Modern makeup goes retro

Call it the end of the simple, natural look. Call it a chance to experiment. Call it the return of the long hours it took to apply makeup in the '80s.

Whatever you call it, bold makeup is back in a major way.

A barrage of new products meant to attract customers with more color options might also mean more time spent in front of the mirror this spring, and more people looking to '80s musicians such as A Flock of Seagulls and Twisted Sister for inspiration.

A glance at newer cosmetic lines proves that subtlety is not the word to be used at the makeup counter this season.

For example, Revlon's spring LavenDare line focuses on both deep and bright purple hues in nail polish, lipsticks and eyeshadows that many haven't experimented with since Martha Quinn was on MTV.

Nicole DiPaola (senior-telecommunications) said she has noticed the new makeup shades in magazines.

"I guess it could catch on, if everyone wants to do what they see in the magazines," she said.

DiPaola said although she wouldn't wear the seemingly '80s-inspired colors, one of her friends often wears a light lavender lipstick and eyeshadow.

L'Oréal's World Wide Web site introduces its latest unusual shade with "Dare to bring your eyes into focus with yellow -- a surprise touch for lids."

The models are shown wearing the yellow eyeshadow right up to their eyebrows, Culture Club-style, but with a slightly more blended '90s twist.

Tracey Utz, business manager of Maneline Salon Systems, 322-B E. College Ave., said the salon carries the Sebastian makeup line, which features products such as a light purple lipstick, yellowish blush and yellow and purple eyeshadow.

These colors are more popular with younger clientele, but probably won't catch on with professional businesspeople, she said.

Other makeup lines focus on combining shades to create entirely different colors.

Revlon's recent Street Wear line dares customers to "experiment with color," according to Revlon's Web site.

Street Wear -- in colors such as "toad," "splash" and "prissy" -- can be layered to create new colors and open up a wide palette for customers who are willing to experiment and layer on different shades of cosmetics such as nail polish.

Whether customers take to the new cosmetics colors and techniques, the influence of the '80s seems to be bombarding the makeup counters this season.

One can only hope banana clips won't come back in style, too.