COSMETICS SURGERY

Want to give your look a lift? Forget plastic surgery, Botox or even microdermabrasion. A new lipstick can do the trick, and so can a chic new haircut.

There are many quick, easy, painless and relatively cheap ways to help women update their style, especially as visions of sun-kissed styles dance in their heads as the weather turns warmer.

"Big eyes continue to be huge. There's an incredible business in fake lashes, and big mascaras with new technologies and better brushes," reports Sarah Munson, general manager of beauty at Beauty.com. This season's favorite cosmetic combinations seem to be bold blues, greens or gold on the eyes with a soft apricot lip or a strong coral lip with muted eyes, she says.

Bronzers have become a beauty category unto themselves as have sunless tanners. Almost every brand, whether it's at the prestige or mass level, has a variety of products to re-create the glow one gets from the sun but without any of the skin-damage risks.

If you're not already using a bronzer, you will once you start putting on white and other light-colored garments and realize how pale you are, Munson says, and you'll reach for the tinted moisturizer once you pull out your bathing suit.

Skin-care routines tend to lighten up in the spring and summer, with women choosing more serums, which are absorbed more quickly into the skin, than creams and lotions that tend to sit on the surface, Munson explains.

Debbi Hartley-Triesch, national beauty and fragrance director for Nordstrom, says today's best-selling products are things that enhance natural beauty instead of mimicking a model or falling prey to trends.

Luckily, there are a lot of choices out there, she says, since many women use different beauty products on different days to address their moods or outfits.

As fashion turns to more tailored clothing, Hartley-Triesch says, more women are choosing high color lipsticks. It's the yin and yang of your overall look: Highly stylized clothes are complemented by more subtle makeup, and simpler or delicate clothes can take a little more color on the face.

The update to the zillions of shimmering lip glosses already out there is that cosmetic companies are now paying attention to brilliance and a pearled effect in addition to shine.

Color cosmetics. While there's still a bit of crispness in the springtime air, makeup artist Bobbi Brown reaches for light, babydoll pink makeup. "A very wearable pink, a shimmer, glittery pink," she describes.

Once summer kicks in, Brown says, it's time for sandwashed colors, such as a light purple she calls iris, surf blue and tangerine. "It's a way to wear color, sometimes bright color, without looking silly or garish."

The faded colors should remind you of that favorite T-shirt that used to be a sunny yellow and is now more like French vanilla, or an evergreen sweatshirt turned more of a palm-leaf shade.

When translated into makeup, Brown says, the result often is a see-through or sheer look, which can be worn on the eyes, lips and cheeks. One of her favorite combinations is iris with white and gold on the eyes, transparent cream rouge in pink or coral on the cheek, and a light lip stain or gloss.

Joe Costa, national makeup artist for Yves Saint Laurent, says he's seen many women — especially in the Midwest and Southwest — drawn to peach and pinks so far this season. But, he adds, they're also doing a bit of experimenting with brighter colors on their eyes. "Women aren't afraid to put a little splash of color on the eyes as the accent. They're real intrigued by orange and a little bit of green and blue."

But Manhattan stylist Oscar Blandi says while women should find some inspiration in trends, they should be willing to adapt them — or skip them altogether — if they're not a match for their look or lifestyle. Just like real people take elements of what they see on designer runways and incorporate a few key pieces into their own wardrobes, they should see a picture of a dramatic haircut and figure out what parts would work for them, he says. Things to consider include height, facial bone structure and the jawline.

It's also OK to stick with what you have if you like it, Blandi adds, pointing to Vogue editor Anna Wintour's bob with bangs that's become her signature and never changes.

As for hair color, Matrix colorist Jennifer Jahanbigloo, known professionally as Jennifer J., notes the chunky coloring technique known as shadowing has been used on Sarah Jessica Parker, Gisele Bundchen, Faith Hill and Mischa Barton.

Instead of the highlights being close together — and done on a regular schedule — now the color is spaced sporadically and it's OK if the roots show.

"It started with fashion's bohemian trend. Even though the fashion trend is morphing into something else, it's still a hair trend," Jahanbigloo says.

"It's not perfect. It's a messy, casual look. But you want the unkempt look to pull together," she adds, suggesting adding a shine product that adds a refined finish to the hair. If you want to look even more conservative for a particular occasion, simply switch your part to create a more subtle line between the natural hair color and the highlights.

Fragrance. Rochelle Bloom, president of the Fragrance Foundation, says a big trend is "vintage" perfume — not old perfume that your grandmother passed along but a perfume that's been deemed special enough to have a year printed on the bottle, indicating a particularly stellar year for the rose or lilac extracts.

"It labels something special and unique. Fragrances over the years have become a little bit of a commodity. A (fragrance) house is looking for new ways to brand fragrance for prestige," Bloom explains.

Always in the spring and summer, the most popular fragrances are lighter and softer, with some favorite notes being lush tropical fruits this particular season. But there's an unexpected interest in chocolate, too.

Nails. Essie Weingarten, founder and president of Essie Cosmetics, says it's time to trim nails and keep them short and clean. Colors that best suit that look tend to be soft but also playful.

Her spring palette includes a rosy mauve with glitter, a bubble-gum pink and translucent toffee, while the summer collection features pink peony, a sheer opalescent amethyst, lilac and watermelon.

Skin care. The light bulb is finally going on for consumers that they need more than their daily moisturizer with SPF to protect them from the sun, says Eric Cowles, vice president of marketing for SkinCeuticals.

"There's not necessarily a specific ingredient that's the trend, but it's about layering products," Cowles says. "People are more interested in efficacy even if it means a few more steps."