Fresh looking Fall Flesh tones....
This season fall makeup is meant to enhance your natural beauty and compliment the rich luxurious jewel tone colours that are in this season for fashion.
You’ll notice lots of the gold, mustard, rust, aubergine and teal clothing that was on the runway for FW11/12 are now making their way to store racks. Very rich colours are back for fall!
To compliment the rich clothing colours use makeup colours that are naturally present in your colouring and on earth. This trend is very much a “no makeup, makeup look”. It’s all about being confident in your own skin and owning your natural beauty. This look is meant to be subtle, nude and monochromatic. It is not a heavy application.....very light and airy....to appear subtle and moody. This look appears natural and effortless but at the same time very well put together and neat. Washes of chocolate, grey and soft muted lavender and glowy golds. Just a wash of sheer fleshy colour!
I’ve seen this natural makeup look paired with those dark vampy red or burgundy lips that are in. It also looks amazing with those FULL BROWS that have made such a huge comeback.
Dreamy au natural makeup......with flawless skin. To achieve the key feature of this trend.... you will need to rock a flawless complexion with little to no shine.
You can achieve picture perfect skin for fall in these 4 simple steps:
1) Skin.....Know your skin type! It’s the key to anticipating what your skin will need as the weather turns cold and dry. If you have shine on your face halfway through the day or acne your skin is considered oily. If you never get breakouts and your skin feels taught all the time, your skin is dry. If you don’t feel tight but see flakes on the top layers of skin, that is most likely dehydration (drink more water!) A lot of us have combination skin which is dry on the cheeks and oilier skin on the forehead and nose (and sometimes the chin). The only exception to these is pregnancy when your skin is turned upside down. While you are pregnant you may need to totally change your normal skin care regimen and adjust as you go. As the fall weather tends to get colder and more dry you may notice a seasonal change in your skin. You may want to switch to a more rich night cream for evening so that you can sooth your skin and replenish while you sleep!
2) Use Products for your skin type.....The most important thing if you wear makeup is to take it off completely at the end of the day . Do not leave a single trace of makeup on your face as your skin care will not be absorbed as efficiently. Hydration is essential for healthier, younger-looking skin and a polished makeup look. Take the time to find the right moisturizer for your skin. Even if you are oily you need to keep your skin hydrated with an oil-free moisturizer. (especially in the fall/winter!) I just tried the new Photo Finish Hydrating Foundation Primer by Smashbox and it’s amazing! It really does hydrate the skin far better than their original primer.
3) Build a foundation.....first take the time to find the perfect match in colour. When testing foundation colours you should test it on different areas of the face. Sometimes our skin is a slightly different colour on our forehead than on the jaw line for example. Testing it on different areas will ensure it’s going to blend perfectly into your natural skin tone. I like to test foundation close to the hairline (forehead) to ensure it won't look like a mask, in the middle of cheek and the jaw line to be absolutely certain.
If you are confident with blending foundation you can have 2 shades in your arsenal to create a natural looking contour. One darker for the outside of the face and one lighter to use on the centre of the face. (middle of forehead, nose over to under the eyes and the apple of the cheek). Using 2 colours in this way will subtly contour the face and your complexion will appear brighter than usual! If you look at most celebrities they use this technique to create a slimmer looking face and to make their eyes and cheekbones pop.
Make sure to choose the right texture of foundation for your skin type. Sometimes trendy formulas come out like foundations with shimmer, but they are not for everyone! Find the right one for your skin. If you are oily and do not want any shine, chose a matte foundation as this will masque the problem of shine. If you are dry and need a bit of a glow to brighten up your skin, chose a foundation with a dewy consistency or with a slight shimmer. You can always powder on just the areas you don’t want shine using a sheer powder. (or a blot powder with no colour...I Love MAC's Blot Powder) If you have texture on the skin you may want to avoid using a shimmery foundation on the area as shimmer will highlight an un-smooth surface. If this is the case you can place a shimmer powder somewhere like the top of the cheekbone and/or above the eyebrow to create a bit of a glow.
4) Conceal only what you must.....your foundation should cover most of what it needs to. Use concealer sparingly as it is highly pigmented and usually opaque which can appear too cakey or dull which looks nothing like healthy skin. You want a concealer that will mimic real skin to ensure a natural look and finish. When concealing under the eye chose a more sheer less-opaque formula as it will look more natural and won’t have that tendency to settle into fine lines as much as a more pigmented or creamy concealer that will move and creep into your fine lines. Try your hardest to avoid that “racoon eye” ring look. Sometimes it's beneficial to have the area under your eyes appear lighter but make sure there isn't too much of a difference in shades as it'll look too harsh and un-natural.
Lately I’ve been swapping heavy concealer for a pearly sheer illuminator under the eyes! I find if you don’t need a lot of coverage it adds the right amount of “light” under the eyes making you look more awake and fresh. If you are really quite dark under the eyes (purple/blue) you can pair the illuminator with a concealer but just apply the concealer sparingly to the deepest-darkest area only. Illuminators are sheer so they look super natural and do not seep into the fine lines. Less is more and it looks fresh all day long! MAC’s Prep + Prime highlighter is perfect for achieving this. I like the colour called "Bright Forecast"!
When working with concealer, blending is key. I love using a soft fluffy eyeshadow brush to blend concealer as it sheers it out and illuminates it from being thick enough to cake. (Try MAC's 217 brush)Always check your work in the most natural light you have in the house. If it’s believable and looks natural in daylight....then you have succeeded!
To create natural looking definition to the eyes for this look use neutral eyeshadows in colours you would see naturally on the skin or on the earth. Pair that with some black mascara and soft smudgy eyeliner to make your eyes go bam! Add a dash of light peachy or beige-bronze blush applied to the apples of your cheekbones for a more structured look. This au natural makeup looks fresh with a nude or girlishly pale pink lip. Once you've made your choice for lip colour and have topped this look off with either some natural looking lips or dramatically vampy lips....You are ready to rock for fall!
Since you are going with au natural nudes on your pretty face...why not bring the nude shades to your nails?!
Celebrity Nail Stylist Jenna Hipp (um hello! Manicurist-to-the-stars!!!) has teamed up with RGB to to produce a nail polish line of four colors designed to match your individual skin tone! The result: a sleek, au natural look that will compliment absolutely any ensemble! I love the idea of nude nails as you don't have to change your polish for every outfit! Also, RGB Nail Polish is free of toxic chemicals, making us even more eager to snag a bottle pronto!
($16 each)
in F1, F2, F3 and F4
Lauren Conrad is sporting “F2” in this hot image!
Who remembers Nicki’s collaboration with MAC Cosmetics in 2010 when they released the super limited lipstick called “Pink Friday”??!!! (LOVED IT!) 
