Spring For It: Our beauty obsessions for the coming season

by Heather Bouzan, 03-10-2008

M·A·C is one of those makeup brands we know we can depend on, come elegant event or über-hip night out. For spring, they've teamed up with Parisian graffiti artist Fafi for a line full of whimsical characters and bold, unabashedly girly shades. On our list of must-haves? Dreamy Iridescent Powders ($21) for when we're craving some sparkle, plus Lustre Lipstick ($14) in Utterly Frivolous by day and Lipglass ($14) in Totally It by night. We've been having way too much fun experimenting with Paint Pots ($16.50) in poppy shades like Rollickin', Nice Vice, and Cash Flow. Find the complete Fafi line at M·A·C Cosmetics (112 Newbury Street, Boston, 617.267.0013).

Seeing as Boston is practically Tinseltown number two, we love LORAC's On Screen Duo ($24), a silky powder highlighter paired with a creamy, crease-proof shadow/liner. Housed in a mirrored case with a swivel-top compartment, the product is all Hollywood glamour, ideal for pre-party beautification. The Duo is also the perfect complement to LORAC's new Visual Effects Mascara ($19.50), unique for its four-sided contoured brush that thickens, lengthens, separates, and curls. Find both at Sephora.

It's one thing for hair products to stand up to everyday use, but the ambitious Frédéric Fekkai debuted his Fekkai COIFF Shape & Set Mist ($28) on models strutting the runways at New York Fashion Week. The limited-edition addition to his COIFF styling collection avoids the lacquered looks of the past, allowing users to set styles with a flexibility that's actually touchable. Simply spray the product evenly through damp hair, and either blow-dry and style or air dry and shape with your fingers. Pick it up while you can at Neiman Marcus (5 Copley Place, Boston, 617.536.3660).

Since makeup is one of our few calorie-free indulgences, we're glad to hear that beauty brand Tarte is going healthy to the extreme, loading its products with vitamins and antioxidant-rich nutrients that are great for skin. The new-for-spring "Health Couture" collection, available at www.tartecosmetics.com, includes the dual-layered Double Dose Berry Boost & Gloss ($21) and the Rejuvelash Declumping Lash Exhilarator ($16). The former "skinvigorates" with t5 super fruit complex, Vitamin C, peppermint oil, and shea butter, while the latter conditions and protects lashes with proVitamin B5 and aloe-leaf extract.

Oh, how we love our premium denim. Now we're welcoming it into our makeup bag with Givenchy's limited-edition Denim Fétiche line for spring and summer. The pièce de résistance? Without question, the Accessor'Eyes Powder & Cream Eyeshadow Quartet ($49.50), available in Black Denim or Indigo Denim at Sephora (Prudential Center, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, 617.262.4200). With four shades that allow for a customized application, the palette is as versatile as a favorite pair of you-know-whats.

We're total beach bums at heart, so it didn't take much for Gucci Westman's L.U.C.I. color collection for Lancôme to win us over: it's inspired by the iridescence of seashells. Short for "Luminescent Colorless Color Intelligence," L.U.C.I.'s shimmery shades morph before (and on) our eyes with changes in lighting. We're fans of a brightening swoop of Traceur Design Eyeliner ($20) in Ray of Purple Light along our lower lash line, and for lips, a few swipes of Color Fever Gloss ($23). We also couldn't resist adding the shell-shaped L.U.C.I. Eyes Eyeshadow Duo ($45) - which comes complete with a pearl - to our cosmetics collection. The line is available at Macy's (450 Washington Street, Boston, 617.357.3000). @