Your Ultimate Fall Makeup Capsule
Everything you need to build your fall makeup: from everyday essentials to little indulgences.
Fall makeup is simply irresistible. Maybe it’s the browns, the warm tones, the slightly smudged eyeliner, or simply the urge to swap our light summer makeup for something with a little more personality. But that doesn’t mean we need an entire drawer of new products. After all, a good makeup capsule should do more with less.
For this season, we built a routine that takes us from glowing skin to smoky eyes, with muted cheeks, brushed-up brows and that brown lip that looks like it came straight out of a 90s photograph. Each step has two options: one for when we feel like investing a little more and another for when we want to keep our feet firmly on the ground. Both with the same mission: creating fall makeup that works at 9 AM, survives the office and is ready for a happy hour, a coffee or a night that was never actually on the calendar. Because, as we know, the best fall plans rarely start with meticulously thought-out plans.
SKIN PREP
Before we start with makeup, there’s one thing we’re not willing to negotiate: well-cared-for skin. For this article, we were looking for a cream that would hydrate while also leaving the skin luminous, comfortable and with that plump look that makes everything that comes after sit just a little better.
The Medicube PDRN Pink Collagen Capsule Cream comes in as the little luxury of the routine, combining hydration with ingredients such as PDRN and collagen to leave the skin feeling softer and more plump. The Ordinary Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA keeps things simple but effective: it hydrates, helps support the skin barrier and leaves the surface soft and comfortable, without creating a heavy layer underneath makeup.
FOUNDATION
Foundation is probably the step where finding the right balance matters most because we want coverage when we need it, without losing the feeling that we still look like ourselves in the process.
The Armani Luminous Silk has become a classic precisely because it creates perfected-looking skin without looking overly done. The coverage can be built up, the finish stays luminous and there’s still a little bit of skin showing through. If you’re working with a tighter budget, the Maybelline Lifter Plump & Glow Foundation follows a similar idea, with a hydrating formula enriched with niacinamide and hyaluronic acid that leaves the skin fresh and luminous. At the end of the day, we’re looking for that magical point between “I woke up like this” and “obviously I did not wake up like this.” And that’s where a good foundation makes all the difference.
CONTOUR/BRONZER
Contour or bronzer? Why choose? In this capsule, we decided the two could perfectly share the same space. After all, the goal is to add dimension to the face without losing that naturally bronzed, luminous skin we’ve spent so much time building.
The Makeup by Mario SoftSculpt Shaping Stick does exactly that: it lets us define the cheekbones, forehead and jawline, while blending out easily until it’s almost undetectable. The Makeup Revolution Ultra Cream Bronzer follows the same idea, with a creamy, buildable texture that warms and defines the skin without making it feel heavy.
BLUSH
When it comes to blush, I’m much more in favour of a cream formula: it melts into the skin, keeps that fresh, natural look and, when you find the right one, lasts much longer than you’d expect. For this fall look, we moved away from overly bright pinks and looked for more muted shades, somewhere between neutral and warm, that almost look like the natural colour of your cheeks after a walk in the cold.
The Saie Dew Blush is perfect for this. It’s luminous, buildable and easy to blend, leaving that soft glow that looks like it’s coming from within. The Rimmel Multi-Tasker Blush'N'Brush Stick, in shade 350, brings us a more practical option that’s just as easy to build up.
CONCEALER
There are products with one very specific job, and then there’s concealer, which basically gets called in to solve every little problem that appears along the way. Dark circles? It’s here. A spot that decided to make a public appearance? Also here. Need to soften the transition between bronzer, contour and blush? Back again.
The MAC Studio Radiance 24HR Luminous Lift Concealer is our choice for the job precisely because it’s hydrating, luminous and long-lasting, with enough coverage to correct without making the skin feel heavy, and, full disclosure, it was tested and approved by our CEO. The e.l.f. Camo Concealer goes for higher, more pigmented coverage, perfect for anyone who likes a little more correction without needing several layers.
SETTING POWDER
After all those hydrating products, it’s time to set and mattify the areas where we don’t want quite so shiny. We’re not trying to erase all the work we’ve just done with a layer of powder, just set the foundation and concealer, smooth out the texture and control excess oil where needed.
The Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish is perfect for this: incredibly fine, lightweight and able to leave the skin looking more polished without turning it into a sheet of matte paper. For a more affordable alternative, the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Powder does the job beautifully, particularly around the T-zone, helping control shine and extend the life of your makeup without making us give up our glow completely.
HIGHLIGHTER
After all the work we’ve put into creating luminous skin, it didn’t make much sense to get here with a cream highlighter and start moving everything around again. We went for powder, but not matte, obviously. We want shine, we want dimension, we want that beautiful light hitting exactly where it should. The highlight blindness of 2016 can stay where it is, thank you very much; this time, we’re talking about glow with a little restraint and plenty of sophistication.
The Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter gives us two formulas in one compact, so we can choose between a more subtle sheen or take things a little further when the occasion calls for it. The Revolution Highlight Icon Palette brings three finishes, including a cream option that can be used underneath the powder to intensify the result and help the highlighter last longer.
EYESHADOW PALETTE
A good fall palette needs to take us from the first coffee at the office to the drink that was never part of the plan after work. We want shades that work on their own during the day, but can gain depth and an extra dose of grunge once the light goes down.
The Tartelette In Bloom does this particularly well, with a mix of warm neutrals, browns and deeper shades that let us start with a soft eye and easily build it into a smoky eye for the evening. The Revolution Reloaded Basic Mattes offers the same versatility in an entirely matte palette, perfect for creating definition and intensity without overcomplicating things.
EYELINER
For this look, we swapped the classic liquid eyeliner for a pencil because it’s easier to control, more versatile and, most importantly, much more interesting when we want to go from a defined line during the day to a slightly undone smoky eye at night.
The MAC Colour Excess Gel Pencil combines the intensity of a gel with a waterproof, long-lasting formula, perfect for a defined line or for creating that smudged liner that somehow looks even better when it isn’t too perfect. And because a good kohl doesn’t need to cost a fortune, the Rimmel London ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal is an excellent alternative: intense black, waterproof and with that softer, creamier texture that we can smudge before it sets.
MASCARA
There’s not much room for negotiation here: we want length and we want it to stay put.
The Clinique Lash Power is the more sophisticated choice, with a long-wearing formula that lengthens and defines the lashes for up to 24 hours, without relying on an overly volumised effect that can weigh down the eyes. If you want the same kind of result without spending quite as much, the L'Oréal Paris Telescopic Waterproof is hard to ignore: its brush separates each lash while the formula is specifically designed to add length, lift and definition, with resistance to water and tears for up to 36 hours.
BROW GEL
Not every day needs a perfectly laminated brow. Sometimes we just want to brush them up and get on with our lives.
The Benefit Gimme Brow+ is great for that more natural effect, with microfibres that help add definition and volume without leaving the brows feeling too stiff, while its water-resistant formula keeps everything in place. If the goal is a more slick brow with serious hold, the got2b Glued 4 Brows & Edges Waterproof comes in: it’s clear, dries quickly and was made for strong, long-lasting hold, even on days when your brows seem to have plans of their own.
LIP LINER
There’s something about a well-defined brown lip that immediately makes a makeup look more interesting. For this look, that’s exactly what we want: a deeper, dramatic and sensual outline that can also be softened for something a little more relaxed.
The MAC Lip Pencil in Chestnut was practically made for this job: a rich brown with a creamy texture that lets us both line and fill the lips, and that works beautifully on its own or underneath gloss. And if the goal is that 90s effect without compromising the budget, the NYX Slim Lip Pencil is one of those on-a-budget options that can hold its own against some of the most iconic lip liners on the market.
LIP GLOSS
If there’s one time of year when we want our lips more hydrated, more glossy and slightly warmer, it’s this one.
The Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb in Gimme Space gives us exactly that: a warm pinky-brown shade that’s incredibly easy to wear, high shine and a comfortable texture that leaves the lips looking juicy without needing much else. Over our MAC Chestnut, it gets even better. The deeper brown of the liner meets the warmth of the gloss and turns into that 90s lip we’ll want to wear all season. For a more affordable version, the Maybelline Lifter Gloss in Topaz is a great alternative, with hyaluronic acid, plenty of shine and that little touch of shimmer that catches the light whenever we move our lips.
SETTING SPRAY
Some products appear, make a huge splash and disappear six months later. And then there’s Urban Decay All Nighter, which is still here years later with true icon status and, honestly, we understand why. Its fine mist helps keep makeup in place for hours without that heavy or sticky feeling, and it remains one of our go-tos when we know the look needs to survive the day, the night and whatever questionable decisions might happen in between.
But All Nighter is no longer the only cult favourite on our list. The L'Oréal Paris Infaillible 3-Second Setting Mist has quickly earned its place among our favourites, offering a newer alternative to the classic we already know so well.
At the end of the day, maybe that’s the real charm of a makeup capsule: we don’t have to choose between wanting everything and spending a fortune on everything. A good cream, a foundation that works, a blush that brings life back to the skin and a brown pencil can do so much more than a drawer full of products we’ll only use once.
The rest is just playing around. More eyeliner for the night, more blush when we feel like it, a little Chestnut and plenty of gloss. The same lineup, completely different moods. And if we end up discovering that fall is an excellent excuse to wear brown with absolutely everything… well, who are we to argue?
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