So. Spring. I think we can safely say it’s on its way. And with it Mother’s Day (tomorrow, in case you’d forgotten) and lots of lovely new make-up. This year’s theme is all sweetness and light, an explosion of candy colours, pastels, pinks and peaches. Nails are nude and ladylike. The French manicure, lately hijacked by reality TV queens and D-list starlets, is making a comeback. Goodbye, fluorescent white square-tipped; hello, elegant pale nails with soft pink or white tips.
At first glance, the pastel does not feel like a trend to get too excited about. It has nothing of the vamp about it. Indeed, it might almost be accused of wishy-washiness. But these are the new pastels, richly pigmented and as mouthwatering as a packet of Love Hearts. They work beautifully for all ages, sweetening dewy-soft skin or refreshing tired complexions.
A light base is the place to start. The beauty counters are awash with new formulations, especially the now ubiquitous BB creams (essentially beefed-up tinted moisturisers), which do an excellent job of enhancing the skin without smothering it. Going into summer, Clinique’s Age Defense BB Cream SPF30 (£25; clinique.co.uk) is a great investment and it is also fragrance-free. It has a lovely silky texture and comes in a sensible compact tube so you can top up during the day.
Pink-toned blushers are perfect for adding a bit of bloom: just a pop on the apples of the cheeks is all it takes. I adore Hourglass’s Aura Cheek Stain in Petal (£32; liberty.co.uk), a sheer, supernatural wash of colour that sits equally well on naked skin as it does on foundation. Chanel’s Horizon Soft Glow Blush (£46; selfridges.com) is a candy-striped compact of different pinks, as pretty on (pictured left) as it is in the palette. Sweeter still is Models Own Powder Blush in Cheeky Pink (£6; boots.com): the perfect shade of blushed rose.
There is prettiness not just in the colours but also in the packaging. Boots 17’s two Spring Fling compacts combine sugar almond shades in a sweet rose design (£5.99). Roses feature also in Christian Dior’s 5 Colours Garden Edition pastels (£36.90; johnlewis.com): green, gold, teal, soft silver and mauve, while No7’s Vital Enlightening Highlighter (£13; boots.com) has a gorgeous hot pink and tropical yellow print on the outside, seascape patterns on the inside. Those who prefer a single-tone eye colour should try Topshop’s Cream Eyeshadows (£5; topshop.com): Emerald is the one for me, a sheer shimmer of limpid green.
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Needless to say, none of this leaves much scope for a dark lip. Something pale but not washed out is the order of the day: Becca’s Sheer Tint Lip Colour in Leticia (£22; beccacosmetics.com) is ideal, a soft, luminous apricot pink. I love Becca’s lipsticks, not just for their textures but also because, joy of joys, they come in a screw-cap compact – ideal for bumping around in the bottom of my handbag and, of course, protection against sand should you decide to take one to the beach.