Today is the official first day of spring, but if you are experiencing the kind of weather I am, it does not yet feel like it! Even here in “sunny” California we are having cold and rain, and actually I went on a camping trip this past weekend and had to deal with driving wind, rain, hail and even some snow. Yikes! Weather like that only makes feeling pretty with bright fresh color seem all the more special and important. All the cosmetics lines have been rolling out their Spring collections for the past few weeks and after having tried some*, here’s my picks for the some of the best of the lot.

1 ) Sonia Kashuk Cosmetics – Great Awakenings Face Palette
At the top of the list has to be this fantastic palette by Sonia Kashuk Cosmetics. Included are 4 “more than” neutral eye-colors, a deep brown powder/cake eyeliner, a perfect pinky/peachy blush and three pretty lipglosses. All for $19.99! And if you have never tried Sonia Kashuk Cosmetics, her line is en par with any department store brand, full stop. I cannot big-up the Sonia Kashuk line enough, they are definitely my favorite mass-market brand. This palette is yet another reason why. NOTE: This palette is a limited edition item so run don’t walk!

2 ) Iman Cosmetics – Eye-Con Collection
My other favorite mass market brand is Iman, and Iman Cosmetics makes luxury affordable for women of color. The Eye-Con palette is a fantastic addition to the line because so often women of color cannot join in on the fun, trendy spring colors because most (non-professional) eyeshadows are not pigmented enough to show on darker skin-tones. Iman has adapted all the “trend colors” for spring into pigmented yet wearable formulations that go on smoothly and last long. This is a great palette.

3 ) Jouer Cosmetics Glisten Up collection
Jouer’s Glisten Up collection is exactly what you want for Spring: light and airy colors and formulations to brighten you up from the doldrums of winter. Taking a cue from the last series of Fashion Week runways, Jouer has gone with a shimmer inspired theme. My favorite item out of the collection is the versatile Glisten Brightening Powder. We Makeup Artists swear by products like these to add sheen and light to the face and body. What is particularly nice about Jouer’s version is it is finely milled so your face is glowy not sparkle-y. The lipglosses are sparkle-y so a little goes a long way, but a touch in the center of the lower lip makes lips look fuller or a sheer sweep over the entire lip takes your face from day to night in an instant.

4 ) Givenchy Collection Printemps-Eté Naïvement Couture –
Leave it to the French to interpret Spring quite differently. This collection features some of the “light and airy” color stories that you would expect for spring, but mixed in are interesting smokier, sultrier combinations. Givenchy is famous for their “Prisme Quads” which are 4 complimentary colors in one palette which can be used singularly or in any combination to achieve a myriad of colors. Not necessarily for a makeup newbie, but for the serious artiste Givenchy products are consistently amazing.

1 ) Stating the Obvious – Maybelline Great Lash and L’oreal Volumizer mascaras. Let’s just get these out of the way. Every makeup artist I know has one or the other or both in their kit. I’m a Great Lash girl, myself. Yes it’s thick. Yes it can be goopy. Yes you have to work it. But the rewards are worth the effort and I think Great Lash is just one of the best cosmetics products ever, drugstore, prestige, or professional.

2 ) Sonia Kashuk Cosmetics – I’m always surprised how many people aren’t hip with Sonia Kashuk cosmetics. A high-end makeup artist (with clientele such as Cindy Crawford and Kim Bassinger), Kashuk decided to make a department store quality brand available in a mass market retailer (Target). By simplifying the packaging instead of the product, the Sonia Kashuk line was able to keep the quality where it matters most. Notable items in the line are the “How to Create a Smokey Eye” palette, and the mighty, mighty “Arch Alert” brow kit. Of the items I discuss in this article, the Arch Alert kit along with Great Lash are the two absolute must-have staples for my Kit.

3 ) Vichy – Skipping to skincare, Vichy is a fantastic line. I don’t know what’s happening nationally, but here in Los Angeles you can actually get Vichy at good ole CVS (which is like Long’s Drugs, Duane Reade, etc.). Vichy is particularly known for it’s hydrating products that are great for oily and/or reactive skin and it’s anti aging products. The rub – Vichy is on the higher end of drugstore in terms of pricing. Of particular note are the Normaderm Pro Mat Ultra Moisturizer and the Reti-C Intensive Corrective Care moisturizer. Vichy also used to make the best lip balm ever. I mean ever. And then they discontinued it. Why do companies do this???

4 ) Black Radiance and Black Opal Cosmetics – One of the things that makeup artists don’t like about drugstore brands vs. professional brands is that drugstore brands are usually not very well pigmented. Because of this the colors don’t read true, and the product wears off quickly. Want true colors that last? Look to brands made for black consumers. Due to the increased skin pigment, the makeup products made for black skin has to have more pigment or it just won’t show up. I mention both of these two brands because I think they both have their strengths. Black Opal has been touted by makeup artists such as Sam Fine and Dick Page for years because their foundations and powders are actually quite good (the line was initially developed by a black dermatologist). They also have a great selection of bronzers and lipcolors. Black Radiance has surprisingly good eyeshadows and eyeliners in all the bright, fun colors. They are smooth and creamy enough to actually blend (most drugstore brands are too dry and chalky) and again, they are pigmented enough where you can actually see the color.