The warm light of the summer sun and the season’s heat and humidity make heavy makeup look and feel oppressive and overdone. In the warmer months, faux tan and bronzer with a slick of lip gloss and light, bright colors on eyes and lips work wonders. In the harsh winter sun, or under the artificial lights at the office, those same colors can look washed out and unhealthy, that faux tan more fake than fabulous. Winter demands stronger, deeper shades, foundation, concealer and a good moisturizer.
But the transition doesn’t happen overnight. There’s always that tricky time in between. Fall — when one minute it can feel like an Indian summer, the next like a Siberian winter. When your jacket or cardigan doesn’t know whether it’s coming or going, how are you supposed to know whether to go for a sun-kissed or a winter look?
Think transition. Bobbi Brown, makeup artist, author of six beauty books and CEO of her own cosmetics company, tells Ladies Home Journal that the change from summer to winter makeup can be a gradual one. “You don’t need to put away all your summer makeup after Labor Day,” she says. “Simply find a way to update your look by adding new fall lip or eye colors into the mix.”
Think foundations. “Adjust your skincare routine according to the change in weather,” Brown says. Exfoliate weekly to clear away dead summer skin, and switch to a moisturizer and foundation combo rather than tinted moisturizer. Use concealer to hide under-eye circles. If you’ve been faux tanning throughout the summer, John Stapleton, senior makeup artist at MAC, speaking to Total Beauty, advises phasing it out. Start first by mixing a dab into your moisturizer, then gradually reduce the amount and allow that summer skin to fade to a more natural complexion.
Enhance this by switching from adding bronzer to the apple of the cheek for a sun-kissed glow to using it below the cheekbones as a contour for a more sculpted, cooler look. This, he says, is, “is a great baby step into taupe and brown blushes, which you can use later in the season.” As the season progresses, accentuate the contours by dotting concealer on the cheekbones and nose.
Think shades. “The switch from summer to fall makeup doesn’t have to be drastic,” Brown says. “Simple adjustments like opting for warmer, tawnier shades can make all the difference.” Stapleton agrees. Choose, darker more metallic colors a shade or two darker than your summer favorites for nails and eyes, he says, and reintroduce black eyeliner to instantly darken and strengthen your entire look. Balance this with gradually darker lips, achieved by changing to a darker lip pencil. “Work it into the lipstick to give it a darker or dirtier cast,” Stapleton says. “This will mute it and make it fall-wearable.”
