Fall makeup has a habit of warming everything up. The bronzer gets deeper, lips turn burgundy, nails go brown, and gold and bronze start making their way back onto our eyes. I love those colors, but by the time fall really gets going, sometimes I want something that doesn't make everything feel warmer.
Apparently, i’m not the only one.
Recent beauty conversations have included people looking for cool and neutral-toned palettes, better taupes, and ways to make their everyday makeup feel interesting again.
My answer to all three is pewter.
It has the shine of silver without feeling quite as icy and the smokiness of charcoal without going straight to black. More importantly, you don't have to build an entire gray makeup look around it. Put pewter next to taupe, mauve-brown, plum, and other muted neutrals, and it starts feeling much easier to wear.
That's what I wanted from The Pewter Edit: five products that take fall makeup somewhere cooler without making it feel cold.
The Pewter Edit, at a Glance
Best Pewter: Danessa Myricks Beauty Colorfix Metallic in Iconic
Best Eyeliner: Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner in Sea Grey
Best Lip: Prada Monochrome Soft Matte Lipstick in B105 Tonka
Best Nail: CHANEL Le Vernis in 105 Particulière
Best Palette: r.e.m. beauty Sweet Dreams Eyeshadow Quad
Best Pewter: Danessa Myricks Beauty Colorfix Metallic in Iconic
Price: $22
Shade: Pewter metallic
Formula: Cream pigment
Finish: Metallic
Pros: Multi-use, waterproof, buildable, works on eyes, lips and cheeks
Cons: A true metallic may be more shine than you want for an everyday look
If we're talking pewter, I wanted at least one product that actually is pewter, not something we're calling pewter because it looks vaguely gray in the tube. Danessa Myricks describes Iconic as exactly that: a pewter metallic. Colorfix is also designed as a multi-use, long-wearing, waterproof and buildable pigment with a pearly finish. Danessa Myricks Beauty
I wouldn't necessarily cover the entire lid with it. A little across the center of the lid, close to the lash line or even at the inner corner gives you that metallic shift without turning the whole look silver.
This is also where the rest of the Edit matters. Pewter becomes much more wearable when something softer sits beside it. Instead of pairing Iconic with more gray, I'd bring in taupe or mauve-brown and let the metallic be the thing that catches the light.
Best Eyeliner: Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner in Sea Grey
Price: $35
Shade: Sea Grey
Formula: Kajal pencil
Finish: Shimmery
Pros: Waterproof, smudge-proof, built-in smudger
Cons: Pricier than your average eyeliner
If black eyeliner feels too sharp and brown immediately pulls the look warmer, Sea Grey sits nicely between the two. Victoria Beckham Beauty describes the shade as a shimmery gunmetal, and the waterproof pencil can either stay defined or be smoked out with the smudger on the opposite end. Victoria Beckham Beauty
I'd use this one close to the lashes and blur the edge rather than worrying about getting a perfect line. That gives you the depth you'd normally get from black, but the gray catches enough light to keep the eye from feeling heavy.
And this is one of the easiest ways to try cooler makeup without changing your entire routine. Keep your usual mascara, complexion and lip. Just trade the brown or black liner for gunmetal.
Best Lip: Prada Monochrome Soft Matte Lipstick in B105 Tonka
Shade: B105 Tonka
Formula: Lipstick
Finish: Soft matte
Pros: Gives the palette warmth without going orange or caramel; buildable color
Cons: Luxury price point
This is where I would stop adding gray.
Tonka is a soft mauve-brown, which is exactly what this palette needs next to metallic eyes. Nordstrom currently describes B105 as “soft, mauve brown,” and one customer specifically described it as a cool-toned, plum-brown shade that was wearable enough for everyday. Nordstrom
That's also a useful reminder that cool-toned doesn't have to mean gray, silver or blue. Mauves, certain plums and cooler browns can do the same job while giving your face some color.
If you already own a mauve-brown lipstick you love, use it. The important part here is the relationship between the colors, not recreating this Edit product for product.
Best Nail: CHANEL Le Vernis in 105 Particulière
Shade: 105 Particulière
Formula: Nail lacquer
Finish: High-shine
Pros: Neutral enough for everyday; gives cooler makeup something softer to sit beside
Cons: Luxury price for a neutral nail polish
Particulière is actually the product that keeps this Edit from becoming too literal.
CHANEL calls it simply a taupe shade, and that's important because it's noticeably browner and more nude than the pewter and gunmetal around it. The current Le Vernis formula is designed for an even, glossy, long-wearing finish. CHANEL
I like the slight mismatch. If the nails were metallic silver too, we'd be heading into a very different makeup story. The mushroom-like taupe gives the eye somewhere quiet to land.
It's also an easy idea to steal without buying this exact polish: when you're wearing cooler metallic makeup, your manicure doesn't have to match. A muted taupe or mushroom nude can actually make the metallic look more interesting.
Best Palette: r.e.m. beauty Sweet Dreams Eyeshadow Quad
Price: $30
Shades: Four
Formula: Powder
Finish: Mixed finishes
Pros: Gives you neutrals and shimmer in one compact; easy way to build around a metallic
Cons: Only four shades
This is probably the easiest entry point if you're looking at everything above and thinking, Okay, but what am I supposed to put with the pewter?
The r.e.m. beauty Sweet Dreams Eyeshadow Quad gives you four colors in one compact rather than asking you to build the combination yourself. The line is currently $30, and r.e.m. beauty describes the quads as playing with contrasts like soft and striking or luminous and bold. rem beauty
That's really the idea behind this whole Edit. You don't need four versions of gray. You need enough variation around the gray to make it useful.
The brand's customer reviews also repeatedly mention the shadows' blendability, pigmentation and ability to control coverage, with one reviewer specifically praising how quickly the mattes blend and how strongly the shimmers show up. rem beauty
How I'd Actually Wear Pewter
Cool-toned makeup isn't always as straightforward as the label makes it sound. A taupe that looks perfectly cool in the pan can pull warmer once it's on your skin, and the same can happen with mauves, grays, and even contour shades. Your undertone, the colors you're wearing around it, and the rest of your makeup can all change how a shade reads.
That's why I wouldn't tell anyone to go buy five new products just because they're labeled cool-toned.
Start with one.
Try a gunmetal liner instead of brown. Put pewter on the center of your lid instead of your usual gold. If you're wearing a metallic eye, try the mauve-brown lipstick already sitting in your makeup bag. Or leave your face completely alone and swap your chocolate manicure for mushroom taupe.
The easiest formula is:
Pewter + taupe when you want it quieter.
Pewter + mauve-brown when you want it softer.
Pewter + plum when you want more color.
Pewter + black when you want it smokier.
The point isn't to throw out every warm brown and burgundy you own. I'm certainly not.
Sometimes fall makeup just needs somewhere else to go.
