KEY POINTS:
Two schools of thought govern makeup this summer.
Theory one: Nude or as close to as dammit. The focus here has to be on perfect, fresh complexion, so time spent on your beauty regime and priming won't be wasted. It's your call on whether to run with "pale and interesting" or a warmer, golden finish.
If you're going for pale, the cheeks need to have a suggestion of colour - coral or pink - unless you're deliberately doing anaemic. Otherwise, keep the mouth and eyes soft and pretty in flickers of toned-down metallics, beiges or fleshy corals and pinks. The idea is to make people think there's no artifice, that it's all you.
A warmer shade of nude is easily done with a metallic gold hit of eyeshadow and a sweep of bronzer on the cheeks.
Theory two: Colour. Bright, of the in-your-face techno order. It makes sense - fashion is pushing out the boat with 80s rave tones, and so, too, is the face.
This is meant to be about having fun. There's no point trying these if you're not prepared to play up just a little bit.
All it takes is a commitment to highly pigmented blue or green eyeshadow and you're there. Otherwise, a matt, fluoro pink mouth is going to get you noticed. The effect is electric.
The thing about colour is knowing when to stop. It's best to settle on colouring a single feature and leaving the rest of the face bare, or as close to bare as you can stand.
You can, of course, do it without full-on neon tones.
A bright red or orange lip is a perfectly acceptable way to give a nod to colour. And red has staying power. It'll go all through winter as well.
The one constant with these looks is eyebrows. They should be strong with a good arch throughout summer and into winter.
