Face facts

Make-up and music join forces as sassy singers and razor-sharp rappers get lippy. For the rest of 2007, beauty trends are urban, upbeat and unbridled.

Fresh and funky, new kid on the block Brooklyn rapper Lil' Mama (AKA Niatia Jessica Kirkland) is blowing up the urban scene with her debut single Lip Gloss.

It was somewhere after eighth grade where the 17-year-old discovered the magical powers that lie in make-up brushes and wands and, more notably, the devastating effects it had over the opposite sex.

Crushes

As the budding star jives and gyrates through the corridors and classrooms of Gershwin Junior High School in her glossy music video, she raps, "What you know 'bout me, what ch'ou, what you know 'bout me/What you know bout me, what ch'ou what you know/They say my lip gloss is cool, my lip gloss be poppin'/I'm standing at my locker, and all the boys keep stoppin'/MAC, L'Oreal, yep cause I'm worth it/Love the way I puts it on so perfect, my lips are so luscious/The way I spice it up with the MAC brushes/L'Oreal got them want watermelon crushes/That's probably the reason all these boys got crushes..."

Pulse

A bit excessive, you might think, a whole song about lip gloss, nonetheless Lil' Mama has clearly got her finger on the pulse of the latest make up trends.

Fashion's summer 2007 fascination with all things shiny also extends to beauty trends for the cooler months ahead. A slick of hot pink or nude lip gloss will update your make up look in an instant.

Contrast ultra glossed lips with strong and fierce eyebrows. Use a dark brown eye shadow on a brush to emphasise your brows, or an eyebrow pencil for a more extreme effect.

Bandwagon

Similar to fashion trends, make-up is also taking its inspiration from heavy metals. Faces on the catwalks at Chanel, Prada and Donna Karan shimmered with hints of gold, silver and copper. To create this look simply dab a golden eye shadow on your top lids for a flash of Hollywood glamour.

Jumping on the make-up-loving bandwagon is Eve. The rapper and actress poses and purrs over MAC's new make-up collection (of which she has become an ambassador after modelling their latest Aids awareness campaign).

Map

In her upbeat new music video, Tambourine, the feisty star raps: "Yeah I know you want to fight it but why would you try/We got them shaking everything from the hood to Dubai!"

So, ladies, as Dubai is now firmly on the international music and fashion map, it's definitely time to shine out loud.