Beauty Goes From Runway to Real World in No Time

The top catwalks in New York, London, Paris and Milan, Italy, give head-to-toe style cues for next season.

But while shoppers have to wait months for the spring-season futuristic floral prints and lingerie looks that debuted at these just-wrapped Fashion Weeks, the beauty trends can move from runway to real world right away.

"It's like we're already there," says Gordon Espinet, MAC Cosmetics' vice president of artistry, who noted riskier makeup looks than had been the norm.

"Last season, I definitely think there was a safe plan in terms of how people showed fashion, beauty, hair -- everything seemed like a classic look."

The knee-jerk reaction to the down economy was to be very careful and commercial, Espinet says. This season, though, there was a more artful, edgy approach, leading to a new emphasis on dark eyes, glowing skin and the occasional accent of a bright color.

DailyMakeover.com is a Web site that encourages beauty junkies to try the ripped-from-runway looks on their own uploaded photos. Users can do a virtual screen test of bold brows or orange lips and get a list of suggested products with a few clicks.

People seem most curious about the bold red lip and bob-style hair from Agent Provocateur, probably because it was the sexiest one available, reports beauty editor Rachel Hayes.

The next most popular look was the fishbone braid at Alexander Wang. "I think people want to envision what it'll look like first, before you go through all the effort."

Makeup and hair are very closely aligned to the clothes, says Chanel Makeup global creative director Peter Philips, who is charged with using cosmetics to define the overall vision of Karl Lagerfeld.