The first time that I applied silver eyeshadow, my boyfriend asked me why I'd put talc on my face. Harsh, but then adolescent boys are not known for their subtlety. Needless to say, I was mortified and as a result I steered clear of silver for a very long time. But if gold is the colour of Christmas, then silver is definitely the colour for New Year's Eve. So in the name of research, I bravely confronted my demons and tested the latest silver products.
Because the base of silver is white, it's easy to get it wrong. Pick the wrong one and the effect will look too hard. The darker your skin, the more careful you must be. Make sure it's silver, and not glorified grey that you are buying.
Test several together: that way, the strong ones jump out and you don't end up making the mistake I did. Stay away from anything too pearl-like, and go for glitter instead. Karen Millen does a great silver for eyes, cheeks and lips. It looks white in the tube, but don't be put off because once applied it's a strong silver which keeps its twinkle longer than many of the others.
The liquid eyeliner in Supersonic from Nars is a stunning silver eyeliner which looks great on dark eyes. Apply with a thin brush at the lash line for a contemporary bit of sparkle. For an equally sexy but more subtle sheen, try the eye glaze from Stila, in Moon. And on the lips, try Silver Shine lip gloss, also from Stila, although obviously not at the same time. Apply alone or over lipstick with a brush.
"The thing to remember is that anything like silver against dark skin will always give a strong contrast. But because you get such a contrast you don't need to choose such a bright colour, because your skin will offset the colour," says make-up artist Barbara Daly, whose range is available at Tesco. "The modern way is to find things with silver in them. That way, you get the shimmer, sheen and glitter, but it has a background against the skin, so it's more wearable."
The other option is to wear silver over another one of your favourite colours, giving you a silver tint but without any danger of looking like you've been got at by Jack Frost.
