Many fall makeup trends are best admired from a safe distance—say, a runway or a 17-year-old’s Instagram feed. But this season offers a rare surprise: wearable, grown-up beauty that doesn’t try too hard but still feels fresh. “Everything right now feels a little softer, a little more relaxed,” says makeup artist Sam Fine. “It’s not about perfection—it’s about polish.”
What makes these looks feel so wearable is the way they play off your natural features. Toasted neutrals, cloud-like blush, velvet-y complexions—these are finishes that flatter, not overpower. “The best part is that the formulas do the work for you,” says New York–based makeup artist Fara Homidi. In other words, you’re not contouring a new face; you’re letting yours shine through.
Toasty Makeup
If you’re not quite ready to leave your just-back-from-the-Tuscan-coast summer skin behind, this trend is for you. “Toasty or toasted makeup is all about a veil of warm, brown tones on eyes, cheeks, or lips that enhances skin’s natural luminosity,” explains Fine.
No one masters the toasty trend quite like Homidi. “I like to create warmth that feels lived-in so complexions look naturally sun-kissed and not overly contoured or orangey,” she explains. She formulated her own soft-matte bronzer shades with pink-violet undertones for that exact purpose. “It reflects the natural rosiness beneath the skin’s surface to encapsulate that moment when you’ve been outside in the sun, maybe a little flushed, but with a glowy finish that melts into the skin rather than sitting on top of it.”
Bronzer is one essential tool in your kit, but it’s not the only one. “You can build on the look by adding a terracotta or peachy blush and sheer coffee shadow—and then really amp it up with a chocolate eyeliner and brown mascara for something more glam,” says Fine. For your lips, opt for earthier, mauve shades or muted berry brown lipsticks and glosses. “Keep the shades uniform on eyes and lips for a cool and monochromatic effect,” says Fine.
Matte Wine Lips
A dark, statement lip isn’t a new staple in our fall makeup wardrobe, but this fall it’s all about matte textures, faded colors, and imperfect application, says Fine. “It’s meant to look lived-in, like you’re finishing a glass of wine with your friends or kissing someone.” Fine’s trick: If you can’t find a matte lipstick that you love, use a bordeaux or vino colored eye pencil. “I’ll apply the pencil, add a lip oil over top, and blot it,” he says. “It goes on a bit more opaque, weathers the day better, and softens down more beautifully, where my clients don’t even need to reapply.”
Homidi loves a matte finish for a put-together feel and longer wear. “To me, a plush-matte lip is timeless—it's the first product I ever released,” she says. “The color is buildable and it gives a more comfortable, modern matte finish without drying the lips.” For a lip that lasts, Homidi uses this layering trick: “Go over the lips entirely with a lip pencil before applying your lipstick. Then lock it in with another layer of the lip pencil. To finish, take a translucent setting powder and lightly dab it around the lip line to create a crisp lip shape with a budge-free color.”
Velvet Skin
Expect a transition into smoother, more velvety skin complexions this season. Of course glowy, dewy, luminous skin has its place—but velvet skin beautifully complements the cooler temperatures that autumn and winter bring. “Velvet skin is soft and subtly luminous with a natural sheen that’s so flattering,” says Fine. He recommends a skin tint, like Victoria Beckham’s Foundation Drops, that dries down to a soft-focus, almost powdery-like finish, a melts-right-in-concealer, like Westman Atelier’s, or a compact like Fara Homidi’s that combines a matte and dewy texture to get the trend right. To use the latter, Homidi recommends applying Smooth Veil Soft Matte in the areas that “need concealing or lift—around the nose, smile lines, under the eyes, and around the chin—while leaving the rest of the face bare.”
Once the skin is smooth, she uses Shine Baume from the same compact: “Apply it at the high points of your face for subtle glow and a three-dimensional effect.” Her technique leaves an overall soft-focus velvet finish that doesn’t coat or overwhelm the skin. “I want skin to look fresh and radiant instead of dull and overworked.”
Sheer Frost
With the holiday season right around the corner, Fine says it’s time to make space for shimmer and sparkle to exist. But forget what you thought you knew about frosted shadows—this version is being redefined as something more delicate and dimensional. “I especially love a touch of frosty shimmer on the eyes because the eyes have so much movement,” says Fine. ““Try a sheer, subtle sparkly gold, multi-dimensional pearl, or an icy pink that adds an element of sheen on the eyelid,” says Fine. Pick the format that you love most—but Fine is partial to a stick because they’re incredibly intuitive to use. “Truly you can’t really make a mistake with a stick,” he says. “Use it on the inner corners of the eyes or middle of the lid, where the eye tends to shine the most, or you can even add it to more unexpected places like the collarbones, shoulders, or under the brow bone like makeup artist Nikki Wolff did on Yara Shahidi for the Loewe show.”
Cloud Blush
Blush is the quickest and easiest way to liven up your skin, and this fall, the look is a bit more natural, airy, and softly diffused. Skip the warm, rich, berry shades and opt for something cooler and a bit lighter than you’d think. “Cloud blush is almost doll-like and looks like it’s brushed across skin,” says Fine. “Think paler, sheerer, and softer when it comes to this blush trend.” He recommends picking up one or two shades of blush that are lighter than you’d naturally use for a flush of color—and layer them on. “I swirl the biggest fluffy brush I have in the pigment and swipe it across the cheeks,” says Fine. “You don’t have to be strategic about it—by powdering it on, it builds really beautifully and gives an effect almost like it floats across the skin.”
Photo Courtesy of Lena Hermmann
|Photo Courtesy of Lena Hermmann
Gauzy Color
This fall, it’s time to dust off the never-used shade in your favorite shadow palette—because color is back in a big way. Where we used to see super rich, bold pigments, we’re now noticing diffused, hazy pops of color. Fine expects to continue to see more denim blues, soft greens, and shades of purple take center stage—whether it’s a cloudy wash of vibrant color across the lids or a brighter pop of eyeliner.
The key here? Sheer and subtle. “It’s not super sharp and precise like the 60s, or carved out and electric like the 80s,” says Fine. “It’s taking inspiration from something like the sky blue eyeshadow from vintage Versace campaigns and dressing it down to something more romantic and soft.” Fine recommends using a brush or your finger to apply whatever color you’re into as a shadow—go over the whole lid, up towards the brow bone. If you prefer a liner moment, he suggests buffing it out into something more imperfect. “Pair it with ethereal, glowy skin, cloud blush, and natural-toned lip oil to give the color its big moment,” he says.
