Falling for autumn’s best beauty …
THE BIG BEAUTY BACKLASH
In reaction to the false-lash phenomenon – those oversized fake lashes worn at all times, obscuring vision – the focus for autumn is all-natural. Call it a backlash. The priority is making the most of your own lashes (or restoring them after those heavy fakes). We’re seeing a revival of serum mascaras, combining colour and care: Lancôme, making mascaras since the 1960s, is going big on lash-care: as well as adding serum to its Le 8 Hypnôse mascara (€37.50); Lash Revitalising Serum (above, €45) conditions and lengthens.
I’ve been using Clarins SOS Lashes Mascara (above), designed as a top-coat, primer and a night treatment, and my lashes feel stronger; it’s worth the effort. Also worth noting is RevitaLash, first launched back in 2006, developed Advanced Eyelash Conditioner for sensitive eyes; an investment at €110; www.revitalash.ie.
LIGHT METALS
Go metallic with Urban Decay’s mini eye palette (€32, at www.boots.ie), which has silver and emerald tones, and try Gen See’s (vegan) metallic liquid eyeshadows (€24, www.genseebeauty.com), which make it easy to add a hint of sheen.
THE AUTUMN CHOP
For hair, the aim is natural styles with a polished shine, as seen at Chanel Couture and Dior (above). A choppy, don’t-care bob, blunted to emphasise the jawline, looks like the cut of the season. Also out in force are wavy fringes (now Americanised as “bangs”), and slicked-back gel styles in a nod to the 1980s. Quiffs, inspired by the Elvis movie, are also back, so stock up on modern, non-crispy mousses.
SMOOTH OPERATOR
Since smooth hair is on the agenda for autumn, the new version of the Dyson Airwrap Multistyler arrives just in time. It is more powerful and has some excellent attachments: brand ambassador Dylan Bradshaw recommends the Coanda Smoothing Dryer (available separately), a small but very powerful little tool that helps you to achieve salon sleekness. If you have the Supersonic drier, use the Flyaway attachment. €35; www.dyson.ie.
POST-SUMMER SKIN
I recently came across Finnish brand, Lumene, a good-value summer-to-winter range that can help to capture a new-season glow. Refillable Nordic Hydra Water Gel is as coolly refreshing as it sounds, packing moisture into the skin weightlessly with Nordic birch sap. €24; www.lumene.com and at M&S. (Currently available for €20 on www.lookfantastic.ie.)
KEEP ON GLOWING
A quick straw-poll found that a few of us in the office are adding drops of Bare by Vogue Face Tanning Serum (€29) into our day creams to warm up our skin and try to prolong a summer glow; www.barebyvogue.com.
IN SCENTS
Trends in perfume can be divisive, as everyone loves different things. But there’s an intriguing trail of amber in the air at the moment: if you love scents like warm, rich Lion de Chanel, this could be up your street. “In perfumery there is nothing sexier than amber,” say Wilgermain’s renowned Mexican perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux. Smoky, smooth Passion Victim (€180) is luminous and outrageously beautiful; www.wilgermain.com.
