Let's Have a Conversation about Fall's Makeup Looks

We haven't had a general conversation, so I think it's time we try one. I realize that we are in the middle of a long holiday weekend, so readership is down while you lie on the beach, read a good book at home, get some exercise in, cook out, or just take care of life management. But there must be someone out there reading blogs! It's time to get chatty.

Let's talk about this month's magazines - Allure in particular, but the fashion mags will do. What do you think of the Fall looks?

I have been reading an Allure feature, "Fall Palette," or "The Seven Best Fall Makeup Colors" online, carefully - over and over again, trying to decide how a normal woman can translate the new looks into a subtle daily look. If you don't have the magazine, you can check out a summary of the feature at this Allure link.

Consider golden peach cheeks. Most of us can pull that off - and some do every day. Move on to deep, dark, wine-stained lips. It gets a little harder. Of course, Allure chose a very dark, very gorgeous model to show us that look, and she looks fabulous. Could you wear bordeaux lips? If so, how would you do it? What would you wear with this lip color? Will you combine any of these looks?

Here are the looks. Let us know what you think in the comments.

• Matte Gray Shadow
• Cobalt Eyeliner
• Golden Peach Blush
• Bordeaux Lips
• Pearly Nude Lip Gloss
• Chocolate and Gold Shadows
• Cherry Red Lipstick

Photo courtesy of Allure.com.

July Was an Expensive Month!

This month, many fall introductions have made their way into the stores. In "olden times," we would have had to wait for August or even September. I guess that beauty companies are working hard to stimulate sales in this weak economy (WWD reports that many beauty and fashion companies have suffered severe profit declines). Never fear, industry, I've sure done my part to stimulate the economy!

In the last few weeks, I have laid eyes on the new autumn collections from Bobbi Brown, Armani, Dior, Nars, Laura Mercier, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Clinique, YSL (look shown here), Lancome, and others. As a whole, the collections have been very pleasing - adding to the expense.

The pros? They are giving us many wearable options for different skin tones. It's exciting when there's something for me (a fair-skinned blond) and my very dark-skinned friends. Over the last few years, the industry has responded to an increasingly diverse population, so the color ranges often offer something for everyone.

The cons? Temptation and desire! With so many pretty new choices, it's hard to walk by a counter without buying nearly everything new, thereby running up the credit card bill from hell. Choosing forces us to think about holes in our stash and what looks best on us - not just what we will have fun trying. So, I'm not sure this is really a con.

To see a roundup of Fall 2009 makeup intros, go to this link.

How about you? Have you found any keeper products in this month of plenty?