Autumn – at last. Such a relief to kiss goodbye to all those ice-cream pinks and coy corals, and to embrace a palette that’s just a lot more grown-up. Burnished golds and elegant greys; a dark matt lip, perhaps, or a deep plum polish; maybe even a sultry nightclub eye. All these look unpleasantly garish in the heat and light of summer, but they sit beautifully under the softer grey of an autumn sky.

First, into my brand spanking new back-to-school make-up bag is Perricone MD’s No Foundation Foundation (£41; www.perriconemd.co.uk). This is a really impressive product, and one that is universally suited to almost any skin tone. It comes packed with Perricone’s trademark skin nutrients (alpha lipoic acid for radiance and clarity, phospholipids for moisturising and antioxidant action, as well as vitamin E and a natural SPF30), and you only need the smallest amount for a fantastic dewy, elegant finish. It’s a great product to complement this season’s new nudes, as well as being pretty much foolproof. The only drawback is the smell, although it fades fast.

Staying with the nude theme, Mac has a great little product in the DSquared2 range called Lip Erase (£11; www.maccosmetics.co.uk). It knocks back the lips in much the same way as a foundation, but because it’s a balm it doesn’t make them look dry. It looks great underneath Lancôme’s surprisingly wearable nude La Laque Fever glosses.

By contrast, Mac’s new Dazzleglass Crème lip glosses (£14) come in an array of vibrant shades, gliding on but with no tackiness. Wear them alone, or over lipstick for impact. For a darkly vampish edge, try Armanisilk lipstick in shade 92 (£19; 020-7318 2486): a sheer damson, rather like a lipstick version of Chanel’s iconic nail polish, Rouge Noir.

BACKGROUND

• Top 10 beauty products for autumn

• Beauty trends for autumn

• Statement hair and make-up for autumn

• How to do autumn make-up

• This season, throw away the rules of make-up

Video: How to do autumn make-up

Ruby Hammer distils the runway fantasies into attention-grabbing looks

Talking of which, Chanel’s new season nail colours include a twist on the fashionista favourite with Diabolic (£16; 020-7493 3836). It’s similar to Rouge Noir, only with an extra hint of pink. Also from Chanel is a fabulous new eyeshadow palette, Les Folies Noires (also £16): soft, murky shades of navy, green, brown and deep violet, which will make this autumn’s feverish Thirties eye a doddle.

In a similar vein are Mac’s new Greasepaint Sticks (£13) – intense, smudgeable sticks of stay-put colour reminiscent of a child’s crayon, to be applied with the same rugged creativity.

Finally, somewhere to put all that thrilling new loot: Anya Hindmarch’s black nylon (very mid-Nineties Prada, only not as austere) leather-trimmed make-up bags are fantastically covetable (from £135; www.anyahindmarch.co.uk). I recognise a fellow obsessive in the design: plenty of compartments and section dividers. There’s even one for a toothbrush: genius.

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