It’s difficult to stay on trend with your makeup without meeting raised eyebrows at your runway-ready smoky eyes in chemistry lab. Luckily, the spring 2011 runway has wearable makeup for the Chapstick minimalist and the retro glamour goddess, alike.

If barely-there makeup is your thing, take a cue from Vera Wang’s Spring 2011 look which featured bold brows and light iridescent eye shadow. A strong  filled in eyebrow helps to frame the face and, for our tweezer-happy friends, it helps disguise any over plucking. For the classic beauty, the models at Lanvin wore thick dark lashes and pale pink lips.

Those who don’t shy away from a pop of color enjoyed shades from coral to maroon had a place on the spring runway. Marc by Marc Jacobs featured a matte coral-orange lip and a faint pink flush, a perfect color to ring in the summer.

If you long ago blacklisted red eye shadow (as I did), take a second look at Carolina Herrera and Derek Lam’s fall runway makeup. The models at Carolina Herrera wore a light wash of shimmery maroon shadow on a clean canvas. The look at Derek Lam was a retro wing of shimmering red liner over a pale eye shadow (they achieved the orangey red color by using a lip liner!). If you choose to play up your lips or eyes with these red Spring shades, be sure to keep the rest of your makeup subdued.

This season is definitely an opportunity to break out of your shell and wear a punchy new color with your tribal prints and maxi dresses –even under your lab goggles.

Suggested products:

Sephora Collection eyebrow pencil

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Lip Pencil in Coral

Maybelline Falsies Mascara

Laura Nelson is a sophomore majoring in Psychology and English at Boston University. She has been a member of NSCS for one year. When she is not trying to read classic Greek and Roman literature, you may find her frequenting art museums, drawing and reproducing famous masterpieces in cake form.