Bring on the bling

Make-up is not only about art — it's also about science. The concept of sparkly make-up goes far beyond aesthetics.

MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow this season comes in six shimmering colours.

Sparks are essential, it's how things get started. We are attracted to sparkly things around us — bright stars in the sky, shiny diamonds (more so if it's on our ring finger), bubbly Champagne and jewellery. Scientists believe that our love for all things sparkly is linked with our instinctive inclination towards sunlight.

So why not utilise the natural law of attraction to grab attention? This season, most brands are all about sparkle and shine. Models in Anna Sui's show had their eyes decked with greenish-gold loose glitter. Ralph Lauren dressed its models with lots of sparkly jewellery and shimmery eyeshadow for balance. In the make-up industry, leading cosmetic brands have also launched sparkly items for the spring/summer 2015 collection to keep up with this hot trend.

Shu Uemura introduced its "Metallic Bouquet" collection, featuring Metal:ink metallic liquid liner in 10 fun colours, pressed eyeshadow in sweet metallic shades, and dazzling false eyelashes with Swarovski crystals for extra bling.

Yves Saint Laurent Beaute’s spring 2015 collection is titled Desir de Jour, which features shimmery luminosity that is both discrete and provocative. To match its make-up offerings, it has also introduced two colours of nail polish — Nuit Blanche (white diamond dust) and Nuit Noire (intense black with sequin effect) to complete the look.

Bobbi Brown's Hot Collection, to be released in March, pairs subtle nudes with pops of head-turning colour inspired by its presenter Kate Upton's Florida home state. The warm nudes of the beach mix with Miami's bright lights, which result in nude colours that glimmer beautifully.

Nars has launched a minimal collection that looks very light and subtle, but the otherwise bare face has specks of light with its shimmering pink peach eyeshadow. MAC's Lightness of Being collection also features six sparkling eyeshadows in golden yellow, peach, bluish grey, light grey, lavender and brown.

One advice on applying shimmering eyeshadow is to keep the rest of the face nude and subtle. This doesn't mean you have to go all matte — an overly matte face only makes your skin look dull and dry. Try satin-finish powder, lightly glossy lip colour, and glowing cheek colour to give your skin a healthy look without stealing the spotlight from the show-stopping eyeshadow.

Get ready to turn some heads because that's what this bejewelled look will give to your eyes. A little tip — make sure you wear sparkly make-up on appropriate occasions. You might want to keep the sparkly look away from business meetings, professional surroundings, or more formal functions.

For a subtle sparkle, try Bobbi Brown Hot Nudes, a collection of eight eye-catching colours.

Nars Shimmer Eyeshadow in Valhalla is perfect for shading, highlighting and lining eyes.

Bring extra bling to your blinks with Shu Uemura Metallic Bouquet False Eyelash, decorated with Swarovski crystals in metallic colours.

Purely purifying

Clinique is once again revolutionising the way women care for their skin by transforming the important first step, cleansing. Introducing the NEW Clinique Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush — a dermatologist developed, Swiss engineered cleansing innovation that will transform skin. The Sonic System Purifying Cleansing Brush gently delivers a new kind of clean. The result is your cleanest, healthiest skin ever. Skin looks instantly smoother and more radiant, pores are purified.

Up, down and all around

Kiehl’s Sermatologist Solutions Precision Lifting & Pore Tightening Concentrate lifts up the skin and downsizes the appearance of enlarged pores. The skin looks less saggy, the pores appear tightened and diminished, and everything feels firmer and tighter.