making us look revived and fresh.

Check out Margot this Fashion Week where she will be doing makeup with Agency Vert - Canada’s first eco-conscious makeup and styling agency for Evan Biddell and Aime Luxury. Click links for more Margot www.margot.ca and www.agencyvert.com.