Update your face: this month’s beauty news and reviews

SKIN

When is it not in to have perfect skin? The idea of a luminous glow going out of style is as likely as jeans doing the same. But this season’s emphasis upon it, as seen at Acne and Christopher Kane, was part of the broader trend for getting back to what just looks plain good, with no outlandish trend-led distractions. At Kane’s show, NARS senior artist Lucia Pieroni used the brand new NARSskin range to do perfect, radiant velvety skin offset with nothing more than heavy defined brows and nude lips, demonstrating that it all starts with skincare. The new NARS range is all based round using light reflection to give that luminosity that is the skin holy grail. Pieroni used the Aqua Gel Oil-Free Luminous Moisturizer (£40) followed by Optimum Brightening Concentrate (£50) for added luminosity. For drier skins I love the richer Luminous Moisture Cream (£42).

In terms of makeup, Topshop Glow in Polished (£9), as used at the Topshop Unique show by makeup artist Hannah Murray, is a pot of opalescent sheen that is subtle enough to pass for a pearly glow coming from within the skin. And for more of a golden glow, try Chanel Lumière d’Artifices (£46), the perfect sheer and shimmery winter version of bronzer.

CHEEKS

An outdoorsy, healthy flush is usually more of a summer beauty staple, but seen at Carolina Herrera, Emilio Pucci and countless others this season, it works perfectly for winter too, looking fresh and modern, as well as romantic and innocently sexy. And this season a beauty rule that has been in place since the 1980s era of excess, to never wear blush with lipstick, was abandoned, as makeup artists sent girls down runways wearing the look teamed with red lips. The easiest way to achieve it is with Tom Ford’s Tainted Love (£36), autumn’s standout must-have product. It gives a perfect natural rosy glow to both cheeks and lips, with a texture that blends seamlessly and stays put. Instant new season, and all in one tiny tube.

EYES

Eyes ran the gamut from subtly smoky to 90s-inspired smudgy. The former, as seen at Marc Jacobs, Holly Fulton and Topshop Unique, is the most wearable and universally flattering. Hannah Murray for Topshop Unique used the brand’s own eyeshadow in Leather (£6.50), a soft fawny grey-brown shade, which she also used to accentuate brows. Burberry’s AW12 range, as used at the Burberry Prorsum show, includes the perfect subtle taupe shade Dark Sable (£22.50). Standout new liners include Dr Hauschka Kajal (£14.25) in 06 (subtly metallic taupe) or 07 (gold-tinged olive) which are far more flattering to most skin tones than black, and the texture is excellent. For the classic flicks and graphic shapes seen at Altuzarra and Erdem, Estée Lauder’s new Pure Color Quick Thick Eyeliner in Punker Black (£20) is a short, fat felt tip that’s the easiest to control I’ve ever used.

NAILS

New colours for nails are always the fun part of the new season, and require minimal financial outlay. The most eagerly-anticipated are always the Chanel Le Vernis (£18), and the AW12 trio doesn’t disappoint: Frenzy, a lilac-toned grey; Suspicious, a knowing grown-up fuchsia; and Vertigo, a charcoal almost-black, all of which form a cool palette that complemented the pewter and amethyst shades seen at the show. My personal favourites are the Estée Lauder Pure Color Nail Lacquers (£14.50) in Black Iris (darkest indigo) and Blue Blood (a sapphire-tinged black); tiny ink wells of gothic joy.

LIPS

From sharp orange-toned tomato at House of Holland and Rick Owens, through to a soft cherry red at Jonathan Saunders, to vampy blood shades at Gucci and Nicole Farhi, red still rules. MAC do the best reds; go for best-selling classic blue-toned Russian Red (£14), and for this season’s goth red try old favourite Media (£14). If you prefer a satin texture to matte, try By Terry Rouge Terrybly (£31) in Carnal Attraction, a perfect

grape-tinted crimson.