Fall into Beauty: Expert Tips for the Season
As temperatures drop and routines take on a cozier feel, let’s embrace the seasonal shift in our beauty routines. From nourishing skin-care essentials and hair-repair treatments to rich, autumn-inspired nail colors, fall offers the perfect opportunity to change it up a bit and give yourself a little extra care, too. To transition into the season, I’ve gathered insights from industry leaders and I’m sharing their expert tips, favorite treatments, and must-try products for the months ahead. Enjoy!
FALL HAIR TRENDS
For hair this fall, look for soft, effortless styles. Rachel Allen of INVU Salon says face-framing layers and effortless movement are great for fall. Natural, messy and lose waves are trending. You can achieve this look with a curl cream or a curling iron by wrapping the hair around it.
While the bob is still going strong, new on the scene this fall is the shag. And if you watched Off Campus, you probably understand why. Don’t we all want to be Allie (I did buy her Halloween costume)? Face-framing bangs and long shaggy layers are cut to achieve this look. And the best thing about this style is that it works for both straight and more naturally curly hair.
For color “it’s all about rich, dimensional brunettes, warm blondes, cinnamons and copper tones,” says Rachel. An ammonia-free color is key especially in the winter— it’s gentler and will leave hair shinier and healthier in the drying winter months. This type of color is also great for people with sensitive scalps.
When the temperatures drop, it can be especially drying on the hair. So to lock in moisture, a heavy conditioning treatment is recommended this time of year. I recently got the Milbon 6-step conditioning treatment (available at INVU Salon in Bryn Mawr). Steps 1-5 are done in the salon and you take step 6 home— it’s four boosters to be applied every week for the next month to extend the results. This treatment makes the hair shiny and bouncy all season long. And my hair has never looked and felt better.
COLD-WEATHER SKIN TIPS
Cold air and indoor heat strip skin of moisture in a pretty significant way. Heather Champion, owner of Wildflower Wellness, recommends a few things to combat dry and tight cold-weather skin. Here’s her lineup:
Babor Hyaluronic Cleansing Balm melts away makeup and cleanses the skin in a soothing way.
Vivier C&E Peptide Serum is the perfect daytime serum during the fall and winter seasons (although I use it all year round). The vitamins C&E and peptides provide antioxidant protection and a bright look in the dull winter months, without drying the skin.
Babor 10D Hyaluronic Serum is a “7-day moisture reboot”. You open a capsule every night for a deep hydration boost. One capsule goes a long way, so I like to use it on my décolletage, too.
Babor Moisture Glow Cream is great for day and night because it finishes light but hydrates the skin up to 72 hours.
Biojuve Sheer Finish 50 with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E protects the skin while it hydrates because yes, you still need SPF in the fall and winter!
Carepod Humidifier is the only humidifier you’ll ever buy again because it’s so easy to use and clean. Adding moisture back into the air while you sleep makes a huge difference for dry skin.
Full Body Red Light Therapy can help with the winter blues, support collagen production, and relieve joint stiffness all year round but is particularly helpful in the gloomy, colder seasons.
FALL NAIL TRENDS
For the hands, feet and nails it’s all about nourishing and moisturizing. An exfoliant to remove summer sun damage is a great first step before locking in the moisture with a hand mask. A mask will “really protect the skin barrier especially when the temperatures are dropping and the colder months are coming,” says Ashley Palumbo, one of the owners of Club House, a luxury nail salon that focuses on skincare and clean nail products. For even more intense hydration, collagen gloves are great for added nourishment.
But the ladies at Club House say that the holy grail to all nail care is cuticle oil. Apply it daily, right out of the shower, regardless if you have nail color on. It helps nourish the nail plate and bring back more plump, healthier looking cuticles. It reduces a lot of the splitting and other damage to the nails. Put a drop of cuticle oil under the nail bed and move it around the skin that surrounds the nail.
And, of course, no fall beauty refresh is complete without a gorgeous new nail color! LondonTown offers a clean nail color collection that combines beautiful, seasonally inspired shades with a long-wearing finish. While it’s a traditional nail polish, the specially formulated base coat and top coat work together to extend wear and deliver a glossy, gel-like look—without the need for a gel manicure.
This season, I’m especially loving Midnight Mocha and Elderberry for something dramatic, and Cold Foam and Affogato for a more natural but glamorous fall look. Perfectly suited for autumn, these stunning shades are sure to turn heads and add the perfect finishing touch to any fall look.
