The days are getting shorter, the temperature is dropping, and everyone is latte-sipping, pumpkin picking and leaf kicking. Embrace autumn with some top tips for seasonal trends, weather-proofing your skin, and how to handle it if you're still struggling to let go of summer..
Treat Yourself To Seasonal Skincare
Autumn and winter can play havoc on your skin, as the heating goes on indoors and the temperature drops outside whilst the wind picks up. All these factors together will suck the moisture out of your skin in no time, leading oily skin to become dehydrated and making dry skin even drier, so treat your skin to a little extra TLC. Oil based skincare routines are great - yes, even for oily skin! Putting oil back into dry skin will help to moisturise it, whilst on oily skin it can actually help balance your sebum production. Two of my favourite products are an oil cleanser - great for breaking down all your makeup and thoroughly cleansing the skin without stripping it - and then using a facial oil at night. Increasing your night-time skincare means you can use richer products whilst your skin has time to fully absorb them - for best results rather than getting your face ready for bed, try to cleanse and treat your face a little earlier in the evening. With the nights getting darker and colder it's the perfect time to curl up with a hot chocolate and let all your skincare products soak in before your face hits the pillow.
And it's not just your normal skincare you need to think of in this weather either - as your skin dries out chapped lips can be irritating and painful, not to mention ruining the look of your favourite vampy lip colour. To keep your lips comfortable you need to exfoliate and moisturise them the same way would your face. I love the I Heart Revolution Pumpkin Spice Latte Lip Care Duo £8, with a soft sugar scrub to use once or twice a week to remove flakes and dried skin, and a gorgeous buttery lip mask to help nourish. Plus it smells like my favourite autumn drink!
Top Tips For Vampy Lips
One autumnal trend that comes back every year is the vampy lip - from a spiced pumpkin shade to dark plum or hot chocolate. Whilst most of the time I'm a nude-only girl, autumn is the one season where I will go outside of my normal comfort zone and go for a strong lip shade. What can I say? I'm an all or nothing type of person. But whether you're used to wearing them or not, there are some pitfalls and practicalities associated with a vampy lip. So what are my top tips?
For any strong lip colour you want something that is going to be opaque, with an even colour, and pretty long lasting, and for that a liquid lipstick is your friend.
Unlike a gloss which will tend to transfer or be more likely to bleed, a liquid lipstick will stay in place for longer and allow you to get that rich colour you want. Make sure you prep your lips with my seasonal skincare advice for the best start, and set with a translucent powder for even more staying powder but be aware - even a liquid lip is going to break down when eating or drinking due to the oils in your food. So be prepared to carry your lip colour with you if you're going for a pumpkin spice latte!
If you're not fully ready to embrace the dark side and want a softer option, go for my favourite tried-and-tested combo of a lip pencil all over, topped with a soft gloss. The lip pencil will give you the colour you want, but a milky gloss over the top will soften the effect without bleeding the colour.
Love It: NYX Lip Lingerie XXL £9 for a total matte finish or go bold with NYX Shine Loud Lip Colour £11 for the choice to go matte or add a high shine topcoat
Lust It: Too Faced Melted Matte Liquified Lipstick £20
Great On A Budget: ReLove by Makeup Revolution Supermatte Liquid Lip Set in Wonder has three autumnal shades for just £5, perfect to testing out your seasonal style without breaking the bank.
Seasonal Switches For Your Make Up Bag
I know, as much I love autumn, it can be a strange transitional time for makeup. You're not quite ready to give up that summer glow, and yet the change in weather can also leave you feeling flat.
So don't give up your bronzer just yet! A softer shade with a bit of a sheen to it can still warm up your skin and help maintain that bit of a glow that our skin loses especially drying out in the autumn winds. Too Faced Sun Bunny bronzer £27 is a pink-based soft shimmer bronzer designed to naturally warm up the skin, whilst Milani Baked Bronzer in Dolce £11 contains a subtle gold gleam to brighten your complexion. For fairer skins or if blush is more your bag, choose a neutral golden or peach tone like Milani Baked Blush in Luminoso £11 or the E.L.F Bitesize Blush Duos for only £3 have a coordinating matte and shimmer blush to let you control your glow.
If you ditched the eyeliner for summer don't go back to black just yet - dark brown, chocolate, plum and even dark olive shades will bring definition to your eyes but will help your eye colour to pop. Nyx Epic Wear Longlasting eyeliners £7 or Kiko Lasting Precision eyeliners £6.99 do exactly what they say on the tin! For an easy autumnal eye, apply along the lashline and then smudge for a smoky finish - perfect for a more pared-down eye look to go with your vampy autumn lip!