Fall TV: What to watch and what to skip.

Ashton Kutcher shoots down cheating rumors.

Oooo Diddy’s in trouble.

5 reasons school is better than summer.

Sunless tanners should come with warning labels.

Wow, Jon Gosselin is worse than we thought.

So I already gave you the nail polish trends for this season – now it’s time to show you how to get the makeup looks that are sure to be a hit this fall.We’ll be seeing a lot of spring’s trends linger, like grays and light purples/blues, but we’ll also see some other trends emerging. Some are quite extreme – like cat and raccoon eyes and vampy lips – while others are easy and natural – like the almost-nude look.

The hot colors for the fall? Bronzes and golds, earthy tones and purples will be on eyes, cheeks and lips all season long.

Vamp It Up

I must say, this is my least favorite look this season and something I personally feel should be left to the runways or costumes, but if you really feel you can pull off a black lip, both YSL and Lancóme are coming out with highly anticipated limited edition black glosses. If you’re on a restricted budget and really wanna go for this look, Manic Panic has a black matte lipstick you can wear with a clear gloss over it for just $8.95 or you can go with a more street-friendly version and do a deep purple rather than a black; MAC Mattene Lipstick in Night Violet is $14.50.

Baring It All

The nude look is set to be huge this fall; with barely there blush, eye shadow, and lipstick, you accentuate your natural beauty and are left with a neutral palette that goes well with all the fashion trends of fall. A couple tips: wear a shimmery powder (mineral powder works great for this) to highlight your skin and give it a natural-looking glow, and add some oomph in your lashes by curling them before applying the natural mascara.

Meow

Cat eyes are uber-popular this season and are a fun way to bring out your inner tigress. (Editor’s Note: Rarrrr.) To get the look, use liquid liner and with a very steady hand to draw an almond shape around your whole eye, starting from the inner corners and moving to the outer corners, then build upon that until you reach your desired line thickness. To get the best-looking effect, don’t forget to line your inner rims.

Earth Day

Earthy reds and purples are out and about, tying into the autumn look and also bouncing off of the purple trend we’re seeing run rampant in fashion. Doing a soft look on the eye with these colors will add a subtle, yet dramatic flare.

Mellow Yellow

If you’re still yearning for the warmth and boldness of summer, you can tap into it by using yellow eye shadow. The effect will be eye-popping and make you stand out. You can find several yellow shadow options at M.A.C., or for a more frugal option, Cover Girl’s got a couple of different yellow shades for under $10.

Smokin’ Hot

As is usually the case, the smoky/raccoon eye is back for fall and you have a few options. You can go with the traditional dark colors (grays, charcoals, blacks), or smoke it out with the new purples and bronzes that are sweeping the nation.

Make Me Blush

Women oftentimes overlook blush during this season, but you better not this year. Warm, rosy cheeks are a great way to add a little oomph to the more natural palate of the season. Cream blushes and blush sticks are a great and easy way to achieve a nice rosy glow. Avon’s Be Blushed Cheek Color is only $5.99.

Golden Girl

Not only are we seeing gold on nails this season – gold eyes and cheeks are also extremely popular. Gold eyeshadows can be used as an accent, an overall look or mixed with other looks from this season (purple anyone?) for a more dramatic effect. Gold cheeks look lovely and luminescent and require just a little bit of gold dusted above the cheekbones. Chanel’s fall collection is all about the gold and is stunning, but if you’re low on the cash flow like most students, M.A.C. has a few gold options as well.

I am fully aware that skin cancer is scary business and not worth the fake-baking/laying out for hours on end. I also have a pretty healthy fear of getting wrinkley in the future, so, to protect myself, I wear my sunscreen. But I recently realized that maybe sunscreen wasn’t enough, and getting my glow a different way may be a better option.

I started investigating.

My former roommate loved sprays, but I personally don’t trust myself with them. I am mildly OCD and need a lotion to ensure I’m not missing anything. I went on a quest to find the perfect lotion and came across a new product: Jergens Natural Glow Express. It looked just like the rest, except that it claimedto show results in 3 days. Conveniently, I was heading on vacation in 3 days, so I grabbed it.

Please bear in mind that I consider myself an idiot with any sort of gradual tanning product, so if I can find success with this stuff, anyone can. It is virtuly idiot-proof!

The bottle is 4 ounces, and at my local retailer it only cost me $5.99. Depending on where you go, it may be as much as $7.99, but it’s a lot cheaper than spending $30-$40 for a spray-tan at a salon. I did as suggested: exfoliated, shaved, rubbed in the lotion in a circular motion.

After day 1, I must say, I was a little bronzer than before, without a hint of orange. I clearly wasn’t careful enough around my ankles (as made evident by the minor streak-age), but my goal for day two was to amend my mistakes by exfoliating a little extra in those areas. Voila! After being a little more particular on day 2, there were no more streaks.

By day 3 I definitely looked darker and not orange, which I proved by asking about 7 different people, 100 different times. (They were slightly annoyed, but what can I say? I was proud of my sunless glow.) I didn’t use this product on my face, as I use my own bronzing powder and what-not, but Jergens has an express version of the face tan as well.

This stuff is awesome; hit your local drugstore to try it yourself.

(Photo courtesy of futurederm.com)

But there’s a problem with most self-tanners I’ve tried. And that problem is that they suck, in various degrees and respects.

I had high hopes for Jergen’s Natural Glow, the daily moisturizer that gives you gradual, but the color was so “gradual” that I gave up my daily application routine after a week of no results. I decided to try Mark bronzing self-tanner and spent the next day furiously scrubbing it off after looking like my tan was applied by a child painting with watercolors.

And Victoria’s Secret must be that she moonlights as an exotic dancer, because the only glow VS Bare Bronze gave me was that orange “my work uniform consists of 4-inch clear heels and glitter” glow.

I’d been mourning the loss of my summer tan on a daily basis since the beginning of the semester, until I came upon Elizabeth Grant Soleil Smart tinted leg lotion. And after a week of slathering it on, I’m just about ready to bathe in it.

I was a little dubious at first of their website’s claim that Soleil Smart “improves the appearance of irregular skin tone and gives the legs a more shapely and smooth look”—hey, it’s taken me months of running to achieve what’s still a far cry from “shapely” legs—but I decided to give it a shot.

It goes on with a lot of color, so you’re not left with splotchy spots, but the result is natural and sexy. And it’s perfect for lazy gals like me; the golden glow is instant, so you can lay it on right before that big date. In fact, that’s exactly what I did last night.

The result? I swear he’s straight, but my new boy-toy actually said “Wow, you’re not wearing stockings? You have really nice skin tone!” Seriously now—I don’t even get that reaction when I am wearing stockings.

Best of all? Soleil Smart doesn’t rub off on white sheets and leave a nasty brown body-outline when you wake up in the morning, so slap some of it on those ghostly gams of yours and let him take a closer look.