Autumn upgrade: new beauty for your dressing table

There’s something about autumn that makes me want to overhaul my dressing table.

The richer textures come back out, skincare gets a little more serious and suddenly I’m interested in lip products again. This season’s newness is particularly good, with clever formulas that blur the line between skincare and makeup, along with some gorgeous body care for colder days.

First up is et al., a brand that really appeals to me because of its skin-first approach to makeup. New for October is the Peptide+ Lip Complex, €37.50, and this is far more than your standard lip balm. It combines four peptides with hyaluronic acid microspheres, alongside squalane, plant oils, antioxidants, and barrier-supporting ingredients. It can be applied throughout the day or used more generously at night as an intensive lip treatment exactly the kind of product I want heading into colder weather.

The brand is also adding three new shades to its Gloss Balm Lip Colour, €32.50: Toasted, a wearable brown; Glaze, a sheer red; and Putty, a muted mauve. There are also three new Line + Define Lip Liners, €27.50, in Dusk, Morello and Cedar. Treat, line and gloss an easy autumn lip wardrobe.

Next is Rituals Uukumwe, a warm, sensorial collection developed in collaboration with the Ovawambo community and Namibian creatives Tuli Mekondjo and Shishani. Think marula, Namibian myrrh, clove and cinnamon basically autumn in fragrance form.

The Warming Body Scrub, €20.90, combines mineral clay and natural exfoliants with marula and baobab oils, while the Hydrating 2-Phase Body Oil, €21.90, leaves skin feeling soft and cocooned. I also love the sound of the All-Over Glow Balm, €21.90, which melts into the skin for a warm, dewy finish.

Finally, if autumn means getting serious about your skincare again, Caudalie’s next-generation Resveratrol-Lift deserves a spot on the dressing table. At the heart of the new formula is Pro-Collagen Grape Multi-Peptides, developed to support the skin’s natural collagen production and visibly improve firmness and smoothness.

The hero for me is the Resveratrol-Lift Instant Firming Serum, €56. Caudalie describes it as three times more firming than retinol, while being suitable even for sensitive skin and without the purging or irritation associated with retinoids.

So, if your dressing table needs an autumn upgrade, I’d start with a serious lip treatment, something comforting and sensorial for the body and a hardworking serum. Consider the seasonal switch officially underway.