The Autumn Makeup Shift

*Insert another post of me raving about autumn* YES, AGAIN? I know. I can’t stop harping on about it, but at least I’m discussing a topic that isn’t straight leg jeans and cashmere tops, right? Because today I wanted to cobble together a post that served as an ode to autumn beauty because, yep you’ve guessed it – I’m SO here for it. A slightly more matte base, a rusty colour on the lid and a berry lip; it plays out every single year, but for good reason. The tones are universally flattering, plus the injection of tonal colours add some spice to the bland colour palette that I now plan on wearing until May. So I’ve had a makeup mix-up and I’m attempting to put to bed the nudes that I’ve worn. Every. Single. Day. Instead dusting off those colours that I’ve loved in previous years – oh hello NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils! There’s not much particularly new to see here, just a subtle nudge to myself really to stop reaching for Glossier’s Generation G in Cake in the morning without evening thinking about it. BERRIES! REDS! PINKS!

Now when I said ‘a slightly more matte base’ in the intro, you knew that I meant dialling it down from ‘looking like you could fry four eggs on my face’ to ‘looking like you could fry just the one’, yeah? I’m a fan of the glow and I can’t see me returning to the blotted side anytime soon, but there is something about the dusky days and early evenings, that have me attempting more of an etherial glow, rather than all-out grease, which is why I try to achieve for the rest of the year. Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation (I use the shade 4) does a great job of evening out everything with it’s medium coverage finish, whilst looking a little bit velvety on the skin without zapping all your complexion’s natural sheen. I originally purchased this about six years ago (in about 10 shades darker) and yet I still come back for more. It’s a cult classic and rightly so.

It was time to dust off CHANEL’s Illusion D’Ombre in Melody – which I’d used almost every day back in the beginning of summer but have just rediscovered in my latest edition of ‘Things That Had Rolled Down The Back Of The Radiator #65’. If you want something shimmer-heavy, warm-toned and quick, shove your finger in this, slide it over your lids and you’re done. If you’re more of a palette gal or guy then the ZOEVA Cocoa Blend Palette is well worth the purchase. This selection really suits the upcoming seasons and I enjoy dipping into both the matte and subtly metallic shades. It features dupes for my most-worn singles from MAC, plus has some autumn additions (COME THRU CRANBERRY TONE!), so it’s a good one to keep on hand whether I’m doing a one-shade-wonder, or attempting something a little more intricate (I mean we’re talking two shades here, I ain’t no Pixiwoo).

LIPS! Whenever I want to feel adventurous with my makeup (LOL, I never really am, but you catch my drift), I do a bold lip and it always makes me feel a million dollars. A little bit Parisian. A little bit more polished. It’s not much, but it really can shift things in one five second swoop. Let’s talk about Glossier here, because the Generation G’s are the most full-proof colours I’ve found. It’s basically a tinted balm so there’s zero precision needed, and although the formula means they’re not the strongest on the longevity front, I love the slightly smudged ‘I didn’t try – promise’ look. Zip is a great red, Like, a mauve and I’m really feeling Crush which is a fuchsia cranberry, which sounds terrifying but is seriously brighting on the face. There’s also the Balm Dot Com in Cherry, which is worth buying for the smell alone. It smells like the cherry pot that you used to get with My Baby All Gone – remember that? It’s slightly messier to apply, but is good if you fancy less of a matte look and more of a sheen.

Speaking of balms that give a sheen, the Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Colour in Bare is soft feeling and looking on the lips. Another good one to thrown on without a mirror. Keep that mirror to hand mind you, because the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencils are opaque and are definitely something that I wouldn’t recommend applying in a moving car, unless you’re dressing up as Miranda Sings for Halloween. I know I go on about these every single year, but I just haven’t found any other formula that compares. I love how these are delivered in a pencil format because you don’t need a separate product to shape your lips and it makes them easy to apply. The colour range is completely banging and they hang around until you can find something that’s industrial enough to remove them. Given how matte they are, I find them to be pretty comfortable on the lips and they don’t make my lip surface look like sandpaper, which I don’t find to be my strongest look. Red Square is an orange red that flatters those that have some pink tones in their skin, Cruella is a classic red that’s neutral and suits every one and then Damned is one of the only berries that I’ve found that doesn’t go on uneven and make me feel like my lips look the size of a grain of rice.

…Now, I can’t promise that there won’t be another autumn ode around these parts, but I can say that Wednesday’s post doesn’t even contain one mention of crunchy leaves…

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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