Fashion

The slight chill in the night air in recent weeks and the change of seasons makes me want to rummage through my closet for fall clothes and get out my boots, even though our Southern clime has yet to have a true autumn day and the grass (or rather the weeds) in my yard still needs to be cut.

Autumn is a great time to change up that makeup routine as well, and you don't have to wait for the weather to change.

Two lines I recently tried are offering up fall palettes that all come in pretty packaging.

Stila's Backstage Beauty Collection includes three different eye shadow palettes ($40 each): The Front Row Look, The Red Carpet Look and the Runway Look.

Each "look" includes three eyeshadows in a faux patent package and an eyeliner, all tied up with a black faux leather rosette. The rosette is chic enough to be worn as an accessory in the hair or even as a choker or bracelet.

I tried out the Front Row Look. The eye shadows and smokey quartz kajal eyeliner all stayed in place all day. Even after a humid college football game day, the eyeliner never smeared.

Prescriptives' new limited edition Fall Dimensions Eye Color Quad comes in silver, quilted packaging pretty enough to put in your handbag and great for travel.

The quads are available in four different color families at $45 each. Prescriptives matches up the eyeshadow palettes according to your skin tone.

Even though I probably fall under the label's "red" or "blue/red" undertones, I still liked the "red" palette, which included the colors pongee, relic, malt sparkle and cobalt (or in laymen's terms three shades of brown and a dark blue). What I liked most about Prescriptives quads was the ability to create several different looks. With the one quad, I could go from a natural look to a heavier nighttime look just by adding on another color.

Prescriptives is also offering a Fall Dimensions for Cheeks and Eyes for $35. These shades suit all skin tones and is great to have in your travel bag as I discovered on a recent weekend trip. Its versatility allows you to pack a little less.

To finish off these new looks, Prescriptives has a new Sparkle eye pencil in midnight sparks and plum sparks. I loved the color and the hint of glitter, but I had to use the liner a few times before it went on smoothly. Two new shades, midnight and plum, have also been added to the line's Lash Envy Volumizing Mascara. The plum color brought out my blue eyes without making me look like a disco queen.

Stila also has four new products inspired by the chaos of New York Fashion Week. It's a four-step routine to help makeup last all day. I tried two of the products from this routine: the Hydrating Primer SPF 15 ($34) and the Hydrating Finishing Powder ($32).

I found a new favorite product with the primer. It hydrated my skin without making it oily, kept my foundation looking fresh and the fact that it has a sun protection factor is just a bonus.

My favorite thing about the powder was the packaging. The lid slides up to reveal a mirror, so there's no searching around for one when you need a quick touch-up.

So bring on the fall weather, we're ready for our close-ups.

The links

www.stilacosmetics.com
www.prescriptives.com
www.sephora.com