Autumn Beauty: The changes you need to make to your regime

It’s autumn - and the time is right to adjust your beauty regime. Rachel Marie Walsh has the expert advice.

The change of the seasons means very obvious wardrobe shifts but how should you adapt your beauty regime? As a nation that doesn’t suffer extreme weather, we are lucky to avoid the cracked skin and inflammation that colder climbs bring on this time of year.

Complaints tend to be limited to peeling around the nose, as well as wind-blushed cheeks and hair that can’t cope with rain, wind and shine on the same day. Beauty changes can often be made at your leisure, though some are more pressing than others.

Keep wearing UV protection

UV protection is pretty dull but still important when it’s cloudy out. Those wrinkle and cancer-causing rays trouble us even on darker days, so it is nice when a protective layer leaves you looking clearer and brighter. Enter Chanel with Ultra Le Teint Velvet, €45, a super skin-like foundation that keeps things smooth and velvety.

Ultra-lightweight yet packed with soft-focus and colour-correcting powders, it conceals pigmentation, shadows, and spots while protecting skin with SPF15. Its pocket-friendly bottle is perfect for long day touch-ups, while the fine texture means it won’t look caked even on days you feel like patting on a lot.

Keep up the body care

I am always freezing, so slipping back into knitwear seemed reasonable back in August (the Inis Meáin Knitting Company does such nice merino pieces for layering), but keeping the body looking — if not feeling— bikini-ready year-round is a trend that seems to transcend seasons now.

Maybe it is because millennials holiday so often or an extension of gym culture but body ablutions are so much more complex than skin-brushing and cocoa butter now (though both are still quite nice).

While the skin on the body feels less delicate than that on the face, there are reasons to take just as much care with its treatment. Depilation reduces the skin’s ability to retain moisture, as the surface layers of skin are removed by lasers, blades, waxes, and creams.

Support skin’s natural barrier by massaging on balms, oils, and creams, which has the side benefit of keeping limbs warm and gleaming. Look for ingredients like glycerin, ceramides and hyaluronic acid.

I especially like Trilogy Pure Plant Body Oil, €18.80, a calming, protective mix of extracts like apricot, rosehip, and sweet almond. The formula is fragrance-free and family-friendly, with a dark pump bottle that keeps it stable and potent.

Wear (or gift) a warming fragrance

Beginning a season with a new fragrance can help make some great memories. Alexander McQueen’s My Queen reminds me of college and I highly recommend changing perfumes after a breakup (washing a man out of your hair isn’t really a thing but binning the scent of your date prep must be).

Shining through the many great fragrances launched for autumn so far is Chloé L’Eau eau de toilette, from €56 for 30ml. L’Eau pairs the brand’s signature rose with vibrant, multi-faceted magnolia. Notes of jasmine and bright tangy bursts blend with the botanical richness of oak moss. This scent is sheer girly ebullience at its best.

Invest in a bedtime serum

Skin self-repairs as you sleep. Peaceful slumber pushes down our natural cortisol levels, supporting the body’s production of collagen and minimising fine lines. A serum that supports this can be even more useful than what you use in waking life. During the day skin cells are in defensive mode, working to protect themselves from UV exposure and free radical damage.

A broad-spectrum SPF product is its best ally in those circumstances, while the ingredients in nighttime products work away unfettered.

An emollient, antioxidant-rich moisturiser like L’Occitane’s Immortelle Reset Serum, €84, can help the reparative process. Immortelle plant extracts help to boost collagen production and rate of micro-circulation in the skin, aiding cell turnover.

Acmella oleracea extract is thought to relax muscle tension under the skin, easing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles for skin that looks rested. Marjoram extract works on the basis of epigenetics, meaning it is thought to restart gene expression functions that have become dormant and less effective due to natural ageing UV, pollution, or stress.

More familiar plant oils like meadowfoam and sunflower make the mix feel relaxing and luxurious.

Protect hands & lips

The number of beauty bits you term “essential” drops fast when you follow the persistent mini shoulder-bag trend (so good for posture) or have small children to supply with toys, snacks, etc.

A hand and lip protectant seems like a non-negotiable: it feels comforting, makes you look more presentable and usually comes in a light little tube or tub (tubes are better at keeping ingredients effective and hygienic).

Some of the nicest can also be used on children and babies, such as Eucerin’s Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm, €10, which is reliable, rich and very widely available. Paired with cotton gloves, it even doubles as a deeply moisturising hand treatment.

I also love Sweet Coco Hand Rescue Balm, about €9.20 at plumpybalms.com, from Belfast-based skincare brand Plumpy Balms. A little of this blend of rosehip, calendula, shea, and cocoa butter goes a long way.

Sleep on silk

A silk pillowcase or eye mask is a good beauty investment year-round. They really do help prevent creases and wrinkles, especially if you sleep on your side, as the fabric reduces friction between skin and the pillow’s surface.

Moisture retention is improved in both hair and skin, as silk fibres are less absorbent cotton. Smoother hair, less hair fall, and a general feeling of sleeping like a princess are all good reasons to give a silk case a spin. Slip Silk’s Pillowcase, €98.95 at SpaceNK and Harvey Nichols, is available in a fetching marble pink this season.