HOT PURPLE STUFF

THE CURRANT RAGE…

Once reserved for 70’ hippies, drag queens and punks, the colour purple have been made mainstream thanks to the latest passion for purple.

From lipstick, nail polish to mascara even, and bags, shoes and wellington boots, purple prevails in so many ways. Motorola and LG also have coloured their handphones purple while there’s a new purple Apple Macbook available now.

What’s nice about the rich jewel shade, unlike some striking colour that can be gaudy and tacky, is that it lends a hint of glamour and sophistication to anything. It can also be matched with several other shades such as brown, beige, grey black and of course, white.

For the daring, purple looks fantastic when paired with fuchsia. Designers like Christian Lacroix, Emilio Pucci and Yves Saint Laurent love to marry the two tones and make them look terrific together.

Apart from the runways, purple reigns at cosmetics houses too. Labels like Maybelline, Revlon, SilkyGirl, Givenchy, MAC, Stila, Laura Mercier and Christian Dior all have lipsticks, eyeshadows, lip liners to nail enamel.

But be mindful, when colouring your face purple, always choose the right tinge. Or, you might end up looking like you had just been punched in the face.

Most cosmetics brands present two or more shades of purple in one palette. If unsure how to use, here’s a tip from make-up master, the late Kevyn Aucoin: “The main principle to bear in mind with eyeshadow is that dark colours deepen or hollow an area and light colour brings it forward.”

Just as no single red looks right on every woman, there’s no single universally flattering purple. If your skin is pale, look for sheerer, less intense tones that don’t overwhelm your colouring; if it’s darker, you can probably wear stronger, more colour saturated shades.

Blend purple eyeshadow well, but don’t let it stray beyond or beneath the natural of your eyelids or it’ll make you look bruised than beautiful. When it comes to deep purple lipcolour, it’s best not to try to reshape the mouth or you’rre likely to end up with a hard and uneven wear.

Some make up artists observe that the current purple fade is an extension of the Vamp (a dark, blood-red created by Chanel) look, only this time the shade is lighter and therefore more wearable to more women. “I think purple is less harsh as compared to (the colour) Vamp. In fact, it’s feminine and fabulous at the same time,” says make up artist to the stars, Tona Nordin.

However, she cautions: “I you’re passionate about purple, one thing to remember is that deep purple lips plus deep purple eyes are just too much. They end up “competing” with the features and might risk looking like a character from Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Now, you wouldn’t want that would you?

By Dazman Manan, Malaysian Today, August 14-20,2008