After The Fall

By Anne Marie Scanlon

Phew! It's that time of year again. Bye-bye humidity. That's enough for this to be my favorite time of year but if that wasn't enough there's the gorgeous Fall cosmetic collections to try out. Oh what bliss it is to be alive.

Irish Examiner readers know full well how much I like tarte cosmetics. tarte just keep getting better and better and if you want proof then check out their Health Couture Collection for Fall 2007. I thought they would be hard pressed to outdo their fabulous Summer collection but guess what? They have, with bells on. The only problem I have with this collection is where to start. So with no prejudice or preference lets take a look at the lipsticks on offer. My mother and I had a nasty scuffle over these particular lippies, the inside out vitamin-infused lipsticks ($22). There are three shades, Sweet Dreams, Zen and Revive, all equally gorgeous. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Sweet Dreams (a dusky rose color and the one my mother eventually made of with) go to the Young Survival Coalition www.youngsurvival.org, a charity for young women with breast cancer. The other two shades are equally aesthetically appealing Zen being a sheer plum and Revive a va-va-voom red. These lippies don't just look good but are designed to moisturize and rejuvenate lips. Each lippie comes with BORBA's age defying nutraceutical blend to make you just as beautiful on the inside.

The theme of the tarte Health Couture Collection is natural beauty, looking fresh and pretty without obvious artifice and hence the collection's cheek stain goes by the name Natural Beauty ($28) and is tarte's first all-natural cheek stain made with preservative-free proprietary berry complex. Fine, says you but how does it look? Great. Really great. It was the cause of another row between the mother and myself. If you live with other adult females and you value peace in your household buy duplicates and give them as presents. It's the only way. Trust me.

For eyes tarte have the fabulous rejuvelash 3 piece set ($40) which contains lights, camera lashes 4-in1 mascara (lengthens, conditions, curls and volumizes); the marvelous picture perfect eyelash curler (love it, love it, love it) and the new take two declumping lash exhilarator which contains ProVitamin B5 and herbal hair restoratives to increase suppleness and prevent breakage as well as a declumper.

The centerpiece of the collection is the ready-to-wear/prêt-a-porter dual look palette I Love New York & Paris, mon amour ($44). This is definitely a must have not just for Fall but for any occasion. The faux-croc palette contains two separate and complete looks each with two lip colors, a blush and three eye shadows as well as makeup bag staples - mascara (a cool mini lights, camera, lashes!) and mini eyeliner. The palette also contains an eye shadow brush and eyeliner brush. Now that sounds like a lot and it is but the palette is remarkably compact and won't take up too much room in your purse and is without doubt an item to add to the packing list when you're going away. The lipsticks in I Love New York are a muted pink beige and muted peach beige; the eye shadow shades are soft-shimmery bone, shimmery olive and deep shimmery moss and the blush is a warm honey-peach. The blush in Paris, mon amour is rose coral, the eye shadows soft-shimmery pink, shimmery grey-purple and shimmery deep plum and the lipsticks come in warm burgundy rose and current red. At $40 this is more than a bargain and as it is limited I have no doubt it will sell out fast so get to steppin'.

The award for best packaging in a Fall Collection has to go to Paul & Joe Beaute Autumn Sparkles 2007 collection. My, oh, my, how gorgeous these products are. The limited edition Dear Diary lipsticks ($18) are just as nice as the tubes they come in and are sure to leave your lips in top condition as they contain moisture-binding hyaluronic acid combined with floral botanicals and protective anti-oxidants and Paul & Joe's secret shimmer formula. There are three great shades - Nostalgia, a chocolate brown, Secret Diary, a dark red and Afternoon Stroll, a coral beige. The collection also includes Face Colour Powders ($18) which include Rose extract to reduce puffiness, white lily extract to prevent breakouts and Hyaluronic acid which is moisturizing. These powders can be used on face, cheeks or eyes. The collection has three shade combinations - Daydream, a blue green clover set in light blue, Pressed Roses, a dark grey clover set in pale pink and Poetry, a red brown clover set in a white frost.

The Fall/Winter 2007 Aveda Face Colors Collection is a runway inspired line which took its inspiration from New York's Fall/Winter Fashion Week. Red lips are also a feature of this collection with Poppy Lip Glaze ($15) a bright, glossy red. For a more natural look the other Lip Glaze Pitaya is apricot pink while Night Iris Lip Shine ($13.50) is a deep purple/raspberry with golden flecks. There are a number of Petal Essence™ Eye Color Duos ($15), Honeycomb/Bluebell is creamy yellow with electric blue, Gilded Gold/Antique Rose is a fantastic combination of deep metallic gold and cranberry rose and Greenmist/Seaglass is a combination of beige and deep green. Aveda have two fabulous Petal Essence™ Eye Definers ($12) both metallic, Silhouette is graphite and Caspia a burgundy brown. There are three Petal Essence™ Face Accents ($42) each sold with a new, limited edition "kabuki style" Blending Brush. The Sienna trio is coral/brick/brown, Petal Lights is pale pink/fresh cranberry/mocha and Ruby Vapor is light gold/rose/deep red.

Clinique have chosen to go with a smoky theme with their Play in the Darks Fall 2007 collection. The collection contains a range of new Colour Surge Eye Shadow Trios ($21.50). The six new color combos are categorized into Nudes, Tawnies, Pinks and Violets. There are three Nudes - Black Truffle, Totally Neutral and Crème Brulee.

Crème Brulee happens to be one of my favorite desserts (if not the favorite) and these new shadows are fully deserving of a name associated with deliciousness. There is only one trio, Blushing Nude, in the Pink category and the remaining two Colour Surge Eye Shadow Trios - Ebb & Flow and Come Heather are Violets. Whatever your need be it neutral and natural (Crème Brulee) or bold and dramatic (Ebb & Flow) there's a shade combination in this collection for you.

Set off your new eye shadow with Clinique Brush On Cream Liner which comes in six shades - Black Honey, True Black, Smoke Gray, Deep Brown, Graphite and Egyptian, each of which is guaranteed to give you dramatic smoky eyes. And as its waterproof it will stay put. Good news as sexy smoky eyes can all too often veer into messy morning after panda eyes

For the Fall Clinique Almost Lipstick, a sheer non staining lip color, comes in seven shades which like the eye shadows are categorized by Nude, Tawny, Pink and Violet. Black Honey is a dramatic red, and dramatic red lips are going to be popular this Fall.

Don't worry if finances are keeping you away from the department store beauty counters, Physicians Formula have an extensive range of highly affordable cosmetics.

For Fall check out Magic Mosaic™ Multi-Colored Custom Blush ($10.95) a beautiful multi-colored blush palette that offers a variety of shades which are used in combination with each other. It's so pretty that it's a marvelous addition to any make-up bag. There are three shades - Nude/Warm Nude, Soft Rose/Rose and Soft Mocha/Mocha. The Physicians Formula Baked Collection® Luminous Matte Wet/Dry Eye Shadow ($7.95) is also really pretty and also a good addition to any make up bag. This product comes in six 'Baked' shades - Sands, Sugar, Butter, Sweets, Soufflé and Smores.

Happy Fall, happy shopping.