Yigal Azrouël spring 2011, Imaxtree

One of our favorite things about spring is the healthy dose of bright, eye-catching colors we’re treated to after a season of muted neutrals, nudes, and earth tones that we’re more apt to describe as “dull” at this point. Back in February, a shocking spectrum of colors dominated the runways in the form of eye makeup from Derek Lam’s neon-painted lids to Oscar de la Renta’s whimsical smoky eye sans the conventional charcoal color. We round up three new ways to update your favorite eye makeup trends with a flash, burst or sliver of color in the most noteworthy shades.

Etro, Imaxtree

Oscar de la Renta, Imaxtree

The smoky eye

Use the tip of your pinky finger to sweep a single color (like M.A.C’s high-pigmented eye shadow) over your eyelids and dab and blend the excess color with the tip of your clean ring finger along the undereye and the corners of your eyes. To make sure your peepers don’t get lost in the color, line the inner corners of your eyes with a pearlescent highlighting shadow or liner. For a more dramatic and intense look, add color up to your brows like at Etro. (The great thing about the smoky eye is that precision isn’t key here; just don’t go too crazy or you risk looking like Taylor Momsen)

Derek Lam, Imaxtree

Peter Som, Imaxtree

The painted lid

Makeup artist Tom Pecheux actually used lipstick to pull off this creamy look. Use a lip liner pencil and then a matching lipstick (Pecheux used Estee Lauder’s Double Wear lip pencil and Pure Color lipstick) to color in your lids to desired opacity (for this look, we suggest going to town—the brighter, the better), then use a sheer eyeshadow to set the color in place.

Loewe, Imaxtree

Carolina Herrera, Imaxtree

The cat eye

With an iridescent or shimmery color (like Makeup For Ever’s Diamond Eyeshadow or Urban Decay’s Stardust Eyeshadow), use an angled eyeshadow applicator to quickly swipe a thin line from the outer corner of your eye. Imagine the end of your brow extending half an inch or so, and that’s where you want to stop. Just like you would a smoky eye, use fingertips to blend the color starting from the inner corner of your eye and meeting the end of the line you just swiped.