The unspoken rule of walking down the streets in this city is to put on your best poker face and look straight ahead. That means don’t make eye contact, smile, or stop and stare at someone — the cardinal sin of the streets. But this is New York — a city where people constantly push boundaries and inspire with their personal style. If we did follow that old-school rule, we’d miss spotting these women and their fresh takes on fall beauty, and that would be worse than standing on the wrong side of the escalator during rush hour.
From an unexpected mix of silver eyeshadow and peach blush to dark-blue brows (yes, you read that correctly), these 12 makeup combos are subtle yet impactful at the same time — inspiring us to rethink our own looks for the season. And since we know you’ll want to get in on the action yourselves, we asked makeup artist Ashleigh Ciucci to pass on some of her expert application techniques, as well as which Maybelline products will help you recreate this at home.
Click ahead for a dozen images that prove just how beautiful breaking that stop-and-stare rule can be. But the one about the escalator is still valid, though.
Name: Michelle Collins
Age: 30
Occupation: Assistant to blogger/part-time nanny
Spotted: On Grand Street between Lafayette and Crosby streets
Get her look: We know — blue brows sound totally unwearable. But when you choose a dark shade, like Michelle did here with navy, it provides a subtle distinction that eases you into the look. To apply the color, use an angled brush to draw in tiny “hairs” with the cream shadow of your choice. Then, run a clean spoolie brush through your brows to blend the strokes together. Finish with a swirl of blush in a complementary shade, like rust orange, over the apples of your cheeks, and smile.
Name: Sable Young
Age: 29
Occupation: Writer/editor
Spotted: On Grand Street between Baxter and Mulberry streets
Get her look: Sable inspired us to swap our burgundy lipstick for a rich brown shade instead. It has the same moody look we love for fall but feels new and refreshing. Depending on your desired finish, you can pat the color on with your fingertips for a soft flush, apply straight from the tube for a cleaner look, or use a lip brush for surgeon-like precision.
Name: Stephanie
Age: 27
Occupation: Publicist/singer/writer
Spotted: On Grand Street between Lafayette and Crosby streets
Get her look: To keep wearing your warm-weather colors into fall, choose one focal point to highlight, and keep the rest of your look minimal. For a look like Stephanie’s, pat lavender cream shadow onto the middle of your upper and lower lashlines, and blend the color out toward your temple. Finish up with just mascara and a sheer lip balm.
Name: Alissa
Age: 30
Occupation: Actress/blogger
Spotted: Between Centre and Broome streets
Get her look: If you’re not a natural blonde, listen up — you don’t have to match your brows to your dyed strands. In fact, take a page from Hollywood’s book, and purposefully contrast the two. Try a brow product in a shade or two darker than your hair color — bonus points if you match your brows to your roots, says Ciucci. No matter which color you’re going for, try an all-in-one palette so you can road test the look with different powders and waxes.
Name: Makana Ching
Age: 24
Occupation: Art director
Spotted: Between Lafayette and Broome streets
Get her look: For subtly defined eyes without obvious look-at-me vibes, try matte eyeshadow paired with shimmery eyeliner along your lower lashline. First, use an eyeshadow brush, or your fingers, to pat a matte taupe cream shadow across your entire lid, extending the color almost to your temples. Then, swipe silver liner along your lower lashline for understated shine and to balance out the texture of the matte shadow.
Name: Amanda Musacchia
Age: 21
Occupation: Student/model
Spotted: On Grand Street between Crosby Street and Broadway
Get her look: We usually associate dark and moody makeup shades with fall, but this silver-and-coral combo had us thinking twice about our go-to color stories. Start with a wash of color on your lids, using either frosty silver eyeshadow or eyeliner. Then, buff matte peach blush onto the apples of your cheeks, and slick on a matching lipstick. You can play up or tone down the cheeks however you choose, but we think the obvious flush here looks especially fresh.
Name: Gladys Torres
Age: 25
Occupation: Actor
Spotted: Between Centre and Grand streets
Get her look: Ombré lips sound — and look — intimidating to pull off. But when done in two coordinating hues, they become much more wearable. For this look, Ciucci suggests lining both of your lips with a matte plum lipstick or pencil, like Maybelline Lip Studio Color Blur in Plum, Please. Use your fingers to “pull” the color inward all around the edges of your mouth, then apply a bright, cherry-red shade to the center of your lips. Marry the two colors together by blending with your finger, or use the blender tool on the Color Blur Pencil. You can add more of the plum or red shade, depending on how you want the finished product to look.
Name: Charlotte Dawes
Age: 21
Occupation: Student/photographer
Spotted: Between Baxter and Grand streets
Get her look: We love monochromatic looks, and Charlotte’s pink-on-pink one pops against her thick-rimmed glasses. Ciucci suggests tapping a little oil-free foundation onto your eyelids before applying a bright shadow. This acts as a primer, so your product stays on all day, and also boosts the intensity of the color. Then, simply swipe on a coordinating lip color and go.
Name: Nikita M’Bouroukounda
Age: 24
Occupation: Assistant womenswear designer
Spotted: On Crosby Street between Grand and Howard streets
Get her look: If your usual cat-eye is starting to feel boring, thicken your eyeliner and exaggerate the flick, like Nikita did here. Instead of using the tip of your eyeliner pencil, lay it flat on its side, and use the wide edge to create a thick line along your upper lashline. Or if you use an eyeliner brush, just go over your line several times to beef up the look. Then, extend the end of your cat-eye up toward your temples for an easy, amped-up version of your go-to look.
Name: Kirby Cernosek
Age: 25
Occupation: Model
Spotted: On Crosby Street between Grand and Broome streets
Get her look: To balance out a bold, perfectly painted lip, put down the eyeshadow, and go for defined brows and lashes instead. For a lush, flared-out look like this, Ciucci suggests curling your lashes first. Then, swipe a volumizing and lengthening mascara over both the underside and topside of your lashes. Wiggle the brush right at your roots to thicken the look of your lashline. Do this routine twice (and only twice) for over-the-top drama without any clumps.
Name: Trae Harris
Age: 27
Occupation: Performance artist
Spotted: On Grand Street between Crosby and Lafayette streets
Get her look: Frosty, ’90s lips are on the rise, and it looks like Trae is fully on board. But instead of swiping on a pearlized lipstick and calling it a day, she used two colors. To get this look, start by slicking on a bright violet lipstick. Then, use your ring finger to pat gold cream pigment, or a loose powder formulated specifically for your lips, onto the center of your mouth. Rub your lips together to blend the two hues — and then call it a day.
Name: Anne-Marie Mueschke
Age: 27
Occupation: Actress
Spotted: Between Crosby and Howard streets
Get her look: The trick to wearing yellow eyeshadow is to make it look deliberate — so step away from the blending brush. Diffusing the color can give it a pale, sickly cast, therefore bolder is better. For this look, use a stiff, angled brush to apply bright yellow cream eyeshadow from the middle of your upper lashline to a little past the outer corner of your eye. Then, draw another line connecting the outer corner up toward the middle of your crease, essentially creating a triangular shape with the negative space. Leave the rest of your look bare, or play with a glossy red lip and matching cheeks.
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