Eye shadow

Overstuffed bags or just plain clumsy moments can lead to pulverised powders and chopped ChapSticks. But you can still squeeze more months out of your favourite product with a bit of craftiness. Plus, you can even use these mishaps to your advantage to create a completely customised palette. Learn how to bring broken cosmetics back to life when you read more.

Sometimes it's hard to trust "one size fits all," but with these makeup shades, it's true. The plethora of colour choices in the makeup aisle can be overwhelming to anyone. Just keep reading to find out the top no-fail colours for eyes, lips, and cheeks.

With all the various brands, launches, and new innovations, a girl could really go crazy shopping for makeup. But in your quest to create your ideal makeup bag, there are certain items you should consider buying straight from the department store. To find out the breakdown on where you should invest your makeup dollars, read more.

The only bad thing about wearing eyeshadow is that it can sometimes crease and cake, but you can do a few simple things to prevent this from happening. We've already explored ways to stop foundation from creasing and methods to keep cakey undereye concealer at bay. So now, let's look at what goes on top. For seven tips on getting fresh and smooth shadow all day long, keep reading.

If the cooler months ahead are giving you a bad case of the Winter blues, you might want to consider capturing the essence of Summer with sparkly blue eye makeup. At Salvatore Ferragamo's recent resort show, Freida Pinto looked stunning wearing a shimmery blue shadow, and similarly Diane Kruger rocked a subtle blue hue at Jaeger-Lecoultre's 80th anniversary bash. It's a combination that will take you from a poolside party to a night on the town. And besides, blue brightens the eyes in an instant, especially when formulated with light-reflecting particles. Shop the widget below to add a bit of sparkler action to your makeup bag.

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Rachel Bilson can probably be accused of playing it a little safe when it comes to her makeup look. But, it's such a cute look that we can't hate on her for it. She always walks the line between girly and sexy and day and night with ease, taking her eyes a little darker and edgier, but keeping her lips and cheeks nice and creamy and pink. It's a look that suits pretty much everybody, and a great one to learn if you're after a day-to-night look. Check out our tips on recreating Rachel's style below . . .

FACE: Rachel's complexion always look fresh and natural so opt for a lightly tinted moisturiser like L'Oreal Paris UV Perfect SPF 30+ Tinted ($17.95). We love this one as it offers UVA/B protection or Smashbox Sheer Focus Tinted Moisturiser ($43.95).

EYES: By using brown eye shadow, Rach keeps her smoky eye sexy yet wearable. She lined her eyes with a charcoal shade and there's even a hint of silver on her lids for a bit of shimmer, plus loads of mascara to finish it off. To get the look, try Too Faced Eye Shadow Single in Sitcom Siren ($32.95).

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Nothing says Party Season like sparkly shadow. 'Tis true. Even Carey Mulligan says so. She was at the Moet British Independent Film Awards in London last night and — aside from debuting look #362 from Carey Mulligan's Guide to Short Hair — she was sporting some sparkly champagne shadow all around the eye which looked all pretty and feminine and Christmas-y. It's one of the easiest looks to master (tip: always prime the eye) and looks great with a bold lip. Or, you can pick a punchy sparkly shadow and create a sultry look that way. I LOVE the sparkly lilac in Bobbi Brown's Beauty Rules Notebook Palette ($115) for this look and here are some of our other favourite sparkly shadows for party season . . . Cute look, huh?

OK so this trend isn't new new. Back in '08 it was all over the runways of Benjamin Cho, Behnaz Sarafpour and Derek Lam but this season it's been given a more wearable edge. We spoke to Leah Lagana, Kit Cosmetics' Training Manager, to workshop the trend and see if canary yellow will work for us or whether this look is just bananas . . .

Runway inspiration: Doo.Ri, Elie Saab, Peter Som, Z by Zac Posen, Argentina Group, L.A.M.B, Toni Francesc

Celeb spots: Jessica Alba at The Tribeca Film Launch in West Hollywood, Agyness Deyn at The Prince's Trust Spring Ball in London, Charlize Theron the American Cinematheque 24th Annual Award Presentation to Matt Damon

TIP #1: With such a bright, bold colour, the best way to get into the trend is to play it safe and go for a "less is best" approach. Leah says, "Just a hint of colour can have a great effect if placed softly on the eye lids."

TIP #2: "As a general rule, matte shades are more flattering on everyone," according to Leah. That said, those afraid of the bold, crayon-like liner action seen on the Spring runways can experiment with lighter, shimmery gold shades.

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