METALLIC NAIL POLISH


Dorothea Barth Jorgensen sporting Chanel's graphite polish at the A/W 2011 RTW show.

Silvers, golds, greens, blues, bronzes...you name it, it's in. Chanel's Peridot (a metallic green-ish gold) seems to be this season's replacement for the ever-coveted Mimosa. Look for colours with more of a liquid-y shimmer than solid glitter for a sleeker look.

Recommended Products: Deborah Lipmann's Believe/Nefertiti, Butter London's Wallis.

Tips for shopping for nail polish:

1) Examine the size of the brush. If you have thin nail beds, wider brushes can make polish application a messy experience. Before you buy, unscrew the top to check out the size of the brush. Brands such as OPI and Chanel have wider brushes while brands such as Essie and Deborah Lipmann have thinner applicators.

2) If it's a trendy colour, don't invest. Earlier this summer on my quest to find Chanel's Mimosa, I settled for Deborah Lipmann's Yellow Brick Road (a close, yet not as pretty, shade of bright yellow). This "settlement" cost me $23. I've worn the polish maybe five times. If you see a fun shade such as a glittery topcoat, don't spend too much money. Chances are, you won't be applying it all too often.

3) If it's a classic colour, invest. Classics such as red, greige, and nude will never go out of style. This is the time to buy that Butter London wine shade you've been oggling. Save the fun colour purchases for the drug store.

4) Make sure it matches your skin tone: Being ghostly pale, dark and vampy shades tend to look, well...incredibly dark and vampy on me. Make sure that the polishes you are selected won't make your hands look washed out (yes, even on hands, it's important!). To keep things simple, just follow the rule of colour that you would use for buying clothing when purchasing nail polish. Warmer shades (with red/orange/yellow) undertones, such as coral and cherry red, tend to look better on girls with a darker skin tone. Cooler shades (with a blue undertone), such as eggplant and fire truck red, suit the paler ladies.

EYEBROW PENCIL


Karmen Pedaru at the Yves St. Laurent A/W 2011 RTW show.

Step away from the mirror and drop the tweezers! Unless necessary, of course. Strong, thick brows are one of the most popular beauty trends this season. The easiest way to accomplish this look without leaving your brows untamed is to use a brow pencil.

Recommended Products: Benefit Instant Brow Pencil, Revolon Brow Fantasy Pencil & Gel (I use this product, it's fantastic and inexpensive!), SEPHORA brow pencil (it's on sale for one dollar on their site right now, go get it!), Anastasia Tinter Brow Gel.

Tips For Using An Eyebrow Pencil:

1) Buy a pencil one or two shades darker than your eyebrows. This will help make the look a little bolder, plus it will blend in seamlessly.

2) For optimal results, tweeze stray hairs before applying the pencil. This way, you won't have the appearance of harsh lines with little hairs everywhere!

3) Brush brows upward and then away from the bridge of your nose.

4) Apply the pencil or brush in thick, quick stokes in a vertical motion. Applying a pencil horizontally can lead to thick, masculine brows.

5) Apply an eyebrow gel for a smooth look that won't fade away over the course of the day.


BRIGHT LIPS

Emma Stone rocking a bright fuchsia lip at the 2011 Met Ball.

Recommended Products: M.A.C's Party Line (wine), Dior Addict's Draped Burgundy (a gloss), M.A.C's Chatterbox (a bright watermelon pink).

Tips For Wearing Bright Lipstick:

1) Again, follow the rule of colour when choosing a lipstick. Girls with warmer skin tones can get away with wearing deep wines and bright corals while paler girls can easily rock a bright pink or red with blue undertones.

2) Look for a creamy, matte shade. Anything with sparkle or glitz tends to look a little stripper-esque. If you feel a little naked with just lipstick on (a little weird to follow with after my stripper analogy, but true!), apply some clear gloss.

3) Use lip liner. There's nothing worse than having a bright, look-at-me shade melting right off of your lips and onto your chin. If you're a lipstick junkie and don't want to invest in just one lip liner to match one shade, there are plenty of nude and clear lip liners on the market. This way, you can use one lip liner with all of your lipsticks.

4) Be careful with the rest of your make-up. If you want the focal point of your look to be your lips, then keep eye make-up minimal. However; there are a few ways to break the rules:

-Turquoise liquid liner with coral lip stick (just be sure to apply a clear gloss overtop the lipstick for fluidity)

-Smokey black eyes with bright pink lipstick.

One rule that cannot be broken is minimal eye makeup with a dark red (i.e. wine) coloured lipstick. If you apply too much eye makeup, it will look costume-y.

5) If you want to skip lipstick altogether and go for a gloss, make sure it is richly pigmented for the same sort of effect.


SEXY PERFUME

Rosie Huntington-Whitely knocking 'em dead in the Burberry Body campaign.

Spring and summer are all about fun, frivolous scents with bubbly floral and candy notes. This fall, prepare to make the switch to a sexier, more mysterious scent for a little allure.

Recommended Products: Boyfriend by Kate Walsh, Gucci Guilty, Prada Amber, Burberry The Beat.

Tips For Shopping For Perfume:

1) Spray perfume at least 10 inches away from your body. If you spray too close for your body, a chemical scent will linger rather than the true notes of the perfume.

2) Smell sparingly. Your nose can only differentiate between two to three scents at a time. If you smell six different perfumes in a one minute-period, you won't be able to smell its true scent. A trick to combat this? Sniffing coffee beans! The scent of coffee clears your nose palette. Most cosmetic counters keep a jar of joe beans on hand.

3) Let the perfume sit for a few minutes before making a final decision. Our body chemistry is ever-changing, which will, in turn, affect the smell of your perfume. A scent may smell fantastic when you first apply it, but will grow sour if its notes do not match up with your own body chemistry. If you still love the scent after five to ten minutes, go for it!

Which beauty trends are you looking forward to trying out this fall?

(Images via various sources; none belong to me. Please right click for the original source.)