Many of the spring makeup colors that we have featured, and that I have seen in stores, have inspired me to contemplate different, new and fresh "palettes", or color themes, for the face that evoke spring and the beginning of summer. Whimsical, yet wearable, these colors can flatter, make a completely different statement, and appeal to one's fantasy.

Two such themes that have really engaged my imagination are, first, of the sun-drenched beauty of Provence, with sunshine, heat, flowers, dusty roads, and colors: earth-toned, rich terracottas, coppery siennas. The second current color obsession of mine is a baby spring green impression that I have dubbed the hypokhloros (I will elaborate later).

To create my Provence look , I envisioned a lovely Provencal maiden juicy and ripe and healthy. So, I decided to create a Provence "maiden-goddess" look. I used products by L'Occitane and Chanel. Over my foundation I used a light bronzer for a golden look. By the way, check out Prescriptives "Cool Bronzer." It comes in a compact with two shades of powder, and it's a little cooler in color than most bronzers, not so orangey -- very natural. I tried it at the Prescriptives counter not too long ago, and would definitely buy it once I use up my Christian Dior bronzer (which I love too). Then I used a powder blush by Clinque called Lucky Clover, which is a pink, but with a little ruddy brink hint of color to it, not cool. For the lips I applied L'Occitane's lipstick pencil in Copper, which looks exactly as it sounds, and then over that L'Occitane's lip gloss in Aventurine, which is a deeper copper than the pencil, and glossier, with a little pink in it. A lovely subtle, yet, glowing effect. For the eyes I dragged out my Chanel Eye Shadow Quad in Plum, Amber, Nectar and Peony, which was wildly promoted last year, and is actually very nice, but the shadow really crumbles and is a bit messy. It probably would be best to transfer the colors into little tubs. For my upper lid I used Nectar, a soft yellow orange and on my lower lid, under the lashes, I applied Peony, a very soft light pink. Then I used a brown eye pencil along the upper lid up against the eyelashes smudged lightly, some black mascara, and, for the piece de resistance, a swipe of L'Occitane's lipstick pencil in Gypsum, a sheer frosted apricot, under the brow bone, blend and finis.

The overall effect is glowing and healthy; as if you were in sun drenched fields picking lavender, and had just run up a hill in a flushed gorgeous way. All ripe and dewy and full of promise. This look is especially nice for the "gray-March-why-isn't-it-really-spring-yet?" days. And the guys dig it.

Every spring brings back the memory of reading Homer in college. I recall translating the passage in the Odyssey where Odysseus observes the cattle grazing on the "tender blooms" of grass; and the color of the grass is described as khloros a yellow or young green. We get the word chlorine from this root. Homer also "sings" of the hypokhloros, which is the uber-green, the greener than green, green. The khloros is the color that one sees in the early spring, just peeping out, the hint of color in the still brown grass, in the trees, on the bushes. It is the faintest of blushes, the harbinger of the verdant flush of summer. I have just started to see it here, in Central Park, and it delights me. Especially the small patches of grass which are as delicate and soft as the muzzle of a Shetland Pony.

I've always loved green as a color. I think it's restful, soothing, flattering, and lucky.

I could go on and on, but let's get to the makeup. There are many shades of green in evidence for spring, and most of the shades are, of course, for the eyes (but don't that limit you -- remember the Shibuya article we did in January!). These greens, all of them, I think look great with any eye color. We are in a very open period of makeup and fashion where one doesn't have to be so literal that you if you have blue eyes you use this, brown eyes only use this, blah, blah, blah.

My number one favorite green for the eyes is Face Stockholm Eye Dust #15. If they had asked me, they wouldn't have called it just plain old #15 but it should have been named "Emerald City," because it is exactly the green of the Emerald City of Oz that Dorothy sees in the distance on her way to it along the yellow brick road. This is a real nice color, ladies. It looks goooood. I applied it as one would an eyeliner, very saturated. A little pink blush, and dusting of a little bronzer if you wish, but don't need it. Add to that the Stila lipstick, and you have a lovely rosebud look. Like a wood nymph. I must say that Liza is a fantastic color, and I've been instinctively reaching for it non-stop. It is sheerish, and is the color of a pink petunia, or a Persian pink rosebud. Yet it looks so natural, that it makes your lips look irresistibly kissable. It's very sexy in an innocent sort of way.

Another excellent Face Stockholm eye dust, in another hue of green, is called Purpose. I don't understand why some of their products are named and others numbered....oh well. This is a great pale green, slightly yellowish, a lichen green with sparkle, so when you open the pot it looks like crushed gems. This a more "neutral" green than Emerald City, and I would think would look especially nice on hazel-eyed people. I think this eye dust can be worn as a shadow or liner, bother on the lower and upper lids. With Purpose I paired the eye dust with a Face Stockholm lipstick called Citrus, which looks like this wild neon Barbie doll orange, but when applied is subtle and sheer and it works. You would think that no one's coloring would suit this, but it's lovely. This is a warmer look than the green ensemble above, which was cooler in hue and tone.

There is also by Stila an eye powder called Kiwi, which is a pretty minty sprout shoot green, close to the color of kiwi but lighter in value. It has a little sparkle, so you can dress it up or down depending on the amount you chose to use. Since this is a subtler shade I chose a brighter lip color, a very nice lip liner by L'Oreal called Berries/Mauves. It is a burgundy/red berry color, and I used it as a lipstick instead of a liner, and added a little sheer gloss over it. An white opal gloss over it would be nice too, but more for evening.

There are even more greens to investigate: Lime Shimmer from Maybelline, Moss Agate from Nars, and of course the green eye shadows in the lovely spring line by Shu Uemura. Have fun mixing and matching these colors with your lipsticks, blushes, eye pencils and so on, for a themed look, or palette, and relish in your sun bronzed goddess-ness or your mermaid green beauty.