Now comes Shadow Shields, what may be one of the best beauty tools ever. “Quite frankly, it has made life very easy,” said Alex Mendez-Kelley, owner of The MakeUp Bar.

Shadow Shields eliminate eye shadow fall-out.

The lightweight, disposable shields have a smidge of adhesive so they attach easily and comfortably under the eye. The shield catches any drifting shadow during application. Peel the shield away and no clean up is necessary.

Kelley also thinks the white shield helps bring the eye into focus while applying eye makeup. “You’re not distracted. All you see are your eyes.”

Shadow Shields cost $10 for 30 and are available at The MakeUp Bar.

Taylor Swift, Naomi Watts and January Jones at Tommy Hilfiger. AP PHOTO

New York Fashion Week for spring 2010 is over. Stories have been written, trends spotted. The fashion press has moved on to London Fashion Week. Here’s a peek at who was on the front row in New York.

Janet Jackson at the Ralph Lauren spring runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Actress Lucy Liu at the Max Azria spring 2010 collection during Fashion Week in New York. AP PHOTO

American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, left, and actress Jill Hennessy attend the Nicole Miller Spring 2010 collection during Fashion Week in New York, Friday, Sept. 11, 2009. AP PHOTO

Actor Mickey Rourke and model Cheyenne Tozzi attend the Max Azria spring 2010 collection during fashion week, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2009 in New York. AP PHOTO

Tommy Hilfiger spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Fashion Week ended on a high note Thursday night, with Tommy Hilfiger sending out a strong spring collection and filling his front row with celebrities that sent photographers into a frenzy, even after eight days of shooting front-row celebrities.

Taylor Swift set off the most flashbulbs just days after the flap with Kanye West at the VMAs, but Naomi Watts, Mary Louise Parker and Rosario Dawson also captured a lot of attention.

The clothes on the runway deserved notice too: Hilfiger’s theme was the “relaxed glamour” of a Southern California boardwalk, which meant a surprisingly cohesive mix of crisp nautical looks and disco-era slinky styles.

The opening look featured a robelike swing coat in a dusty rose silk with a complementary button-down blouse — that was, indeed, mostly unbuttoned — and his finale was a one-shouldered draped goddess gown in white jersey.

In between were a navy pinstripe, double-breasted suit with gold buttons, and a white-and-navy zigzag strapless minidress that looked like it was covered in a ship’s flags.

The jacket-and-shorts set that very well might become the hot womenswear suit for fall was done nicely with a champagne-colored silk bomber, khaki pleated shorts and a silk tank with gold trim. If you’re not sold on the shorts suit, there was also the option of a tan suede blazer, khaki pleated trousers and a peach-colored silk hoodie blouse.

Tommy Hilfiger spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Hilfiger also includes menswear in his show, and the trends included fuller, shorter pants, and shirts worn open to show a flash of skin.

“Dreamt up for a lifestyle that is as chic as it is casual, the clothes are unpretentious but captivating. … Like the beauty of the Pacific, the collection is a paradox of soothing and stimulating,” he said in his notes left for the retailers, editors and stylists, many of whom now go off to London, Paris and Milan, Italy, to get a full grasp of trends for next season.

Tommy Hilfiger spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Ann Taylor spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

NEW YORK (AP) — A familiar name to a broad consumer base took a slot at New York Fashion Week among the sometimes cult designers: Ann Taylor.

The retailer that boasts 320 stores in the U.S. — maybe at a mall near you — landed Thursday night at the New York Public Library behind the Bryant Park tents as it tries to retool its images beyond standard career clothes.

“We’ve all been working really hard to reinvent the brand,” Lisa Axelson, senior vice president of design, said in an interview before the show. “We want to get the news out that Ann Taylor is changing. … We’re breaking the myth of what we used to be. A lot of the feedback we heard from market research was that the impression was that we were clothes my mom would wear. Now we’re for the crazy, busy stylish working woman.”

The first look to the last indicated a shift to a more trend-aware customer. A taupe trench coat with a soft silk flounce touched on the contrasting feminine-masculine look on other runways, as did the fully tiered purple strapless dress that was paired with a black cashmere boyfriend cardigan.

The difference at this show is that the styles are either available now or will be before the holidays; the designer collections were previewed spring.

Ann Taylor spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Actress Vanessa Williams had a seat in the front row and was wearing a teal-blue sheath — a color that already had emerged as a Fashion Week trend.

“I don’t follow fashion but I appreciate it and extract what I think is me,” Williams said. “When you’re older, you know what works for your body and what you’re comfortable in, but I’ll update it.”

Isaac Mizrahi spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

NEW YORK (AP) — Forget clothes for a minute: Isaac Mizrahi knows how to put on a show, and that’s just what he did Thursday at New York Fashion Week.

With a rain spray, wind machine, spotlights and a staircase incorporated into his catwalk, Mizrahi even sent out one model in a golf cart. He dubbed the spring collection “Astaire Case or Obstacle Course.”

Golf-cart girl was wearing a black-sequin shorts suit — and a white top hat, of course.

The eveningwear is indeed what sparkled here on the last day of previews for the editors, retailers and stylists at Bryant Park. A strapless black cocktail dress with a giant white rose on the bustline and a fluted gown covered in black lace and tufts of tulle both captured classic Mizrahi and his theme of a retro country club.

The photographers at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week seemed to like a sequined T-shirt minidress with a fringe hemline best; that piece of eye candy got some catcalls.

“Isaac’s strong suit is always nighttime,” said Candy Pratts Price, executive fashion director of Style.com. “He knows Palm Beach glamour. You could almost see the lawn and the well-groomed women at a party.”

Several outfits featured a frilly, feminine miniskirt silhouette, including a nude-colored wrap dress as well as a lilac-colored one paired with a suit-style jacket.

Isaac Mizrahi spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Other jackets were finely tailored, except for the sleeves, which were ripped off (purposely) with bare threads exposed. Preppy walking shorts finished off the looks.

Mizrahi, though, also needs a fix of kookiness and this go around he accomplished that with an iridescent lava lamp-fringe coat.

He always sends off his audience with a smile.

Isaac Mizrahi spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Isaac Mizrahi spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Calvin Klein for spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

NEW YORK (AP) — The easy elegance that has become the hallmark of the spring shows was alive and well on the Calvin Klein runway Thursday as New York Fashion Week neared its close.

The simple and sophisticated palette that creative director Francisco Costa favors this season was dominated by white, black, a neutral color he called porcelain, with brief cameos of a seafoam green, citrine and aqua.

(Color names have become a guessing game for the retailers, stylists and editors who attend the Klein show. What will “ether” and “shell” be? Turns out, a light silver and a slightly pinkish white.)

What’s new here is the looser shape and an emphasis on tactile textures. In recent history, Costa has focused on architecture but this was more about needle-punched fabrics, crinkle silk and a bit of mohair. A white dress with all-over crushed pleats was the perfect thing to wear for cocktails after a day at the beach.

Most styles were short, as has been the trend, and the looks that were long mostly had a sheer bottom, adding to the feeling of lightness, even if the sleeves often were long or models were wearing jackets.

One of the sexiest looks of the week was a long, body-grazing slip dress made of gazar and chiffon with a nylon coat on top. It wasn’t what you saw that mattered, it was what was suggested.

Calvin Klein for spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Calvin Klein spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Nanette Lepore spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

NEW YORK (AP) — Nanette Lepore wanted to evoke a feeling of optimism with her spring collection, and she did it with sunshiney colors and playful patterns, turning the runway into a lush flower garden.

Her show Wednesday morning was full of yellows, blues and fuchsias, mixed in with nature colors like browns and brownish-greens; styles ranged from wrap dresses to loose cardigans, and the prints were reminiscent of raindrops or flowers.

A one-shoulder minidress with horizontal stripes in brown, light purple, darker purple, orange and yellow-green had bright detail that looked like a bunch of wildflowers in an array of colors on the one strap. A greenish-brown loose halter top dress with a flirty skirt bottom that came to the knees was worn over fuchsia, the hot pink peeking through. And a blue sleeveless suede coat with a pink lining was worn with abstract printed minishorts.

Nanette Lepore spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Some of the pieces were a little less colorful, like a white blouse with a diamond cutout in the back that was worn with a two-toned green miniskirt and a white short shirtdress with sleeves rolled right below the elbow.

But it was items like the yellow short wrap dress with the V and the belt detailed with metal eyelets that really stood out and brought the feeling of optimism and escapism that Lepore said she was seeking.

Nanette Lepore spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Nanette Lepore spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Nanette Lepore spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Tory Burch spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Tory Burch spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

NEW YORK (AP) — Never have their been so many photographers on the floor as there were at Tory Burch’s New York Fashion Week presentation Wednesday morning. Burch’s roots are in accessories, so the first question to be answered was: What are the shoes like?

Leather-strap sandals woven and wrapped up the leg, moccasins with heels and a driving shoe-bootie, all of which will likely cause a shopping stir.

Burch has something like a cult following, noted Adam Glassman, creative director for O, The Oprah Magazine.

Her clothes were things that people — and not just high-fashion types — could wear, and that’s noteworthy at the Bryant Park runways. A cheerful garden print was used for a loose, pleated dress and a pair of skinny pants and coordinated button-down shirt, a tie-dye tank dress and short trench with gold buttons.

This marked Burch’s first appearance at the tents, previously opting for smaller presentations uptown.

Tory Burch spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Models carried tie-dye clutches and bigger, square handbags with a gold-chain handle.

Glassman liked the sequined looks best, especially a beaded dress with anorak jacket. “I like her mix of everyday utilitarian with dressy.”

He added, “She hits the trends and makes them understandable.” There were a number of leather and suede outfits, normally not seen in heavy doses for spring/summer, but they’ve been everywhere during this round of previews. The white leather skirt covered with laser-cut triangles and a black leather skirt with gold grommets at the waist and hem certainly speak to the idea of seasonless dressing, in which women don’t fully swap out their wardrobes from season to season.

The buzz among retailers is to offer clothes for all sorts of climate year-round since the weather — and the economy — are so unpredictable.

Tory Burch spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Tory Burch spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Oscar de la Renta spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar de la Renta shared his world with New York Fashion Week on Wednesday, offering a spring collection that’s well-traveled, luxurious and a bit exotic.

The clothes, presented at the former church on the Upper East Side that de la Renta has made the home of his fashion shows, had some of the elaborate beadwork and embroidery that are the designer’s hallmark, but he also was aware of the times and the world around him, avoiding anything that would be considered too haughty.

He seemed to draw inspiration from style traditions in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia, among other places.

A teal-blue coat with citrine-green embroidery topped a white lace dress, a strapless gown was covered in sunburned bronze-and-red sequins, while another gown had a bejeweled turquoise and coral waistband. Gilded gold decorated the shoulders of a nude-colored cotton blouse worn with an embellished pencil skirt. That outfit didn’t hold back on gold jewelry, either.

Oscar de la Renta spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Safari jackets were paired with skinny silk-faille pants, and a pair of linen gaucho pants was worn with a white cotton blouse and a bronze tweed jacket. Even for de la Renta, though, another white blouse had such oversized sleeves that it was way too over the top (and worn under a citrine strapless frock, no less).

A nod to the more casual style of dressing was the cropped denim jacket that was worn over black dress with purple and teal embroidery.

The models in the more traditional de la Renta eveningwear — taffeta and organza gowns in bright fuchsia and red as well as a black lace-and-organza ruffled and embellished one — wore lace mantillas on their heads.

The most elaborate outfit was the finale piece: a strapless gown made of layers upon layers of gray and blue tulle with a bodice covered in crystals.

Oscar de la Renta spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Oscar de la Renta spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Oscar de la Renta spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Oscar de la Renta spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO

Oscar de la Renta spring 2010 runway show in New York. AP PHOTO