October’s Beauty Essentials: This Month’s Best Buys

How to Look Lit From Within

Adding highlighter to your foundation application is an easy way to achieve gorgeous-looking skin. Look to a liquid or powder formula to draw attention to the flattering planes in your face, the latter of which has the best staying power and is ideal for oily skin types. “Cream or liquid highlighter is best for dry, textured skin because powders have a tendency to accentuate texture,” says Caitlyn Dixon, a makeup artist and Canadian winner of L’Oréal Paris’s Brush Contest. If you’re using a liquid highlighter, mix a few drops into your foundation or moisturizer for a subtle all-over glow. “You can also lightly apply the same liquid highlighter to the high points of your face – the top of your cheekbone, your Cupid’s bow and the bridge of the nose. Set it with a powder highlighter to make it last all day,” says Dixon. Look to champagne and opalescent shades to match cooler, paler skin tones and gold and bronze formulas for warmer, darker skin tones.

L’Oréal Paris True Match Lumi Powder Glow Illuminator, $17; Sephora Collection Radiant Luminizing Drops in Ultra Light/Star Light, $23 each at Sephora stores and Sephora.ca

Genius Polish

One of our favourite things about fall is whipping out the season’s trademark deep and dramatic nail shades. However, we admit that one of the downfalls of rocking back-to-back blackberry manis is the sight of yellow nail stains we’d prefer to kick to the curb. Enter the new Deborah Lippmann Genie in a Bottle, a sheer lavender polish that neutralizes yellow pigments and instantly whitens your nail tips. Wear alone for impeccable nude nails or under your moodiest shade to help maintain your natural nail tone.

Deborah Lippmann Genie in a Bottle, $24; Available at Holt Renfrew and holtrenfrew.com

Quality Brushes

Investing in good-quality makeup brushes (and cleaning them regularly) is the key to getting the most out of your makeup formulas. Fine-haired tools do all the work for you, making a pro-looking makeup application a breeze.

Save: High-quality hairs and wood handles, plus a variety of luxury look-a-like sizes and shapes. Pictured left: Joe Fresh Core Brush Collection, $10 to $18; Available at Real Canadian Superstores and joefresh.ca

Splurge: Painstakingly handmade by renowned Japanese artisans with top-notch materials for the ultimate painterly finish. Pictured right: Hakuhodo + Sephora Pro Makeup Brush Collection, $38 to $61; Available at Sephora stores and Sephora.ca

Editor Tip: Clean brushes at least once a month with baby shampoo and dry them bristles down so moisture doesn’t accumulate in the ferrule, which can cause it to expand, leading to loose hairs.

Charcoal Beauty

The latest beauty must-haves appear supernatural, thanks to ingredients like detoxifying charcoal and meteorite powder – yes, we said meteorite – which helps firm skin with its high mineral content of calcium and magnesium.

1. Regenerate your skin as you sleep with plumping collagen and hyaluronic acid, anti-aging meteorite extract and brown seaweed and radiance-inducing vitamin C and bran extract. Filorga Skin-Absolute Ultimate Anti-Aging Night Cream, $195; Available at Holt Renfrew

2. Smooth this mask all over or just on your oil-prone T-zone to ditch the day’s buildup of dirt, oil, dead skin cells and pollutants with the help of clay and charcoal powder. Caffeine and algae extract help shrink pores for an extra-smooth finish. Clinique Pore Refining Solutions Charcoal Mask, $29; Available at Clinique counters and clinique.ca

3. Conveniently cleanse both face and body with this spacey charcoal-infused bar that binds to deep-rooted impurities and draws them away. Jojoba beads also help exfoliate, while peppermint oil leaves skin feeling extra-refreshed. Bioré Pore Penetrating Charcoal Bar, $10

4. Perfect for your gym or travel bag, this unique face-cleansing stick contains activated bamboo charcoal, which absorbs 1,000 times its weight in toxins, along with pore-refining artichoke leaf and glycolic acid. Boscia Charcoal Deep-Pore Cleansing Stick Treatment, $35; Available at Sephora stores and Sephora.ca

Red Hot Lips

Get on board with the season’s hottest red lip trend: a true spectrum of hues from brick to cherry to pimento. Better yet, try them all for a drama-filled pout every day of the week.

1. Satin Lipstick
NARS Lipstick in VIP Red, $34; Available at Sephora stores and Sephora.ca

2. Pencil
M.A.Cnificent Me! Lip Pencil in Cherry, $19; Available at M.A.C. stores and maccosmetics.com

3 Crayon
COVERGIRL Colorlicious Jumbo Gloss Balm Cream in Cherry Cream Pie, $10

4. Matte Lipstick
GOSH Velvet Touch Matte Lipstick in 005 Matte Classic Red, $14

5. Gloss
CHANEL Lèvres Scintillantes in Chêne Rouge, $34; Available at Chanel beauty counters and chanel.com