Sooty, super dark with just the right amount of sheen...

On the night before the night before New Years Eve, I think ahead to 2010. Then my mind skips a bit further ahead to the warmer months soon to come: the restaurants and cafe's that bring tables back out onto the sidewalk again, the darned gladiator sandal that is sure to make a comeback in a different form, and of iced coffees, rooftop bars and picnics. And, as usual, makeup is never too far from my mind so I think of my top 3 favorite trends to come out of last September's Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2010... Which one(s) will you be wearing???

1.

Spring always brings a resurgence of the naked face, in various incarnations:

FROM

Naked skin: As seen at Vera Wang, scrubbed clean and freshly washed at Stella McCartney...

Stella McCartney

Vera Wang

TO:

Dusty Desert-y Nudes (below): I love these sandstorm-esque color palettes that these nude faces are done in at Chloe, Gucci & Zac Posen. In my opinion, Chanel and Gucci did some of the best this season...

Chloe

Zac Posen

Gucci (say no more)

and my favorite: Chanel (below):

2.

Out of all of the trends, this one is my favorite: the return of bold color on the mouth, especially in shades of Red. Everything from classic red at Dolce running the spectrum through orange red at Prada (my favorite) and a red violet (my 2nd fave) at Bottega Veneta.

I love doing bright lips done with lipstick in the warmer months (think Isaac Mizrahi here and the Marc by Marc Jacobs). I think its so unexpected as most people tend to associate it with the cooler wintery months. The lips were bountiful and several designers from Miucca Prada to Missoni gave great 'Lip Service' to this trend:

Dolce & Gabbana

Rodarte Missoni

Marc by Marc Prada

Bottega Veneta

3.

The Eyes have It: And by it, I mean, this season the eye held an awful lot...sometimes the whole story. I love me an eye and not just because its a main focal point of the face. For me, it doesn't matter the season, the current trend, the age (most times), or even the occasion. In my book giving an eye is always appropriate. Lined and defined, various degrees of smokey and even color blocked were some of the of the ways that it manifested. Below are some of my faves:

Cavalli

Oscar de La Renta

Donna Karan (who put a twist on it by using white, and that cheek highlight makes me all warm on the inside as it speaks to my soul...)

Anna Sui's an equal opportunist with the top and bottom liner

A new twist at Luella who took colorblocking literally (below)

Magnificently smokey, well placed and shimmery @ Nina Ricci

brown smoke to the browbone at Fendi

...And my favorite smokey eye of the season was at Lanvin: Sooty, super dark with a slight bit of sheen in all the right places...Just the way I like it...

ph: style.com