Makeup

Has the anticipation of the prom got you stressed already? You dream of all heads turning as you enter into one of the most memorable nights of your life, all radiant and glamorous like Winona Ryder, Janet Jackson or Mariah Carey.But let's face it, reality bites when it comes time to transform that plain everyday look into a sophisticated style all your own.With nowhere else to turn, Western High School senior Lauren Wilmer, whose grungy student style is based on flannel shirts, jeans, sneakers and zero makeup, wrote to us for pointers on how to pull together a captivating prom look.

In just one year, Robin Schisler has spent more than $1,000 on facials, had three complete makeovers and exhausted hundreds of dollars on cosmetics and skincare products. There is a simple reason for Schisler's sudden obsession with looking beautiful -- she's getting married. "The pictures will be one of the most important things of that day -- they're going to be the thing that lasts," said Schisler, 29, a Lutherville research program coordinator who is marrying in May. "To look perfect for that day, you're going to have to do anything."

Get out the tweezers. Have some long-wearing eyebrow makeup handy.It's time to raise your eyebrows.Just make sure they're well-defined, arched and, if you dare, thin. Eyebrows are the focal point of a woman's face for summer and fall.Want evidence? Check out Madonna's eyebrows in her recently released music video, "This Used to Be My Playground" -- hers are sparse and thin, a turnaround from her "Vogue" and "Like a Virgin" days. And we all know what happens when Madonna shows off a new look.

After several seasons of barely-there makeup and the naked face, color is making a strong comeback.And that doesn't mean caking it on. While spring's palette yields stronger tones, the true inspiration comes from pale shades of the ecology. Coral, peach, banana, powdery pink and even soft blue lend a rich, natural look to the face.The fresh approach comes just in time. With all the rage in '60s fashion, cosmetics companies have developed color lines that are more complementary. The heavy liquid eyeliner, clunky false eyelashes and the chalky pale lips that made up last season's face are giving way to a softer look.

Yolanda Vazquez watched a news broadcast on a high-definition television for the first time with mixed emotions. She was impressed by the way it rendered the anchors in such vivid detail. "It's amazing," she said, "like you're not in 3-D, but in 15-D." But awe gave way to self-conscious jitters once Vazquez, a reporter and anchor at Maryland Public Television, realized that her turn in front of an HD camera was coming. "You're really under the microscope," she said, "and if you've got a new pimple or a stray hair, it's obvious."

On their wedding day, brides deserve at least one no-brainer. By then, they've already haggled with florists, spent hours trying on dresses and auditioned billions of bands -- the last thing they need are cosmetic concerns. Hooray, then, for Janice Kinigopoulos. The veteran makeup artist (with a client list that includes Liv Tyler, Jodie Foster and Vivica A. Fox) has created four Bridal Babe makeup kits that come with just about everything you need for the big day. "They're an easy path to fabulousness," Kinigopoulos, 40, says.

The medical term isn't bigfeetophobia or bozophobia. If you suffer from fear of clowns, you have coulrophobia. According to Macmillan's English Dictionary, the term is based on the Greek word koulon (meaning limb), suggesting stilts and stilt-walking. "Not all clowns walk on stilts, however, and in fact, discussions of causes of coulrophobia seem to agree that the most fear-inducing aspect of clowns is the heavy makeup which, accompanied by the bulbous nose and outlandishly colored hair, completely conceal the wearer's identity," says the dictionary definition.

We had just seen Estee Lauder's beauty princess, Paulina Porizkova, shamelessly hawking her new makeup video on the "Arsenio Hall Show," when the video arrived on our desk. "A Private Lesson," with makeup artist Mark Hayles, features demonstrations on Paulina, her mother, Anna, and her teen-age cousin, Veronica Raich.Believe us when we say that we watched this videotape with a certain amount of twisted anticipation. Oh yeah, we were thinking up the wisecracks and barbs even as we were sliding the tape into the VCR. Won't this be just a delight watching the nearly flawless complexion of Paulina being transformed into a completely flawless one?

Everything about Cheaper by the Dozen 2 is applied with a trowel. The sentiment, the cuteness, the macho silliness, the family bonding, even poor Hilary Duff's makeup (someone take away this girl's black eyeliner, pronto!). This movie is one huge pile-on, with everyone in the audience feeling like the poor unfortunate at the bottom of the pile. What can you say about a film where Carmen Electra's performance is one of the high points? Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (20th Century Fox) Starring Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Eugene Levy.

For one memorable day, the bride personifies all the graces. In these hectic modern times, when so much of daily dressing is a matter of function and activity, a wedding gown transcends the workaday and transforms the woman who wears it. The rustle of her train whispers in the hush of ceremony. A veil trails her progress past the smiles of well-wishers. Rich embroideries and formal designs soften and refine her gestures.The bride is beautiful.Styling by Pascale Lemaire * Hair by Erika Riggs * Makeup by Eric Spearman/Zoli * Models: Cara, Tracy Wolfe and Anthony Meyer/3 West Casting * Bouquets by Down to Earth, Mount Washington * Photographed at Evergreen House