Every time September rolls around, I'm filled with mixed emotions. There's the inevitable sadness that rosè season is coming to an end, but then there's that "back-to-school" excitement that comes with the start of a new season. And even though I'm long past actually going back to school, those September vibes always make me want to stock my beauty stash with lots of fresh new goodies. Conveniently, September is when most companies launch their fall products, so there's no shortage to choose from. I narrowed it down to nine, including (spoiler alert) everything from brightening eye patches that work in minutes to a liquid liner like you've never seen before. Forget the pens and pencils, this is the kind of shopping you should be doing this month.
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Game-Changing Liquid Liner
I've always been a pencil liner kind of girl, but the M.A.C. Rollerwheel Liquid Liner, $21, has forever changed my mind about liquid formulas. The teeny-tiny wheel on the tip glides super smoothly across your lid, leaving behind a crisp and clean line that's the perfect thickness. I don't have the steadiest hand when it comes to eye makeup application, and yet somehow, there's never a smudge or smear in sight when I use this. It's available in four colors, I'm loving the shiny black shade.
Jo Malone makes some of my all-time favorite fragrances, and she spent three years developing the Jo Loves Fragrance Paintbrush, $55. Forget sprays, solids, rollerballs... this fragrance comes in a tube with a brush applicator, allowing you to paint it on whenever, wherever. Also cool: The fragrance itself is a gel, which melts into skin beautifully and leaves a long-lasting scent. The four options -- Pomelo, White Rose & Lemon Leaves, Green Orange & Coriander, and Red Truffle 21 -- are what you'd expect from Jo Malone, fresh and vibrant, never cloying.
I spent three weeks in Italy this summer, and the never-ending diet of aperol spritzes and pasta showed up not on my waistline, but on my face. Namely in the form of a cluster of pimples on my forehead that I could not get rid of. In my quest to zap these zits, I tried the new Immunocologie Vital Clay Spot Treatment, $45. (FYI, the Vital Clay Mask had a wait list of over 3,000 at one point). Even after just one use, it made my new friends look much less noticeable, red, and inflamed, without drying out my skin. Credit a combo of four deep-cleaning clays that pull out impurities.
I work out daily and have a naturally oily scalp to begin with, which means my hair is either already a grease-fest, or well on its way to becoming a grease-fest. So, naturally, I'll try anything made for oily hair. Think of the Nunzio Saviano Dry Shampoo Blotting Sheets, $25, as complexion-blotting papers for your strands. The rice starch sheets are infused with a powder; blot them along oily roots, then brush the powder they deposit through your hair. While they didn't deliver the same volume-boosting effects as dry shampoo, they did a great job of absorbing oil (you can see it on the sheet), and left my roots feeling much fresher. I've become a big fan of using them after a workout class to blot away oil and sweat along my hairline.
