Over the past two years, Pantone, makers of those pretty color sample books that designers and other creative pros have used for decades to standardize colors, has been surveying insiders at New York Fashion Week and summarizing seasonal color trends into their highly-anticipated spring and fall Fashion Color Reports.

The spring 2012 edition identifies 10 shades currently climbing up the color popularity charts. They range from natural tones to pastels, and all the way to bold brights.

Make Up For Ever can help color lovers stay on the cutting edge and implement the trendy shades in Pantone’s latest Color Report. All of the pieces here are part of the brand’s permanent line, and available now at Sephora stores and also online.

For Solar Power and Cabaret, try Eyeshadow in #71 (left) and Eye Shadow in #58 (right), $19 each

For Bellflower, try Rouge Artist Intense in #15, $19
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Why, yes. The silky smooth texture and all-day wear time (both on my lash and water lines) of Make Up For Ever’s new $18 Aqua Eyes in Gypsy are rocking my hot pink argyle socks off, but that’s not what I love most about this limited edition liner.

The fresh brewed coffee color of this rich matte brown makes it neutral enough to work with the cool and warm colors in my shadow stash, and I think that’s pretty sweet. Greens, blues, golds, bronzes, beiges and even purples — Gypsy digs ‘em all — and it even works well as a base for smokey eye looks with black and/or gray.

Aqua Eye Pencil in Gypsy and the La Bohème palette
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Hard to believe now after 20-some-odd years of wearing lipstick that there was a time when I was actually kind of afraid of the stuff.

Before walking home after the spring dance in junior high, I was one of those girls frantically removing forbidden eyeliner and Lip Smackers in the bathroom, but by freshman year, I’d gotten the OK from Mom to start wearing makeup legitimately.

My first fully authorized lipstick was a tube of Clinique Raspberry Glacè, and while I was thrilled to have my very own tube of “fancy” lipstick, I couldn’t just apply it straight from the tube… No, I thought that made it look too opaque and heavy, which drew too much attention to my braces, so I was forever dabbing and blotting Raspberry Glacè to get that lightly stained lip look I liked so much.

Now, if the two new limited edition Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Natural Lipsticks from the La Bohème Spring collection ($19 each) had been around back then, I probably would have tucked Raspberry Glacè away into the recesses of my Liz Claiborne purse and opted instead for either reddish coral Folk or peachy beige Bohème for touch-ups at my locker between classes.

Both of these sheer, slick and hydrating lipsticks apply with a gossamer veil of color and shine and have a classic powdery rose flavor and scent that I like. For gals who fear the look of heavy, thick lipsticks (like I did at one time), I fancy them in a way as lipstick training wheels.

Limited edition packaging!
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High up on my list of things to do this week: dreaming big dreams — no matter how silly or far-fetched they might seem.

Because you never know. Casting those crazy ideas out into the ether could be the spark that sets in motion a chain of events that leads to one or more of them coming true.

Of course, a few of my big dreams would have to be related to makeup, right? — like traveling around the world while wearing the colors in the new limited edition Make Up For Ever La Bohème Eye Shadow Palette ($39).

And since we’re talking about BIG dreams, I’d want to wear each of the six baked shadows in this free-spirited palette while exploring a different far-flung corner of the world, and I’d start in Costa Rica with Lagoon Green.

This shimmery teal would be the perfect color to wear out to dinner with my BFF Cindy after a day spent playing in the surf.

From there, we’d zip out across the Pacific to the Garden Isle with mossy Vegetal Green, which I’d love to wear while searching for secret waterfalls on Kauai.

Then, and this one would require passing through quite a few time zones, I’d wear Beige on my lids while hiking the hills around Provence with my favorite wide-angle lens, and silvery violet Parma Purple while El Hub and I ate our way through Rome.

Next, silvery peach Coral and I would tour the Taj Mahal (always wanted to go), and then head back home to hopefully wear shimmery reddish bronze Brown out with you to lunch.

Afterward, maybe we could even do some window shopping, and you could take us to some of your favorite places to play with makeup in your town.

I know, I know. Such a crazy dream, but even if it never happens, at least I can still mimic the same sparkle in my eyes that I get when I’m traveling, since MUFE added high amounts of pearl to these baked shadows (which have a new formula just added to the line) to give skin a luminous, almost metallic finish.

The La Bohème Eye Shadow Palette and Aqua Eyes in Gypsy (also from the La Bohème collection)
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Does thunder only happen when it’s raining? Do players only love you when they’re playing?

Excellent questions…but I don’t know. What I do know is this: if I spend any more time with the new Make Up For Ever La Bohème collection, I might turn into 1977 Stevie Nicks!

Which would be kinda cool.

But first…where’d I put my Rumours eight-track? Oh, there it is! Right next to that flowing maxi dress.

The four pieces in the new 1970s-inspired collection of makeup for lips and eyes showcase some of the soft colors, bold prints and flowing fabrics that recently made waves on runways for spring 2012.

Carefree romantic rebels, check this out: the limited edition launch, which just twirled into Sephora stores and Make Up For Ever Boutiques, spotlights eyes with MUFE’s first-ever baked eyeshadow palette, La Bohème ($39), and a new matte brown Aqua Eye Pencil ($18) called Gypsy.

Lips also loosen up with two new Rouge Artist Natural Lipsticks — one, an iridescent peachy beige called Bohème, and the other, a reddish coral called Folk ($19 each).

I have reviews and looks lined up, but here are a few pics to whet your appetite…

Okay, the shimmer and soft texture of the baked eyeshadows? WOW! Something tells me that palette’s gonna be a must-have.

Aqua Eye Pencil in Gypsy and the La Bohème palette

Rouge Artist Natural Lipsticks in Bohème (left) and Folk (right)

Limited edition packaging!
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