The Comeback Blues : * Azure eye shadows are being revived and retooled. The new look is applied lightly, not used like the ‘70s ‘cupcake frosting.’

Blue eye shadow may very well be coming soon to a pair of eyelids near you. Unbelievers may simply review the return of the platform shoe and the crocheted vest for evidence that anything old is new again.

“Blue eye shadow is making a strong comeback,” says Paulette Cleghorn of The Body Shop. However, any woman with frosty-blue cream shadow left over from a few decades ago better rethink more than just hygiene if she is tempted to unearth it.

Cleghorn says translucence best describes the consistency of more cutting-edge blues. “What’s happening now doesn’t (revolve around) the light aqua shade of the ‘70s,” explains Jackie Kolla, cosmetic buyer for Nordstrom’s L.A. region.

The impetus to revive blues at Estee Lauder, where 18 varying shades are offered, came from the many models sashaying down the runway wearing the hues during the fall ’93 European fashion collections, explains Dominique Szabo, senior vice president of product development worldwide for Lauder. Though the market seemed ripe for revival, retooling was necessary, she recalls.

“The new looks are applied with a light hand, not like the cupcake frosting look of the ‘70s that we saw on our mothers and our grandmothers,” she says.

Though the amount of shadow used is significantly less than was needed for the ‘70s look, says Kolla, the depth of color used is much bolder. The M.A.C. makeup line, available at Nordstrom, offers a variety of matte powders, rather than the frosty creams featured two decades ago. Chanel and Christian Dior, two other popular department store lines, are also singing the blues in eye shadows. Drugstore shoppers can find a variety of more affordable blue shades in the Revlon and Clarion lines.

*

How blue-shadowed eye makeup is intended to be finished varies from line to line. Szabo says using automatic pencils and liners to discreetly line the inside of the rim of the lower lid can be flattering, but The Body Shop’s Cleghorn feels that look is passe. She suggests using smoky blue and gray under the lower lid and over the upper lid but never directly on the rim. Or blend slate eye shadow across the lower lid with a smudging applicator. Then, she suggests, use an eye pencil in Passion Blue to draw a line from the outer corner of the lower lash line, about three-fourths of the way across the lid and blended to create a wash of color.

Some naturalists may wince at the rainbow of mascara shades now available. Even so, some of the season’s most maverick mascara choices include brightly colored versions or others imparting a metallic shimmer. Yves St. Laurent, particularly keen on “party” mascaras, is offering black mascaras with a hint of steel and peacock blue-green, among others. Lancome also offers shades of blue, green and auburn. Lauder’s Night Navy offers a hint of color without the electricity present in the ‘70s renditions.

The bold blues of ’93 are gaining momentum for spring ‘94, as many cosmetic lines make plans to carry them over and introduce new hybrids of blue, purple and even green. Look for teal, says Kolla, to take the makeup world by storm.

For some, the look is nothing more than trend hype and obvious artifice. Take Heather Brown, a Merle Norman makeup artist and manager who works in the company’s Fashion Square Sherman Oaks boutique. In Brown’s boutique, the teal shades available in the line aren’t even shipped because demand for them in the San Fernando Valley is virtually nonexistent.

“I don’t find that a lot of our customers come in asking for the latest thing,” Brown said. “What they want are colors that look best on them.” Brown, who has green eyes, says she plans to skip the trend herself, regardless of any perceived momentum.

“I just can’t see myself walking around in teal eye shadow,” she says flatly. As for Brown’s personal bests? Deep, smoky plum and, naturally, brown.