Fall ‘23 Beauty Roundup
Makeup & Hair
I’m feeling satin finish skin, berry cheeks, fluffy groomed brows (not laminated—I feel strongly about this), and brown glossy lip oils. Minimal highlighter, only in the right spots, and big Bambi eyes and lashes. Like the autumn version of a cherub or Liv Tyler in Empire Records.
PAT McGRATH LABS Skin Fetish: Divine Powder Blush Specifically in the shade Lovestruck, a matte berry red. This is the most natural “I’m blushing hot red” shade I’ve found. I feel like a little doll when I wear it. I’ve been pairing this and the shade Fleurtatious—a beige/pink shade that makes the perfect bronzer for pale skin—together for a stunning warm berry cheek. Also, I cannot say enough about the pigment on these. Out of this world.
Saie Glow Sculpt Multi-Use Cream Highlighting Blush - WTF is up with product names being as long as a CVS receipt? I’m kinda over it. But anyways, despite the insane name, this shit slaps. Like I said above, I’m toning down the highlighter this fall. Which is wild, because my standard is to be glistening. What I like about this the most is that it’s creamy and brightening without being sticky. It reminds me of my beloved Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Cream, whose discontinuation devastated me. I find this formula really long-lasting, blendable, and most importantly, not glittery. I own Quartzglow and Pinkglow.
Too Cool For School by Rodin Shading Powder in #2 Modern Despite fully embracing the clean girl, minimal makeup aesthetic for the past few years, my 2016-style makeup loving heart has never been able to give up powder contour. And the thing is, it looks and lasts better than any cream contour stick, with the right product. This is that product. It’s the perfect dupe for the cult-classic (and one of my favorites) Surratt Grisaille. The formula is very “light” for a powder and the shade #2 Modern is a true cool-toned brown that manages to avoid having a grey tinge.
Merit Shade Slick Vegan Tinted Lip Oil in Taupe Unreal. I might start a series for lip gloss girlies who live in windy cities, because this right here is filling a market gap—okay! The word “slick” is truly the perfect description. Texturally, it almost reminds me of aquaphor, in that it’s extremely balmy and soft on the lifts. The shade Taupe is as perfect as it gets. All of the shades are stunning and I love that the opacity is ~65% because it just looks so natural.
Fragrance
It’s actually sick how much money I’ve spent on perfume in my lifetime. Will that stop me? No. Fall is my favorite season for fragrance, as I’ve always gravitated for strong, deep orientals and warmth.
Maison Louis Marie No. 04 Bois de Balincourt Perfume Oil - Although this is widely known as a dupe for Le Labo Santal 33, I think it’s a bit more special and deserving than to live in the Santal shadow. There’s something more “calm” about this fragrance than the Le Labo version, and I have to say I smell this on myself much longer than I ever smell my Le Labo. For $65 you really can’t beat the quality and complexity of this baby.
Dedcool Milk Perfect on its own or layered with other scents to make them more “warm”—Milk is a musk base meant for layering. This is the most versatile scent and I love mixing it with more spring/summer scents in fall to help transition them into something more cozy.
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