Autumn in the air

The air here in Central NY already has a hint of briskness and that smell that means gray skies and yellow leaves aren't so far away. Bath and Body Works believe that we should skip blithely from fun-in-the-sun to no-place-like-home-for-the-holidays; their coconutty personal fragrances have been shoved to the back in favor of fall home fragrances like pumpkin and apple. This does a great disservice to a very Tim Burton time of year, unacceptable in my opinion. Thanksgiving is coming soon enough, friends; for now, skip over gingerbread and warm your home with something a shade darker like Method's fig aroma soy candle. It's spicy and fruity but perfectly earthy; its soy formula is eco-friendly, and its wick produces 90% less soot than regular candles. Available at Target.

secret weapon

Yes Visine is a gem at getting the red out-crucial on bleary 9 am Monday morning lectures- but it's also one of the most dead useful tools in my makeup arsenal.

This little wonder, coupled with a good quality eyeliner brush such as the MAC 266, turns any eyeshadow into a budge-proof eyeliner. Something about the formula gives powder more tenacity, and applying it damp adds gorgeous dimension if the shade has any pearl or shimmer in it. I put a small drop of visine on the back of my hand and dab my brush in it, then blot the excess liquid out onto my hand before running the brush across the surface of the powder. A damp brush will also give you a far more perfect line than a pencil ever will, and it mimics the look of liquid liner fairly well. This technique will also save you money- I invested in a brush, a bottle of visine, and a pan of Stila Espresso eyeshadow two years ago to replace MAC's Teddy eye kohl in my collection and I've barely dented the surface of the eyeshadow, vs. buying two or three eye kohls a year.

Visine will also add dimension to your eyeshadow once it's on your lid. For going out I like to use a light wash of something highly pearly like Stila Kitten eyeshadow all over my lid and then pat over it with my fingers dampened with visine. It makes the shadow look more intensely metallic and dimensional- gorgeous in low lighting. You could use water for both of these tricks, but I find that visine really makes eyeshadow last a bit longer, plus it's more sterile than tap water and nicely portable.

Still not convinced? Visine is a temporary fix for an angry looking blemish, it works on enflamed skin the same way it works on enflamed eyes.

Coral Crush

The beauty magazines have been pushing coral tinged colors for months, and if you're like me you're tempted to check it out even though coral has NEVER looked natural with your complexion. We're also on the cusp of fall when punchy colors are traded in for smoky eyes or wine stained lips, is it really worth jumping onto the coral bandwagon this late in the game?

At the makeup counter today I found some items that bare a hint of the hot hue but will be workable year round.

Chanel Coral Reef Glossimer- looks neon in the tube, but glowy golden peachy nude on the lips. It adds gorgeous dimension to reds, pinks, and nudes and adds just enough coral tinge to transform colors. Available at counters for $25.

Fresh Blush Cream in Portrait of a Lady- A touch of coral warms up this dusty pink blush which doubles as a gorgeous and long-lasting lipcolor. Paired with Coral Reef and a smoky or nude eye the looks is effortless for the end of summer and fall. Available at www.fresh.com for $28, not so steep considering it's an unbeatable shade and the pot lasts forever

Chanel Fall!

Chanel knows how to make a great red gloss, as proven by the renown of Spark Glossimer. They've hit gold again with Hibiscus( shown at left), which is a little less gold than Spark and a bit more cool berry- much redder than it appears in the photo. If you, like me, get suckered into the gorgeous berry lips of fall year after year, you'll want to check this one out.

The rest of the collection? I'm not so impressed. I like a burnished bronze, brown, or gold eye for fall and to me their eye quads look a little flat and dated. The rest of the lip shades weren't anything to write home about either.