Trends for fall, or, Welcome back COLOR!

I am so happy to be moving out of the  pastels and bronzes of spring and summer. The light soft colors are fun as the buds begin to bloom for the first time, but I’m soon anxious for a splash of color and a little more pizzaz. To be fair, some of the big trends for fall have nothing to do with color. Once again we’re seeing the super smoky eye, which is really no surprise considering that there’s only so much you can do without repeating a previous trend. Since this is the “super” smoky eye we’re supposed to feel that it’s something new and different, but it’s really just another chance for all of us to walk around looking like raccoons. Stick with your regular smoky eye look and resist the urge to follow the adage that “more is better”.  And gray shadow is popular, which can be a bit dull, though there are some lovely purple and blue hued grays that are great for day wear. Or try them in the evening with black liner for a super hot cat eye. A pop of color on eyes with a nice pink cheek and lip leave me feeling all giddy, and dark vampy lips have me practically begging the leaves to start falling and the chilly breezes to blow.

A cat eye can be a little heavy and dramatic for day wear, particularily in an office setting, and the harsh light during the day isn’t helpful when it comes to masking those little mistakes that are so easy when creating such a precise line. But you CAN make a cat eye daytime friendly by switching from black liner to a softer colored liner, making your “wing” a little shorter, and smudging it out a little. Urban Decay has some gorgeous new creamy eye liners that are nice for day AND evening wear. I had to work the brush in the cream a little more than I would’ve preferred to get the right color, but I was really surprised at what a great view the long thin mirror provides for applying it just right. The liners are smooth and soft and have a reasonable lasting power, but aren’t quite on par with the staying power of the 24/7 liner pencils. I paired a soft black cream liner with  Urban Decay’s “X” eye shadow and a happy pink cheek color(MAC’s “Gentle”) for something I think is neutral enough for day wear. I did follow another fall trend and add a dark lip color(Urban Decay “Confession”), but for day I’d use something softer(try ELF’s “Pink Lemonade”).

Instead of a plain dark gray or black for a smoldering look, I tried out one of Urban Decay’s newest deluxe eye shadow colors, “Frigid”. It’s a bit deeper of a purple than it appears in this picture and could easily be swapped out for the more red tinged purple of “Freakshow”, which I also love.  Since we still have a bit of sunshine and warmth hanging on here, I paired the darker eye color with a nice bright La Laque Fever lipshine from Lancome. “Electric Pink” is just what it sounds like, a vibrant pink loaded with sparks of glitter. It lasts VERY well and has plenty of spunk. There are lots more colors to choose from, several with less pep than “Electric Pink” and they’re worth taking a look at if you like a liquid lipstick.

There are more than enough options out there for vivid eye shadows, but I am so in love with Aromaleigh lately because of all those options in one place. The Gothic Lolita collection is beautiful AND bright, or you could try out some of the Elemental Lustre collection for some more neutral colors that still have amazing chromatic glimmer and are perfect for foiling. That would absolutely add a little extra something to your average shadow, without being too over the top. These are all similarily hued and can be used together in so many beautiful metallic combinations that you’ll never get bored.  I know we’ve mentioned it before, but the samples sets are a great value and give you a chance to try out several new things without a huge investment.

So welcome back fall, the season of cute sweaters, crunchy leaves, and pumpkin spice lattes…and welcome back COLOR, oh how we’ve missed you!