BLENDED Beauté

Fall is officially here and the season for barely-there makeup is over! Put your best face forward with a few tips to transition your look.

FOUNDATION If you love your tinted moisturizer like I do, then you’ll be glad to know that Fall 2009 makeup trends are calling on us to continue using it, but adding a soft layer of translucent powder. Sheer foundation makeup looks more natural, evening out the skin tone only where needed. You may also consider switching to a high-definition makeup for a lightweight, oil-free base that perfects the skin while still looking natural.

EYES Your eye makeup is another way to change from a summer makeup look to a fall/winter look. Draw inspiration from the earth and forests. Neutral tones in the brown family are always safe, but this season’s palettes are rocking more intriguing color combos. Go bold with moss greens, luxurious golds, blues and grays, and purples. Think colorful, yet smokey eyes. “Refined, lined and exquisitely intense,” according to MAC.

EYEBROWS Natural-looking eyebrows have been a mainstay over the last few seasons, and they continue to be a strong trend for Fall 2009. One of my favorite tools for creating a natural brow is the ARTISTRY brow define pencil. It has a very fine point and when combined with short, quick strokes makes brows look super natural. No need to sharpen, this unique twist-up pencil keeps a perfect point after every use. Follow up with grooming gel to keep unruly or long eyebrows in place.

CHEEKS and LIPS Bye bye bronzer, sheer cheek tints and barely-there lips. Fall makeup calls for contoured, almost chiseled cheekbones and dramatic, full lips. Consider using two colors of blush when contouring the cheeks. One that is one or two shades darker than the skin tone to brush just under the cheekbone, and a soft, rosy hue to add a touch of color to the apple of the cheek. Not sure how to create a strong lip for fall? Here’s a great how-to video that will get you ready to pucker up. Popular lip colors for the season include plum, berry, and wine shades, as well as muted reds.

Need more inspiration for the season? Then, take a cue from MAC so your fall face is fashion forward:

“If there’s one thing that Autumn/Winter09 makeup is about it’s a point of view. And a point of power. We’re past a point of girlish innocence and barely-there makeup, especially in a season where beauty is working alongside fashion that holds no bars in terms of brazen styling and attitude. Artists are talking about ‘emotive makeup’, and the spirit they are channeling is that of a woman who’s upbeat, in charge and in control. The main energy? Eighties. Hence, Artists found their way [during this year's international Autumn/Winter collection] to ultra-amplified lips and exuberant hues on the eyes and an underground clubby elegance to black eye makeup but also the more nuanced side of the era, picking up on the contoured, carved face that dominated the decade or the satinized perfection and couture feel that moved makeup into the early Nineties. Speaking of technique, what’s back is one of absolute precision and accuracy. “Whatever the final look this season, it was always pretty obvious that the girl was wearing a structured, deliberate makeup” says Gordon Espinet. So, five minute makeup is over, for now. Time to roll out those brushes and get perfecting….”