Makeup Tips - Shimmer For Winter

Shimmer makeup has been around for ages. While the version decades ago was the sort a teenager experimenting with makeup might use. I had a shimmer eyeshadow palette in my teenage days. The eyeshadow just didn't last. I had to apply a lot to see the color and even then, it faded away hours after application. The other kind looked really tacky.

Nowadays, shimmer makeup is a lot more friendly. It lasts longer too.

This season's metallic makeup is for both day and night. The effect of today's makeup is no longer like the cheap glitter you might use for art and craft. Today's metallic makeup is subtle, albeit glamorous. It stays on longer then the powdery fairy dust of the past. What really caught my attention this year was that ethereal look many models wore in the Fall 2007 to Winter 2008 fashion show. They looked like extras from some sci-fi movie, what with the silver sheen on their faces that made look out of this world. That look is perfect for parties. Looking at the photos of the models for Chanel, and for a number of other haute couture shows, I wondered how they achieved that effect. The models seemed to be lit with some silvery light. As if fairy dust had been dusted on their faces. It looked wonderful with the black on black outfits paraded on the runway.

In a sense, fairy dust was applied on the models in the form of shimmer powder. In short, that ethereal look is achieved with the addition of shimmer powder dusted lightly over the entire face. You can get a softer, radiant effect by dusting shimmer powder where light hits your face. The tops of the cheeks, forehead, tip of the chin and tip of the nose, places where sunlight normally hits, could use a touch of shimmer powder for that ethereal radiance. For the eyes try a gentle shimmer for day. Metallic eye shadows in lighter shades work well if worn with a light hand. Slick on some mascara and your eyes are done. For night, slick on a shimmery eye liner in a deep or bright color. Use a strong eyeliner and line the upper lash line, thickening the line and winging out at the outer edge of each eye for a dramatic finish. The egyptian eye is in, so use a thick line over upper lashline of the outer half of each eye for that cat eye effect.

Alternatively, you could go for a smoky eye look with vibrant eye shadow with a metallic finish. Pick a metallic eye shadow in a rich green, or a vibrant color. Line your eyes with a matching shimmer pencil and smudge the line. Then go over the line with your metallic eyeshadow. For lips, try a shimmery lip gloss over your regular lipstick. If you focus on your eyes, with a deeper or stronger shadow, go for medium or pale shades for your lips. If you want to focus on a brilliant pout, them go easy on the eyes.

Can everyone wear shimmer?

Younger women in their twenties and early thirties will look amazing in shimmer makeup. If you are young, you can go all out with your makeup colors. Use the most vibrant metallics you can find as you can get away with them. In fact, you would probably look amazing. Older women have to be careful. Shimmer highlights your features... and wrinkles. So if you have crows feet, avoid metallic eye makeup. If you have lines on your face, avoid shimmer powder where the lines are.

A softer version, in peachy colors would make most women look radiant and is absolutely wearable. Just make sure the shadow doesn't gather in your skin's creases. You can get away with a touch of shimmer powder at the center of your lower lip for a fuller pout, regardless your age.

You can get shimmer powder at and metallic eye makeup at http://www.cosmetics-online.net