The Beauty Counter: New looks in fall makeup

Fall is officially here, so it's time to update our makeup for the new season. The biggest question I get is how to transition skin from that glowy, sun-kissed look to something more appropriate for fall and winter.

Matte skin is always a constant when I think of fall and winter makeup. The trick, though, is to use makeup that doesn't make your skin look too dry or chalky, which can age the look of your face, but also to maintain a youthful complexion so you don't look like you emptied an entire bottle of sunless tanner on your face.

My go-to foundations for fall and winter are the L'Oreal Tru Match collection, Maybelline Fit Me, Urban Decay Naked Skin and Makeup For Ever Ultra HD Foundation (the liquid version). What I love about L'Oreal and Maybelline is that for drugstore brands, they offer a whole host of shade options, from warm to cool to neutral, and they offer multiple finishes (matte, natural or luminous). Their price point is also quite reasonable. L'Oreal ranges from approximately $6.97 to about $11, depending upon which finish you're choosing, and Maybelline Fit Me runs approximately $6 to $7.

Anne Hudson

Now, the Urban Decay and Makeup For Ever brands are both higher-end brands. Price points of these run from about $38 for the Urban Decay Naked Skin to $42 for the Makeup For Ever foundations. However, they both are pretty concentrated, so you don't need to use a lot to get full coverage. Both brands offer a range of shades to cover almost every skintone, and the finish of both of these is natural. The great thing about a natural finish is that it is formulated to imitate the look of your skin. If you want to create a more matte finish, all you need to do is, once you have applied the foundation, take a clear powder and gently press it into your skin using a slightly damp beauty blender, or you can use a makeup sponge. This will create a flawless matte finish, but not appear too dry or chalky.

Another fall trend you will be seeing a lot of is dark, neutral eye shadow. When I think of eye shadows that are dark and neutral at the same time, I think of only two colors: bronze and copper. Both colors are in the brown family and look great on every skin tone and eye color. Both colors can be worn during the day and transition into night by simply adding black eyeliner to the upper and lower lash line. To intensify the color of your eye and make this color a little more dramatic for the evening, tightline the lower water line of your eye and slightly smoke it out with a pencil brush, or smudge brush to where it just barely goes over your lower waterline (the waterline is the line directly underneath your eye where the tear duct is located and just above your bottom lashes).

Finally, my favorite fall trend for this year is a beautiful plum lipcolor. You will also see a lot of reddish-brown colors for the lips. It's almost like a nod to 1997, when everything in the beauty world was kind of "heroin chic" -- but the new look is much less sick-looking. My all-time favorite lipstick when I was in high school was Revlon's Rum Raisin. It was a perfect blend of plum and brick red. These colors are quite beautiful and can work for any skin tone.

A lot of women can be intimidated by red or dark lipsticks, especially those women who don't wear a lot of makeup to begin with. They worry it's too strong of a color or too dark. If you're not ready to make the jump into a dark crimson color yet, I suggest you start with a tinted lip balm that is a cherry color, or a lip gloss that has a plum color to it. This will offer you a slight wash of color without it being too overpowering.

The most important thing to remember when trying a new trend is to always do what makes you feel most comfortable. If you're not sure you're going to like it, try it out in the privacy of your own home and play around with it. Apply color at different intensity levels until you find one that works for you. My goal as a makeup artist is to make my clients feel and look beautiful, but always ensure they look like themselves. Not all trends are going to fit every person. Do what makes you feel most beautiful -- that's the best trend anyone can follow!

-----

About Anne

Anne Hudson, a self-taught makeup artist in Cape Girardeau, has had a passion for makeup since she was old enough to know what powder was. She could write a book about a tube of red lipstick, but for now, she's offering her best tips in Flourish magazine. Got a question for Anne? Send it to rgautschy@semissourian.com, and you might find the answer in a future issue of Flourish.