Rejoice! Goth eyes are fashionable again!

So I'm looking through the Sephora runway report for fall beauty trends and I'm seeing much of what I expected. Straight hair, red lips, old Hollywood glamour and I saw a trend that made my heart go pitter patter. Goth eyes. I'm so happy I could purr.

Smoky, heavily lined eyes are like a warm cozy blanket on a cold day for me. I'm sure everyone has an item of clothing or a cosmetic element that makes you feel awesome. Lots of eyeliner, mascara and brown or purple shadow make me feel powerful (I was going to say invincible, but I concede that I am overselling it). I've been scaling back on it all as I've gotten older, acknowledging that if I did it as a teen, then odds are I shouldn't be doing it as an adult and it's not in style.

But I've gotten old enough that the trends have come back in. So this fall, as the temperatures cool, you can expect me to put on my warm blanket of dark eyes. Best to invest in some really good eye makeup remover, no?

HRH

Stila: Gold palette

There's no need to go into my ever lasting love of palettes. I love them, they rock and I got more for Christmas which has made me a very, very happy girl.

My most recent acquisition was the Stila Deluxe Palette in Golden Moon. I have so much makeup that's based in the cool tones that I felt it was time to explore the vast pantheon of colours in the neutrals and warm tones. To that end I decided to go for golds to warm up my pasty winter skin and soften my face.

As usual Stila has great colours (Four eye shadows in Starlight, Mahogany, New Golden Brown, and a new Bronzy Brown,a Primrose Cheek Color, a Golden Peach Lip Color, and Caramel Lip Gloss. Yay!)and great packaging (fits nicely in my makeup bag too!), and they very thoughtfully included three brushes with this palette as well (a Lip Brush, Eye Shadow Crease Brush, and an Eye Liner Brush).It's a really, really handy set for traveling too.

There's also a rose version of the palette if you're not ready to delve into the world of the warm.

HRH

Stila: Smudge Pots

We used to have a cat named Roxanne. We was this adorable fluff of calico fur with a puffy tail and these eyes that were rimmed in black. My mother used to jokingly say to the cat "What time did you get up this morning to put your eyeliner on, Roxy?" She was a gorgeous cat and part of what made her so attractive was the drama of her eyes. She was like the Brigette Bardot of cats.

Now, human women are never born with automatic eyeliner like some of nature's fluffier friends are, but we were born with opposable thumbs and cosmetic counters. As such we can, with relative ease, give our eyes drama.

For this Stila Smudge Pots are an excellent product. I am a woman of many eyeliners. I've tried them all and I thought I had found my favourite until I found this. It's a gel/cream which means it goes on smooth and lasts. A good brush is a must for this kind of application and please, please, please try your hardest to get it on as close to your lash line as possible and get that line straight. It will take practice, but will be well worth it once you've mastered it.

Now as much as I loathe to say this, dramatic eyes should not be an every day thing, that is, unless you are a Hollywood starlet or something like that. You can't make an impact with a look if you do it every day. As such, do a toned-down version of the dramatic black liner for work/daytime. Otherwise you run the risk of looking a little tramp-ish. Try brown, try less, try a modest line versus a big fat line straight from a 1960s french film. The fun is in the trying and the variety of ways you can get eyeliner to flatter.

HRH

Cargo: SmokyEye Eyeliner Duo

I've been told that grey is all the rage these days. I think you can learn all about it here. Bless those Sephora people! Upon their advice I grabbed the Cargo SmokyEye Eyeliner Duo in Budapest and have been enjoying it steadily for the past two days. I've been on a brown kick for the last two months, so getting back to the cold greys and blacks have helped me embrace the cooler fall weather.

What's neat about this set is that one liner is cream and the other is powder. You can use them on their own or put the powder on top of the cream and blend to create a great smoky effect. I've taken to using the cream to line my lashes on top and bottom and then spreading the powder over my lids (using a primer first). This has to be done sparingly so it doesn't look too heavy, but when it's right, oh my, it's right.

I may just have to pick this up in the Madagascar colour as well.

HRH

Sephora: Jumbo Eye Pencil & All Over Colour

Sometimes the house wine really is good.

I can be a snob sometimes. Almost always when it comes to makeup. However on a recent shopping trip a more open minded friend got me looking at some of the Sephora line of makeup. Less expensive than your average premium brand and a veritable rainbow of available colours. This is the ideal line for impulse/costume/last minute ensemble related purchases.

For example, I purchased a bright blue combo of Jumbo Eye Pencil and turquoise Iridescent All Over Eye Colour without a twinge of guilt. Not a twinge of regret for getting colour that I won't wear very often, but will look outstanding when I do.

Learn from my mistakes. Don't let snobbery come between you and good, affordable makeup.

HRH

MAC: Fluidline

Summer can be an icky time for makeup. Especially for lovers of eyeliner. Kohl is usually my choice for bringing out my big browns, but come summertime (and the cursed allergies) it's just not feasable. That's when items like MAC's new fluidline eyeliner come in very, very handy. All the drama and precision you need, but in a formula that dries and stays put.

And have I mentioned the colours! Weeeee. Never before have I been so thrilled at owning purple eyeliner. While it looks very intense in the jar, a modest application can even work during the day. People just think something looks a little different.

Make sure you get an eyeliner brush to go with it. As always, your makeup only looks as good as your brushes are.

HRH