Beauty Report: Summer brights

Thissummer’s make-up collections are characterised by colour. Intense brights and ever-so-nearly neons are everywhere. These cartoonish shades might draw your eye and lift your spirits, but knowing how to wear them can leave anyone at a loss. Bright colours can take over a face if they’re allowed to. The trick is either to wear one big pop of bold colour and pare back the rest of your make-up, or to wear subtle little hues of colour.

If you're a fan of the classic red lip, switch your go-to red lipstick for an orange. Orange can be far more flattering than you might think, so don't dismiss it immediately. If in doubt, go for a red-orange rather than a true orange, which will have a yellower undertone and may make teeth look yellow. Urban Decay Revolution High-Color Lipgloss in the fantastically vivid Punch Drunk (€19) is a high-shine gloss that wears like a liquid lipstick, but is far more comfortable on the lips. The bright shade enlivens every eye colour, and screams bravery.

Though red isn't going anywhere, pink is this season's lip colour of choice. There are shocking pinks in almost every beauty collection this summer, and if you want to give it a go, why not go big with a really pigmented blue-based pink? Blue-based lip colours make teeth look whiter, and cool Irish skin gets on very well with pink. Isadora Twist-Up Matt Lips in Super Pink (€13.25) is a very affordable long-lasting matte lipstick crayon which packs serious punch.

When wearing an intense pink or red shade, be aware that it will pick up any redness or discolouration in the skin, so make sure to cover any blemishes with a good concealer to make lipstick the focus of your look. Shrinking violets need not apply.

If you like the idea of wearing pink without the bluntness of a matte finish, Lancôme's Shine Lover Lipstick (€26) is perfect. These softly glossy lipsticks have enough pigment to save them from being insipid, but not enough to throw the face off balance. Try Shine Lover in 314 for a pinky coral shade that suits almost everyone. The smooth, shiny formula eliminates any need for fussing with lip liner or faffing about with touching up in a mirror. You can whack this on while on the go.

Everywhere you look this season, you’ll see blue. Cult make-up artist brand Illamasqua has recently launched a collection of blue shades for lips, but if you’d rather doff your cap to this trend than rub it all over your mouth, opt for a royal blue nail colour.

Chanel, always the trailblazer when it comes to nail colours, has a rich, glossy true blue called Vibrato (€23.50), which will make nails immediately more interesting. Also from the Blue Rhythm de Chanel collection (from May 29th) is a mascara top coat in Jazzy Blue, a turquoise foil (€31), which looks ethereal applied just to the tips of lashes over your favourite mascara.

lkennedy@irishtimes.com