The end is nigh…
Conventional seasonal collections are a somewhat disposable model for all but the biggest high-end brands nowadays. I don’t know why – is seasonal makeup no longer desirable in a very globalised world in which brands try to be alluring for buyers in the Southern AND Northern hemisphere simultaneously? That’s my best guess (chime in in the comments), but fact is: when you can pinpoint a release date only on the fact if there’s a bronzing powder in the collection or not, something is shifting. So let’s peruse this year’s crop of Fall collections in the ultimate guide to the Fall 2019 makeup collections!
Armani: Back from the dead, part I
Matte Nature Fall Collection
What the hell happened to Armani anyways?! They didn’t seem to do anything for the last year except sit on their permanent collection (which we love!) and hope to survive. Well, they did, and came back with a small Fall collection that’s exactly right for their customer base: We have natural, earthy, matte shades in their most beloved formulas: 3 new eyetints, six shades of their Rouge D’Armani Matte lipsticks and six shades of their Lip Maestro liquid lipsticks. Safely played, guys, but nobody can deny the promo pics’ natural loveliness, so yay?
Chanel: We can all go home now
Noir et Blanc Fall Collection
Okay, look: this is so far in my personal wheelhouse that I’m not even in the same postcode as any objectivity any more. I love the visuals (at Kleo Beaute), I love the colour scheme, I love how it fits into the seasonal theme and love how it plays with its own Chanel-ness. The black and white eyeshadow quad doesn’t speak as much to me as its jewel-toned (and LE) sister, Noir Supreme (Temptalia) that I HEART.
Naturally weary as I am of eye glosses I also love the sparkly Penumbre (in fact termed a ‘Top Coat’). The nearly black lipgloss Laque Noir? Chef’s Kiss. (Don’t go and buy it though. I know it looks great in the promo pics – heartbreakingly beautiful, in fact – but I’ve experienced black glosses before, and no formulation wizardry can make them look like this.)
Skip the nail polishes (Essence does a GREAT white polish if you’re in the market), and I still don’t believe we need the little blurred lip thingies with the sponge applicators. (Swatches and look at Michelle Wang’s YT.) The old adage about a clock being right twice a day? Madame Pica, you got it. *bows* (This time.)
Dior: Same old, same old
Power Look Fall Collection
“An urban woman who manages her career and cultural life. A strong woman who plays with makeup without losing credibility,” says Peter Philips about this collection.
Nice, but it irks me just a teeny tiny bit that men will graciously concede that women are allowed to PLAY with MAKEUP and at the same time can be TOTALLY GROWNUP and accomplished. Really?!??!
Power Look reminds me A LOT of MAC’s Make-Up Art Fall Collection from 2009. I like the promo images and looks tremendously – I like the graphic eye with the lime green accents, I love the burgundy and taupe blushes, I like the taupe lips. (Everything swatched at Angela van Rose YT.) I wouldn’t, though, necessarily use Dior’s products to achieve the look: Dior’s quints (in action at My Beauty Shopper YT) are notoriously sheer and shimmery and not really suited for the bold looks shown.
Btw, in that long-ago MAC collection? Lime-green and orange and pink eyeliners, like in this one. What else? I like the colour-scheme of the nail polishes with their earthy browns, khakis, and (wait for it) lime green.
YSL: That’s why we can’t have nice things
Sexy Tomboy Fall Collection
I’m not your manic pixie dreamgirl, YSL, and I find the name of the collection gag-inducing. Why do tomboys have to be sexy at all? It’s such a cliché. Let’s move on. Nice visual, boring products. Next.
(Honestly, the super purple eyeshadow doesn’t come from the palette which is bland, neutral-ish and boring. The burgundy blush? Dior does it better. The red and earthy lip stains? Yawn. The earthy nail polishes? Even bigger yawn. Eye pencils?! …) (Swatches at WomenFashionnista)
Givenchy: … But we do it better
Essence of Makeup/Sepia Fall Collection
Although nobody seems to know what the correct name of the collection is (I found both), it’s a very nice one. Two nine-pan eyeshadow palettes in variations of grey and burgundy (yay for cool-toned palettes!!!), two soft glossy lipsticks in rose and beige, and a stunning pink. (Some pics and swatches at Kosmetista.) It’s on the right side of cool, edgy looks that both Dior and YSL attempted. Here, it plays out really well. (Also, I’m IN on the grey eyeshadows!!! Let’s have a renaissance of grey!)
Estée Lauder: Back from the dead, part II
EL x Duro Oluwo Fall Collection
Ohhai EL! There you are. The last really successful EL editions were the Victoria Beckham collabs, which I found overpriced and not really my thing. This one, again a collab (with fashion designer Duro Oluwo), looks fun, cohesive, inclusive and versatile. In fact, it looks a bit like a MAC collection of yore. Two 8-pan eyeshadow palettes (one in earthy browns and reds, one in appealing and wearable greens), two eye pencils, two fun lipsticks in red and pink, all in such a bright and fun packaging that it makes me smile. (Pics at Chicmoey.) Well done!
Guerlain: On its way out
Fall Collection
Guerlain continues with a downward spiral of totally random collections, mainly because they release new product lines and use that as an opportunity to flesh them out with totally random add-ons. I mean, do a haul over of a lipstick line by all means – I LIKE the KissKiss lipsticks, and 20 new shades in a liquid formula? Great! – but why add two eyeliners and a marbled, baked bronzing powder (AGAIN MAC from the Aughts!) that would’ve been better in a summer collex?! (Pics and swatches at Beautynews.Ru.) I’m baffled, and not in a good way.
Tl, dr:
I like the visuals of a lot of fall editions (Dior, Chanel, YSL and Armani), but don’t find it absolutely necessary to go out and buy a lot of new stuff. Even Chanel’s look which I love with a capital L is easily recreated by products I own. The most surprising product is maybe Dior’s lime-green liner and polish, and as much as I love the look, learn from my mistakes, young padawan: It’s not without reason I threw my 10-year-old liner away last year.
Burgundy blushes have come back, which I love for that ‘just came in from the cold’-look, and vampy lips will never be out of style. Kudos goes to Armani for a completely different, au naturel look. I for one feel inspired to recreate some of the looks when the weather gets cooler.
The Estée Lauder for Duro Oluwo collab collection really caught my eye!
I was surprised how much I like it – it’s so cheerful!