15 things replacing my summer beach-bum persona so I can look like a functioning adult again this fall.
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Summer beauty is basically an excuse for a natural, easy look. Bare face, freckles out, hair thrown into whatever shape the humidity decides for me. I spend three months looking like I rolled off a beach towel and into the real world.
Then October hits, the days get longer and are spent at a desk instead of a pool, and the urge finally returns to look like a real person who has her life together, even on the days I very much do not. Now that Fall is very much in full swing, here are the 15 things getting me there this year: hair, makeup, and body, in that order.
HAIR
1. Kérastase Blonde Absolu Shampoo and Conditioner
I have tried every shampoo TikTok has ever promised me and I keep crawling back to this one. Lightened hair is a constant hostage negotiation: keep it bright, don't fry it, don't let it feel like straw by October. This formula is light enough that my hair doesn't collapse under its own weight, which matters when you're carrying around as much hair as I am. It just simply does its job while everything else I've tried has tried a little too hard.
2. Brazilian Blowout Anti-Frizz Smoothing Spray
I got keratin treatments for years and always paired them with Brazilian Blowout products, and this spray is the one thing that outlasted my keratin era. I've since made peace with my natural wave and stopped getting the treatments, but this spray still gives me that just-left-the-salon smoothness. It cuts my blow-dry time down, which anyone with a lot of hair knows is genuinely a big deal, and it holds up in humidity better than anything else I've tried.
3. Dyson Airwrap
I've owned mine since 2020 and used it weekly ever since, which tells you everything about the return on investment. It dries my hair quickly and with more precision than I expected from a tool that isn't a straight blow dryer, and six years in, it hasn't fried my ends the way I worried a round-brush replacement might. I'm not a hair scientist, but I know that a full round-brush blowout on myself takes an hour I don't have most mornings, and this cuts that time in half.
4. Wavytalk Thermal Brush
I bought this on a TikTok Shop impulse about a year ago and it has earned its keep completely. It's my day-three hair fix: I've been to morning pilates, my hair is a little wrecked, and I don't have time to wash and restyle, but a slick-back bun isn't going to cut it either. This brush takes me from bedhead to presentable in 10-20 minutes without a full reset. It's not doing my hair any favors long-term, but for a quick save before a last-minute plan, nothing works faster.
5. DAE Prickly Pear Hair Oil
A thick luxurious oil that disappears into your ends and leaves your hair shiny, not greasy. This is the best accidental purchase I’ve made in a while. The full story is in my October Favorites.
MAKEUP
6. Westman Atelier Concealer
I’m not a foundation person, which means my concealer has to carry the whole base, and finding the right one was non-negotiable. I needed something that evens out my skin and gives enough coverage to look “done,” but stays lightweight enough to sit like skin instead of sitting on it. This one blends out smoothly even with nothing underneath, and it layers over and under my other products without pilling or feeling heavy. It’s the closest thing I’ve found to a full face of makeup that doesn’t feel like one. (It’s also stepping in for the Westman Atelier skin tint, which has been discontinued, so consider this my official period of mourning and recovery.)
7. NARS Laguna Bronzer
One of the small griefs of fall is watching your summer tan fade along with the season. I protect my skin and don't sit out in the sun to get color, but I still miss that sun-kissed look the second it starts disappearing. I've used this bronzer since high school, and probably always will. The formula is more pigmented now than it used to be, so a light hand goes far, but it's the fastest way I know to fake a little bit of summer back into my face.
8. Hourglass Eyeshadow Palette
I have hooded eyes and spent years assuming eyeshadow was a lost cause on me. Then my makeup artist did a simple matte, neutral look for my wedding and it actually looked good, which sent me straight to this palette. I stick to the two lightest shades because anything darker disappears or looks muddy on hooded lids, but even a small amount adds real dimension. It's the first eyeshadow palette I’ve found in years that's made me feel like eyeshadow is worth the five extra minutes.
9. Lancôme Grey Eyeliner
I was an eyeliner girl from middle school on, obsessed with a NARS grey shade called Madison Avenue that made my blue/grey eyes pop in a way no other color did. When NARS discontinued Madison Avenue, I gave up on eyeliner entirely for close to a decade rather than settle for a shade that didn't work on me. This Lancôme liner is nearly identical, and I'm back on the waterline and tightline train, sometimes a smudgy wing if I’m feeling dramatic. If you have blue or gray eyes like me, a gray liner is a genuine hack, not just a fall trend.
10. Westman Atelier Mascara
There isn't much to say here except that it's the best mascara I've found. It looks good all day, it doesn't smudge, and it stays put on the lash rather than migrating by noon. It's expensive, and it's worth it.
11. Chanel Lip Liner
I am obsessed with a good lip liner but sad to report that while the brown lip liner trend looks incredible on a lot of people, it makes me look like I'm coming down with something contagious. This rose shade is the best shade I’ve found that actually flatters my coloring: subtle enough to wear alone with a gloss, defined enough to anchor the rest of my face together. A good Chanel lipstick is a rite of passage, but don't sleep on their lip liner. It lasts, the color payoff is beautiful, and it’s become the unsung hero of my makeup bag.
BODY
12. Bubble Bath Nails
I am a light pink nail girl for life, to the point that it's a running joke with my husband: every time I come home from the salon, he has to guess the color, and it's always some form of light pink. Fall tends to push people toward deep reds or moody neutrals, but I like Bubble Bath precisely because it looks barely there. It's just enough pink to feel girly and done without competing with everything else going on in a fall look.
13. CYKLAR Body Wash & Cream
I already gushed about this in my September Favorites, so I'll link back to it rather than repeat myself. Still my favorite body product heading into fall, no competition.
14. Le Labo Santal 33
I rotate through a handful of perfumes, but this is the one I reach for the second the air turns. Woodsy, a little leathery, unmistakably fall. If a scent could match a season this precisely on purpose, I'd be suspicious.
15. L’occitaine Hand Cream
This is the unglamorous, age-old pick on the list, and it's popular for a reason. Fall air dries your hands out faster than you notice, and I keep this in my bag at all times specifically for that. The formula is rich enough that a small amount goes a long way, which matters when you're reapplying constantly.
