All eyes on your autumn make-up routine

BRIGHTS, neons and pastels might take a back seat for autumn, but there’s certainly no skimping on dramatics this season.

Make-up looks backstage at the shows saw loaded-up lashes, otherworldly supernatural skin, and eyes resembling artists’ palettes. There’s a pared-down shift for ‘real life’, but these hyper-trends set the focus for autumnal beauty. The season summed up? “Autumn/winter 14 is all about skin,” says Val Garland, make-up artist for L’Oreal Paris. “There’s a lot of graphics on the eyes but barely a lip in sight.”

Update your look for autumn by aceing these top trends.

RAINBOW WAVE

One colour is not enough when it comes to this season’s eyelids. A myriad shades beamed from sockets in rich, decadent hues.

This painterly trend is more wearable than it sounds. Stick to matte eye shadows and use soft washes of two or three autumnal hues, applied with your fingers. This season’s new-trend palettes will do all the colour combining for you.

PRO TIP: “Be free and fabulous with this sort of eye look,” Garland advises. “It’s colourful and artistic, so you should be relaxed and fluid in the application. And it doesn’t have to be too pretty. Remember, colour can still look tough.”

MINIMAL SKIN

Juxtaposing this season’s bold eyes, minimal skin is in. Luxuriously naked complexions should look effortless, but technique is everything to achieve that ‘real’ but beautiful finish.

Think gentle highlights to bring the features forward, and multiple concealer tones to adapt to your skin. Forgo your fingertips for the precision of make-up brushes.

PRO TIP: “It’s about really priming the skin with moisturising treatments and oils first,” says Aaron de May, make-up artist for MAC. “Use concealers to cover only redness and spots, but nothing else. Foundation covers and masks, concealers allow you to detail more.”

IMPERFECT POUT

With eyes the main draw this season, downplay your lips with a stain. There’s no need for lip liner or precise application, edges are soft and smudged. For a siren autumnal look, dip into deep burgundy or plum tones.

Stains are a great multi-tasking product. Experiment with echoing the same colour on your cheeks for a wintry flush.

PRO TIP: “Stains are buildable,” says Sharon Dowsett, Maybelline make-up director. “You can build them up for a light layer of colour, or go for something more dark and vampish with the intensity in the centre.”

EYE FOCUS

Look to your eyes rather than your lips this season. The catwalks even used gel textured eye make-up that imitated plastic. While black is the go-to definition shade, the same look can be achieved with dark coffee or deep purple liners and mascaras for a softer spin.

PRO TIP: “You don’t have to be extreme,” reassures Pat McGrath, Max Factor global creative design director. “Sometimes, it’s the combination of eyeliner, brows and lashes that can turn a look up a notch or two. Keep brows groomed, intensify your mascara, and don’t be afraid to play up your eyeliner to create a bolder shape.”

VIRGIN BROW

Untouched eyebrows are the order of the day for AW14 — except you’ll need to do exactly the opposite to achieve the look. Think romantically soft, brushed-up arches.

The finished result should look as though your brows have barely even met a pair of tweezers.

PRO TIP: “Begin by taking a stiff angled brow brush and eye shadow in the same tone as your hair colour,” recommends Marc Reagan, manager of artistry for Bobbi Brown. “Lightly apply from the inner corner of brows and brush straight up. For the rest of the brow, brush up and over.”

Stuff we like

Maybelline Colour Sensational Lipstick in Midnight Plum, €10.49

Make a big statement with this full-on shade. It’s creamy — thanks to the addition of honey nectar — and glides on like a dream. A little too strong for your taste? Check out the other 15 shades.

No7 Stay Perfect Lip Stain, €16.75

Look your lip-smacking best throughout the day with this easy-to-apply lippie. Hypo-allergenic, it comes in five kissable shades, from barely there nude, to all-out red.

Max Factor Excess Volume Extreme Impact Mascara, €12.49

With winter hiding in the wings, there’s every good reason to lash on this mascara and let your eyes shine like bright coals. Not for the demure. Suitable for contact lens wearers

MAC Matchmaster Concealer, €22

Get a skin-perfect finish with this high-performance concealer. Using Shade Intelligence Technology, it blends with your skin tone and lasts for up to eight hours. For best results, apply with a brush.

Bobbi Brown Dark Brow Kit, €45

We can thank supermodel Cara Delevingne for putting eyebrows back on the catwalk. Now glam gals are feverishly grooming their brows. Using two new shades — Saddle and Mahogany Eye Shadow — this handy little number comes with a two-sided mirror plus a mini tweezer and brow brush. We like.

Tried and tested:

Eyeshadow primer potion by Urban Decay, from €11

This promises to deliver crease-free vibrant eyeshadow for 24 hours, which might come in handy if you are out on an all-night bender or if you like wearing your make-up to bed. While it does enhance the pigment of eyeshadow, it’s probably not much different from the effect you would get from wetting your applicator before applying. A nice extra for the make-up bag rather than an essential.

Perversion mascara by Urban Decay, €21

While the name is a tad on the scary side, this is a solid performer in the eyelash boosting stakes and delivers plenty of volume with no clumping. One coat should suffice for daytime wear but it can be amped up for a more vampish night-time look. Be warned, though, it will take a few goes of the eye make-up remover to shift it.