Autumn Must-Have Makeup

As summer winds down and the temperatures begin to decline, autumn enters, along with a shift in must-have makeup products (or trends, since I didn’t make specific recommendations).  Here are my three for this fall:

The Dark Lip is a fall trend that never gets old and never goes out of style. It must be the cooler temps that make us reach for those cooler, darker berries and plums–and for those of us who are more daring, our truly vampy shades. There are two essential tricks to wearing and pulling off a darker lip: confidence and technique.

You gotta have the confidence to rock the bold lip–this means throwing out any preconceived notions you have of how you look in a dark lip. We get stuck seeing ourselves in a certain way, but trust me, others see us in less of a box! You look killer in your crushed berry lip stain! (And if you need to build-up your confidence level, wear it around the house and good friends.) Secondly, technique is important; you want to take your time and apply a darker lip color with a lip brush when possible, and lining around the lip (with a colorless lip liner or concealer) and on the edge of lip will give you a very crisp, precise lip look as well as longer-lasting color that’s less prone to bleeding. Keep in mind that adding gloss on top of a dark lipstick often increases the chance it will bleed.

The Plum Blush adds color but also definition to cheeks–and it’s an interesting way to switch-up your usual makeup routine. It’s also nice way to embrace some of the more somber tones of autumn that we see so often on lips but on the cheeks. On cooler complexions, I love pinkish plums, while on warmer complexions, brownish plums work well. It can be applied heavily or softly, depending on your preference, and softer, finer textures allow for a really blendable, sheered out looks, while denser products will yield greater intensity in a single pass.

The Matte Lip is back with a vengeance this fall, but we’ll be seeing different twists and takes on what exactly matte means. They’re just not your old school dry-as-a-bone kind of mattes any more. Thank goodness for the improvements in formulas, ingredients, and technology, because we can now achieve matte lips without chalkiness, dryness, or excessive pulling and tugging. Keep your eyes open for some of those new formulas launching in the next month or so!

What are your must-have products for autumn?