It seems as the cooler months draw in that matte is back. From polishes to pouts the gloss is gone people. I repeat, the gloss is gone. Now I’m not a huge proponent of the matte trend, I like a bit of glow in my life but gone are the days of cake face. The textures that are around now are new and improved – no moisture zappers to be seen – it’s all about the satin-y, shine-free formulas. So here’s the best of the bunch:
Urban Decay Eyeshadows in Naked and Buck from the Naked Palette – £37 – from Beauty Bay. My favourite eyeshadow combination as I type. For the past few days I’ve been shunning shimmer on the lids and loading up with Naked all over and then a bit of Buck taken on a fluffy brush through the crease and under the eyes. Lived-in, no-fuss shadow perfection that’s a little bit Olsen-esque.
Barry M Matte Nail Paint in Vanilla – £3.99 – from Boots. The whole matte nail polish thing does seem a little 2011, but this new Barry M shade is actually floating my boat. Ok, the wear time isn’t fab (matte polishes never are), but it does dry in a matter of seconds and if you get bored you can always throw a glossy top coat on and before you know it, things start to look a bit Nails Inc Porchester Square. And that’s always a good thing. Beware though, a steady hand is required with matte formulas as they have a habit of accentuating every single brush stroke.
By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder – £41 – from Space NK. I’ve had a root around and currently this stands as the one and only loose setting powder in my stash. One and only! So that gives you a rough idea of how good this is. I dust this on with a small-ish fluffy brush (the Charlotte Tilbury Sculpting one is pretty good) over my T-zone when things start to get a little oily or for long-standing makeup occasions where things need to be hardy to keep everything in place. It feels cool when first applied and leaves just a smidge of glow coming through.
Jouer Mattifying Powder Bronzer in Sunswept – £22 – from Cult Beauty. A matte bronzer is a matte offering that I find it easy to get behind. Now I luuuurve NARS Laguna but sometimes in the unflattering light of autumn I do notice the odd bit of sparkle on my cheeks creeping through so I’ve been grabbing this in the morning for an no-glint-to-been-seen alternative. Plus, the shade is spot on for my ‘damn I haven’t fake tanned in weeks’ complexion.
Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte Lip Colour in Pale Peach* – £19 – from House of Fraser. These are, hands down, my favourite matte lipstick formula. Creamy but matte is a hard brief to fit, but Bobbi does it as these glide-on with a shine-free finish that doesn’t leave your lips looking like shrivelled prunes after an hour of wear. This shade in particular is right up my street. I pat the colour on with my a fingertip for a light wash of colour and I have been known to sneak a little bit of By Terry Baume de Rose on underneath. Sometimes.
*PR Sample
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