Swastika Mukherjee flaunts a gold makeover by designer Sayon Mitra and make-up artist Aniruddha Chakladar. Picture by Pabitra Das

Bring on the bling! It’s that time of the year again when weddings and parties block your social diary. Enough of the OTT (over the top) look replete with flashy sequins and red lips; metallic shades are back in favour this season and not just in your jewellery, embellishments or accessories. From Marc Jacobs to Manish Malhotra to Nandita Mahtani, gold is high on every designer’s mind at the moment. And the metallic hue extends to your make-up as well.

GoodLife finds out more about the metal magic.

Wardrobe

Gold happens to be Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra’s favourite colour at the moment. Kareena’s sexy number in Yeh mera dil from Don, Preity Zinta’s short skirt for Where’s the party tonight in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Karisma’s show-stopper outfit in Manish’s couture show in Mumbai… it’s a gold rush, honey. “Gold is a very sexy colour, it looks great on Indian skin tones and goes a long way in making a woman look beautiful,” says Manish.

While the LBD (little black dress) is being happily replaced by the sexy gold number at super-glam parties, for more earthly occasions gold embellishments are ruling, big time.

The Stylefile Winter Show 2006 in town last weekend reiterated the trend. While some had at least one metallic shimmering piece in their collections, almost all the 11 designers used gold in surface ornamentation. From Anamika Khanna, Kiran Uttam Ghosh, Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra to Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Gaurav Gupta, most used the metallic shimmer to up the glam quotient of their winter lines.

For GoodLife, Tollywood star Swastika Mukherjee has been bedecked in gold by city designer Sayon Mitra. A corset embellished with zardosi and stone work has been teamed with a jacket and boot-cut trousers. While the corset is in jamevar, the trousers are made of raw silk. The ensemble is in dull gold with a reddish tinge.

Make-up

Gold shimmer for the face is being recommended for all skin tones. “Gold make-up is just perfect for the winter party season. But one must remember that when going for the gold look, don’t combine brighter hues; the effect should be monochromatic,” says make-up artist Aniruddha Chakladar.

For Swastika, who has a light complexion, Aniruddha has used a foundation that is two or three tones darker than her skin tone and followed it up with a compact of the same shade. For a darker person, however, the foundation must be of the skin tone.

Swastika’s eye make-up has been done with a mix of shades of gold and bronze along with shades of wine for the outer edges. The eyes have been lined with kohl and moderate mascara has been used on the lashes.

Next, her face has been washed with bronze shimmer, slightly diluted with water. “The diluted powder shimmer can only be used with a waterproof foundation. If your foundation is not waterproof, dust some compressed shimmer on your face with a blush-on or shimmer brush,” advises Aniruddha.

The cheekbones have been highlighted with a darker shade of blush. A skin-tone lip colour with bronze gloss has been used to complete the look.