Shop Talk: Rehabbing Your Spring Make-Up Routine

Shades of Spring

Warmer temperatures signal brighter, lighter makeup hues and routines. Here are some products that will freshen up your face.

Pantone’s colors of 2016 lean toward the pastel; no wonder celebrity manicure guru Deborah Lippmann’s at-home, gel-alternative polish sets (topcoat not shown) come in icier shades such as “Get Lucky” this spring. $45 at Varnish Lane in Friendship Heights

The season’s au naturel face gets amped up with brighter, 1970s-groovy eye color such as Nars “Cressida” Dual-Intensity Eyeshadow. $29 at Bluemercury in Gaithersburg and Bethesda (Wildwood Shopping Center and Bethesda Row)

For a splash of spring’s on-trend pinkish red, slick on Clinique’s Pop Glaze Sheer Lip Colour + Primer in “Fireball.” $18 at Macy’s in Westfield Montgomery mall

Tom Ford’s Shade and Illuminate cream in Lavish Pink evokes a natural flush; the easy-to-apply formula makes contouring cheeks simple. $80 at Neiman Marcus in Friendship Heights

Arbonne Intelligence CC Cream pulls triple beauty duty, serving as a makeup base, moisturizer and sunblock. Botanicals and pigments power its four shades. $40 at DSharpe Style in Bethesda

The Makeup Maven

In more than a decade as a makeup artist, Sunny Oh has beautified hundreds of brides, models and ordinary women. Based at Bethesda’s DSharpe Style, the beauty pro also specializes in cosmetic bag reboots, where she suggests which products to pitch, buy or keep for a streamlined and sleek face. Here’s how she recommends rehabbing your own routine for spring.

What’s the first thing I should change about my beauty routine come spring?

“First, you’ll want to up the SPF in your foundation or face cream, because the sun is coming back out. For blushers, put aside the golds, glitters and bronzes you used during the holidays. And lighten up your lip and eye shadow palettes to suggest a more natural, bare look.”

Are there any cosmetics trends this season?

“The trend is toward a natural, glowing face. I’m seeing luminous, flushed cheeks and pink lips. On the bolder side, blue is a favorite on the eyes and adds a splash of color.”

How do I figure out which colors go with my skin tone?

“One of my favorite tricks is to have a client pinch their index finger, because the color that results from blood rushing to the surface is the best tone for your blush. Once you’ve figured out a good color, apply blusher starting at the apples of your cheeks, and then, with added pressure and circular motions, move upward toward your temples.”

How can I make my eyes look bigger and better?

“The in thing now is strong, brushed-up brows framing natural-looking eyes and curled lashes. Use a lightly colored brow gel or wax to tame eyebrow hairs and a light powder to fill in patchy areas. A great daytime effect? Apply TIGI eyeshadow base on the lids and a neutral shadow to add depth and color.”

DSharpe Style, second floor of Lux Studios, 4711 Montgomery Lane, Bethesda, 301-987-6810, dsharpestyle.com

Tiffany Rogers loosens up bow tie style with unexpected fabrics, prints and designs at her business, Knot by TIFFA. Photo by Darren Higgins

Behind the Brand: Knot by TIFFA

Back in 2010, Tiffany Rogers wanted to buy her pal Cory Thompson a bow tie. “But I didn’t like the ties I was seeing—they were all stripes and polka dots, nothing very special,” she says. So Rogers, who has both an education and work background in apparel, decided to make a tie herself. The resulting cerulean-blue silk number went over so well that Rogers—with a little help from Thompson—launched the natty neckwear line Knot by TIFFA.

“I did a lot of pattern research, looking at different shapes and styles,” says Silver Spring-based Rogers, 30, whose fashion background includes a stint with designer Tracy Reese. In the end, she zeroed in on shapes including the butterfly (a wider style), the slim, straight batwing and the cheeky diamond tip, which tends to look artfully askew when tied.

But what really differentiates Knot by TIFFA products is the fabric—think punchy blue-and-white gingham, are-we-in-Portland? flannel plaids and Hawaiian-inspired tropical prints. Rogers makes all the ties herself in her apartment work space. “It’s a lot of sewing!” she laughs. She estimates that she sells up to 50 ties a week for $35-$60 each, via her website and frequent appearances at local craft fairs.

The limited-edition styles are named for some of Rogers’ favorite pop songs—the “Hound Dog” in a red-and-white check, the “Diamonds Are Forever” in snowy brocade. “Tiffany was always that person who knew what the latest cool bands were,” says Thompson, who helps Rogers with finances and marketing from his home in New York City. “It’s sort of a melding of her fashion background and her love of music.”

Customers range from millennial guys who pair the bow ties with casual shirts and vests to older gentlemen who don the more traditional print ties with suits. “Either way, you get a lot of attention when you wear a bow tie,” says Rogers, who also works as the accountability associate at the Fair Labor Association in D.C. “People always comment on them. They’re the ultimate icebreaker.”

Knot by TIFFA, www.knotbytiffa.com