We all do it. We all have a deep fear that it will become us if we “go there”. We make sure we apply makeup in well lit areas, sit at makeup counters with demo-clerks, and keep our palettes neutral to avoid it. Deep down we all fear color, especially when we could end up looking like, gasp, shock horror, Mimi from The Drew Carey Show!

Fear not. The Makeup Breakdown is here to keep you from looking like a night walker, and I’m gonna show you why bold color should be embraced and is very “in, darling.” All this while making sure you don’t look like your four year old just discovered makeup and applied it with sticky hands!

But most importantly I’ll let you in on a little secret; you CAN wear blue eye shadow – really!

To show you just how far you can push this, editorially, here’s a Wow, with a capital “W” shoot from the March 2010 issue of Vogue Italia, shot by Solve Sundsbo, with model Ginta Lapina.

Rules:

1. When wearing these striking shades it becomes even more important to pick a feature to focus on. Try a fuchsia lip (like Funny Face by NARS), or a violet shadow (like Dior iridescent violet eye shadow) – but not both.

2. If you are feeling a bit gun-shy about trying some of these power packed colors – try wearing them in a more subtle way. You can wear a smoky eye in a deepened rich tones like shimmering forest green (like YSL’s 6 Garden of Eden Palette), or a deep midnight blue (like Bobbi Brown Metallic Shadow in Midnight). Or you could try a single swipe of purple liquid liner along your top lash line (like Urban Decay liquid liner in Crash).

3. Go light on the blush. There’s nothing that says hooker more than a colored shadow paired with an overly rouged cheek.

4. Go forth with CONFIDENCE! Go for these trends in an unapologetic way. Head high, shoulders back, wearing the makeup and not letting the makeup wear YOU. You’ll be a trendsetter in no time.