It's Time To Talk Fall Beauty Looks

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Seasons are tricky. In the beginning, they seduce you with their "nice weather" and "new in-season produce." But a farce! By the end of the three-month chunk, everything's gone sour—the temperature has gone from perfect to TOO MUCH, you've been cooking the same thing for dinner two weeks straight, and you've cycled through every weather-apropos item of clothing in your closet. If you haven't gotten an inevitable end-of-season cold, at the very least you're sick of the season. Then, when you think you just can't take it any longer, summer becomes fall, winter becomes spring, etc., etc. And suddenly there are lots of things to be excited about. This fall, we're pumped about: Rihanna, blue eyeshadow, and cider mills. These are our mood boards—what are yours?

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Seasons may change, but my love for coziness springs eternal. It didn’t dawn on me that fall was actually near until I saw Rihanna wearing the ultimate cozy number above a couple weeks ago. Brown, soft, and equipped with an impressive slit, her Nanushka dress is THE PERFECT FALL OUTFIT, so that’s what I’m striving for in the coming weeks. That and Deveaux’s entire fall collection, but you know…affordable (COS, maybe?). On another note, my husband and I have been devouring Joanna Hogg’s collected works. Don’t know her? Me neither, until about a month ago. This New Yorker profile put us on to her movies, and Exhibition, her 2013 film that captures the quiet complexity of sharing a life with the person you promised to love forever, brought me to love her. It’s great! Go see it now. The lush greens paired with the film’s ambient tonal filter flew me to autumn way back in early August. I’ll probably watch it again soon. And while watching it, I’ll be wearing lots of nudes—lipstick, blush, scrunchies—and swapping out my sandals for some velvet sneakers when I go to the gym. I mean, what else would I wear? Flats?
—Ashley Weatherford

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My fall look lands somewhere between Ali MacGraw and Cher: long, dark, middle-parted hair and lots of jewelry. I’ll be showing my colorist photos of "old" Bella Hadid and avoiding haircuts. I also resolve to wear all the costume jewelry I’ve collected from my grandma’s closet and flea markets with reckless abandon—always earrings, and no fewer than three necklaces stacked onto each other, and no chickening out. I’m still reluctantly inspired by new Celine’s FW19 show—the long wool skirts from the runway are actually resuscitations of archive pieces, and I managed to snag a nearly identical vintage version on Etsy last spring that I’m excited to finally wear. Most of my other fall clothes will be brown, though I keep getting excited about how good lilac will look with maroon, or lime green with denim blue. Makeup will be a good place to experiment with fun color as a wash all the way up to my brow bone, under very long, very fake lashes. Also, cow print will be at this party. Don’t ask me why! (Though, if I had to guess, it probably has something to do with this perfect transitional jacket.)
—Ali Oshinsky

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I always thrill at the opportunity to wear sweaters and blazers. Fall is my favorite season to dress for. The version of the sweater I'm craving this fall is slouchy and oversized with a zip-up collar. The blazer is also oversized, and preferably in a knubby wool and with a Prince of Wales plaid. Like everyone else, I'm feeling Succession's Shiv Roy—her wardrobe, sure, (particularly high-waisted, pleat-front suit pants over a ribbed turtleneck), but also her sharp haircut and her sharp wit. I love workwear, so I've also always got Melanie Griffith in Working Girl in the back of my mind, as well as Robert Redford in All the President's Men, one of my favorite films that also happens to have some great clothes (like that corduroy blazer Redford wears). Also, like everyone else, I found Hedi Slimane's fall collection for Celine pretty irresistible, particularly the over-the-knee up-to-the-thigh boots. I rounded out this mood board with some furniture and interior designs by the pioneering Finnish designer and architect Alvar Aalto.
—Leah Chernikoff

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This fall kicks off a number of life changes for me. I’ve just started a new job (Hi, I’m new here!), I’m getting married in the spring, and in a few short weeks I’m going to switch my box braids to Marley twists. With these changes, I want my style to follow suit. Taking inspiration from my icons, I’m excited to experiment with bold colors, button up a bit with long-sleeve dresses and jumpsuits, and celebrate my birthday in style on the 16th of September with so much blue eyeshadow that Cinderella Brandy would think it was IMPOSSIBLE. I’m also going to let the basic in me jump out and drink lots of red wine while cuddling with my pug in matching pajama sets.
—Chloe Hall

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Summer was the season of all-nighters, last-minute trips out of town, and weekends that were too short, even if they were four days long. It was the season of seizing the day and filling it up with as many adventures as ossible. This fall I’m planning to do quite the opposite—sleeping in, staying cozy. Checking everything off my to-do list, while saying ‘no’ to things that meddle with my energy, you know? Ideally, I’ll be wearing comfy fleeces and using a manicure or a bright liner as my soft, colorful punch. Since I freed my hair from my summer braids, I’ll likely be using bandanas and frilly handkerchiefs to disguise bad hair days, but that’s always cute. In short, my fall look embodies this iconic Sex and the City scene: staying chill, taking things in stride, and being comfortable doing me.
—Utibe Mbagwu

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My fall mood is what it has always been: some plaid, some camping gear, some '60s-meets-'90s, all in vivid colors. I'm excited to wear buffalo check and sherpa while taking train rides upstate, and driving a car around back roads, on my way to antique shops and cider mills. The clothing look is John Denver meets JW Anderson. The beauty look is raw skin and flushed cheeks. The soundtrack is Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. The smell is pine trees and fallen leaves. The feeling is cold on your cheeks but warmth everywhere else. Thinking a lot about how beautiful All The Real Girls by David Gordon Green is, and how beautiful small towns can be as I sit inside my NYC apartment.
—Tom Newton

Collages by Tom Newton