Todays Lady

Image by sean dreilinger via Flickr

Fall is a time of transition. Not only do you need to prepare your skin for the cold months ahead, but it's time to transform your look from light and airy to soft and classic.

Focus on a few beauty basics - skin, make-up, fashion and fragrance - and you'll have all you need for a fantastic fall.

Great skin is always in

As the weather gets cooler and drier, your skin needs extra moisture to keep it supple. Keep warm weather memories alive with a scent reminiscent of summer and try Coconut Milk Body Lotion from The Body Shop. Treat yourself to the finest ingredients

- ethically sourced community trade virgin coconut oil from Samoa - and get soft, smooth and deliciously scented skin. Pucker up Autumn lips are washed in soft color. International make-up artist Chase Aston says this fall is all about the perfect pout and recommends Colourglide Lip Color from The Body Shop. Aston shares his tips for luscious and gorgeous lips: * Use a lip liner for added definition and to help prevent feathering. * Enhance the natural color of your lips by gently gliding on lip color. For added pout power, use a lipstick/concealer brush. * Look for a shade that complements your skin tone . With 37 shades, you can easily find Colourglide Lip Color that works for you.

Ultra-modern eyes

This fall, dramatic smoldering eyes are what's fabulous.

To achieve fall's hottest eye looks, Aston gives these sizzling tips:

* Smudge together forest green, shimmering grey and lilac to create a chic, modern, smoky eye.
* To create an intense, sultry eye look, look for a palette that features a warm trio of rich brown, golden copper and shimmering sand hues.
* Try a metallic eye definer. Alone, it can be used to line and define or use it to complement your favorite eye shadow. "Choose shades that contrast your eyes to make them pop," says Aston. "Apply color to the eyelid or along the lash-line as an accent for impact."

Bundle up

Classic, "back to basics" clothing was all the rage on the fall runways. This season's must-have piece is the crisp white jacket that works with everything from jeans to a little black dress. The key accessory to sport is perfectly fitting with the chill in the air - gloves. Half gloves, fingerless gloves and long gloves are gracing the arms of starlets walking the red carpet and go with everything from rugged parkas to dainty and ladylike skirts. If you've got a special occasion to dress for, or if you're just plain feeling glam, the gold dress, inspired by the rich tones of autumn, is the choice for your holiday parties.

Image by opacity via Flickr

If you want healthier nails or are simply looking for the perfect pedicure or a manicure, here are some must-follow tips:

1. Massage Vaseline into your cuticles once a week. This helps feed the new nail and encourages nail growth. A great time to do this is right before bedtime.

2. Buff your nails! This also helps your nails to grow because it improves circulation. It also helps keep the nail bed smooth. Just don’t go overboard..! Buffing too much can weaken the nail.

3. Stick to one direction when filing your nails. Filing in a back and forth manner places stress on the structure of your nail plate and will actually cause nail breakage down the road. Always carefully file in one direction.

4. To get a few extra applications out of your favorite nail polish, try adding a tiny bit of nail polish remover to the bottle. Make sure the polish and remover are mixed well before applying. You won’t want to try this until that bottle of nail color is almost ready to throw out.

5. Instead of shaking your bottle of nail polish to even out the color, gently roll it back and forth across a table or in the palm of your hand. This prevents air bubbles from forming inside the bottle – and prevents them from ending up on your nails. You want your nail polish to go on smoothly.

6. When it comes to application, you should always apply the following: a base coat, two coats of color and a final top coat. The base coat protects your nail and helps the polish to last longer. It also prevents your nail from yellowing. Two coats ensures even coverage and the top coat adds shine and helps your manicure or pedicure to last as long as possible.

7. Finally, you should always let your nails dry for about an hour before wearing shoes. The polish may be dry to the touch after just 5 minutes or so, but make sure to only wear sandals or flip flops for the first hour to prevent marks and scuffs in your new polish.