this was on our local newspaper's website.  Just thought it was interesting cuz they talk to artists from some of our favorite cosmetic lines.  If the pics don't show, I'll photobucket them later today.

Eye-catching cosmetics

Looks for fall/winter run gamut from futuristic to edgy glamour

Makeup sets the tone of an outfit, so when a designer sends a model down a big-stakes runway, the makeup artist needs to work as much magic as the seamstress.

Designers tell makeup artists about a feeling or a celebrity they want evoked -- futuristic, mildly disheveled, Audrey Hepburn -- and the artists come back with sketches and made-up models until the eyeliner and lipstick are just so.

Once the runway productions are over, it's time to tally up the similarities from show to show and dub them the next trends.

M.A.C, more than any other makeup company, has cultivated relationships in the fashion world by underwriting costs for makeup artists to participate in fashion shows from New York to Europe and beyond.

So when more than 600 senior makeup artists for M.A.C, shorthand for Makeup Art Cosmetics, converged for a few days recently in Miami during the company's biannual conference, the talk was all fall/winter '07. Gordon Espinet, global director of makeup artistry for M.A.C, laid out the new themes -- in the extreme -- to illustrate them clearly.

You might want to wear them a bit softer. But be clear, bold color is the mandate this fall for the eyes and a little more subtle for the rest of the face, at least if you're following M.A.C's recommendations.

FUTURE GRAPHIC

This is where makeup artists get to show off.

Eyeliner starts and stops in unexpected ways. Eye shadow is geometric, with unusual contrast, strips, even shapes. Eyeliner may dissolve into little wings by the temples.

Makeup artists used stencils and layers to actualize the look, which is part punk, part back to the future, and definitely a stretch, even for the street-savvy.

It's a trend for those who want cool more than pretty.

TECHNO-COLOR

A splash of fluorescent blue drawn across the lids; a tinge of yellow just beneath the brow; a hint of tangerine on the lips.

"It's about looking made-up," Espinet says, "not about looking blended or soft."

On the runway, at the Moschino Cheap and Chic show, that meant lips so glossy pink they looked like they might slip off the face. The Heatherette show, on the other hand, went for a streak of purple just above the lids.

In a word: fun.

TAYLOR-ED

As in Liz Taylor-ed.

As in: Focus on the eyes and forget the rest.

"She never sculpted; she drew a dark line from lash to brow," Espinet says. It's a hard edge of glamour.

You needn't be so brash. Smoky eyes are a softer take on the classic, with plenty of blending and shading, especially with blue.

One variation even adds a creamy touch of flesh tone to the center of the lid, nestled among more somber hues.

PHOTOSHAPED

No, we don't mean "Photoshopped."

But like anything that's run through the online Photoshop program, it takes a lot of manipulation to get this look: Muted and matte.

Carolina Herrera and Donna Karan both opted for versions.

How does it differ from the neutrals of last year? It's monochromatic by design.

On the runway, lips were so pale as to have barely any color at all.

DESIGNERS' NEW LOOKS

Chanel: Chanel eyes are overlaid with greens and plums, chestnuts and beiges. Lips are subtler, with glosses in plum, pearly white and sheer pink. (Chanel recommends a dab of pearl in the center of the bottom lip for a pouty, fuller look.)

Giorgio Armani Beauty: "Our color palette, it's all about mauves and plums and dusty rose," said spokesperson Jenia Molnar. In October the company will introduce highly pigmented eye shadows, "playing off the silk colors Mr. Armani uses in his fashion." No nude lips at Giorgio Armani come fall. Lipsticks mostly will be in the same family of plum hues.

Bobbi Brown: Here comes a new palette of gray and taupe accents. Lips are natural, sheer and glossy. (Bobbi Brown tip: Balance a smoky eye with a nude lip.)

NARS Cosmetics: So long to the soft shades of summer. Hello, warm metallics. NARS is heralding eye shadows with shiny patinas, from metallic ginger tones to metallic rose. New lipsticks will come in sheer candy apple red and a honey beige.

Stila: "The key for the fall is that shadow is getting awash in color, there's boldness to it but you don't really see where the lines are," said Stila makeup artist Sarah Lucero. There are also nudes, taupes and shimmers. "So there's a lot of browns but also some dusty blues." Stila will introduce three new palettes for the eyes: blue, green and a sun-kissed nude.