It’s fall, baby.

The birds are migrating towards the equator, the sun has started clocking out earlier and we are gearing up for the gradual decline of temperatures, daylight and our willingness to leave the house after 8pm.

But you know what shall not decline? Our spirits. Or our excitement about finally wearing a jacket again. The boots are coming out, the beanies are making their annual appearance and we are beginning to remember the particular pleasure of coming home to a warm bath after being personally victimised by the weather.

And while we cannot promise that the coming months will be kind to our immune systems, we can at least make sure we look rather well throughout them.

Enter flu chic. A suspiciously healthy glow, cheeks that suggest you have just returned from a brisk walk, lips that look a little bitten, and hair that has somehow survived the wind. All the telltale signs of being slightly under the weather, except entirely intentional and considerably more flushed.

Consider this our editor’s prescription for the colder months. 8 products to keep you looking alive, feeling soft and smelling absolutely delicious.

No doctor’s note required.

A SUSPICIOUSLY HEALTHY GLOW

Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation – €68 

For the days when your face has not quite received the memo that you are supposed to be looking alive. Formulated in Japan, Skin Veil melts into the skin for a fresh, even complexion, with light reflecting minerals that give the impression of a very good night’s sleep. 

A CASE OF BITTEN LIPS

Typology Tinted Lip Oil in Black Cherry – €25,50

The lips should look bitten, not like they are actively peeling off your face. Typology’s Black Cherry lip oil delivers a sheer wash of colour with a glossy finish, while squalane, jojoba oil and vitamin E keep things feeling soft and supple. A little romantic, a little vampiric.

WINDBLOWN, NOT WEATHER BEATEN

Oribe Hair Alchemy Bond Building Elixir – €90

The horrid winds on your morning bike ride may have other plans, but we refuse to let them have the final say. Oribe’s Hair Alchemy serum helps strengthen fragile strands and protect against breakage, because we would quite like to keep our hair on our heads this winter. 

A FEVER WORTH CATCHING

Le Labo Myrrhe 55 – €339

The olfactory equivalent of developing an extremely specific crush. One you will probably think about all winter. Shanghai’s City Exclusive centres on myrrh, a resin historically prized for its preciousness and associated with movement of the blood in traditional Chinese medicine. A fragrance that promises to get your heartbeat going??

RUNNING A LITTLE HOT

Fara Homidi Essential Blonzer Compact in Baie – €83

Who needs a fever when you can simply fake the flush? A little warmth across the cheeks and suddenly you look like you have just returned from a very wholesome afternoon outdoors, rather than having spent six consecutive hours staring at a screen. This compact is our accomplice in looking considerably more alive than we might feel.

POOR CIRCULATION, EXCELLENT MANICURE

Chanel Le Vernis in Rouge Noir – €34

Blue fingers? Perhaps. Red nails? Absolutely. A deep manicure feels particularly appropriate once the temperatures start dropping. Something that looks like you have been holding a very expensive glass of red wine for several hours, even if you have been preoccupied with the more mundane side of things.

CRACKED? UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES.

Naturium The Glow Getter Body Butter – €25,30

The only thing we are allowing to crack this winter is a joke. Knees, elbows and every other extremity shall be thoroughly buttered, preferably immediately after a hot shower while the skin is still slightly damp. Naturium’s body butter is here for the colder months, because we have absolutely no interest in turning grey.

THE FIG IS UP

39BC Fig Milk Oil Body Cleanser – €45

Figs are in season, baths are back in rotation and we would quite like to smell delicious at all times. Enter 39BC’s Fig Milk Oil Body Cleanser, a little indulgence for the end of a long day. Use it in the shower, make it part of your evening bath ritual or simply catch a whiff every time you walk past the bottle. 

And there you have it. Our prescription for the coming months: a little colour, a lot of moisture and absolutely no dry elbows.

The weather can do what it wants. We intend to look rather well.