From pre-smudged lipstick to bronzer for your body: 7 products our beauty team loved in September

Best September 2021 beauty launches

Credit: Courtesy of brands

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From pre-smudged lipstick to bronzer for your body: 7 products our beauty team loved in September

By Shannon Peter

4 years ago

All products on this page have been selected by the editorial team, however Stylist may make commission on some products purchased through affiliate links in this article

September certainly delivered on the beauty launch front. Below, find the new perfume, make-up and skincare products that impressed our beauty team this month.

If our sudden descent into autumn has you vacuum packing away your summer dresses ready for their annual hibernation, you might want to also extend this seasonal shift to your beauty regime. As the weather changes, skin has new assailants to ward off; your make-up tastes are likely to shift too, and now is as good a time as any to rethink your choice of perfume.

But where should you start with your beauty shopping? Well, if you’re in need of a little beauty inspiration, let us direct you downwards. Below, we’ve listed the seven most exciting beauty products that impressed the Stylist beauty team this September. There’s a clay cleanser that won’t leave your face dry and tight, a rose perfume that’s a far cry from its fuddy-duddy predecessors and a red lipstick that comes with built-in nonchalant smudge.


The best September 2021 beauty launches, according to Stylist’s beauty team

Shannon Peter, beauty director

NARS Climax Liquid Eyeliner

The non-fiddly liquid liner

I never wear liquid eyeliner. Not because I don’t love it, but because I find navigating a teeny, tiny, pigment-dipped felt nib across my eyelids far too difficult. But not with Nars’ new one. Its nib is long but dense and seems to hug your lashes as you swipe. Better still, the formula dries down to a completely matte finish where it doesn’t budge, surprisingly even after I accidentally rubbed my eyes multiple times while wearing it.

Shop NARS Climax Liquid Eyeliner at Cult Beauty, £22

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Elemis Clarifying Clay Wash

The creamy clay cleanser

Anyone else steer clear of clay-based cleansers for fear of them drying their skin out? Besides my beloved Alya clay mask, genuinely hydrating clay products are hard to find, but Elemis has cracked it with this new cleanser. It’s been a god-send at purging my pollution-filled pores (I forgot how much the Tube takes its toll) and is brilliant at mopping up the pool of oiliness that gathers on my forehead by the end of most days. But the best bit is that it hasn’t once rendered my face dry, tight or stiff; my skin has remained happy and bouncy, if a little less congested.

Shop Elemis Clarifying Clay Wash at Elemis, £34

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Givenchy Le Rouge Sheer Velvet in Rouge Grenat

The instant-smudge lipstick

I’m only three episodes into the new season of Sex Education (I know, so slow) but I’m already wildly obsessed with the lipstick new headteacher Hope (Jemima Kirke) wears on a daily basis. It’s like a warm, nutty, brown-tinged red, expertly diffused around the lip line which manages to (quite literally) take the edge off what could otherwise be a fairly dramatic look. Ever since episode one I’ve been searching for the perfect lipstick to recreate it and finally – with the help of make-up artist Neil Young – I’ve found it: Givenchy’s Le Rouge Sheer Velvet in shade Rouge Grenat. The softly matte formula basically has built-in blurriness, but I apply with a fluffy brush to amp up the smudge.

Shop Givenchy Le Rouge Sheer Velvet in Rouge Grenat at Givenchy, £29.50

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Bare by Vogue Liquid Body Illuminator

The bronzer for your body

My once empty social calendar is finally filling up, and with a plethora of evening events on the horizon, I have found love in this body illuminator. A bit like a bronzer for your limbs, the softly golden pigments add a mega sheen to skin that thankfully, isn’t in the slightest bit metallic. I’ll be wearing this slathered on my collarbones and down my shins until the tube runs out.

Shop Bare by Vogue Liquid Body Illuminator at Bare by Vogue, £22

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Lucy Partington, beauty contributor

Dr Sam's Flawless Neutralising Gel

The make-up-friendly spot treatment

I don’t know about anybody else but my skin, which is usually fairly well behaved save for a few hormonal spots, has been relentlessly breaking out over the last few weeks. I haven’t changed up anything in my routine, and aside from being a bit more social than usual, nothing else is different.

Until I figure out what’s causing it, I’ve been mainlining Dr Sam’s Flawless Neutralizing Gel and it’s working wonders. Gentle but effective, it’s been formulated with a clever blend of 5% azelaic acid to unclog pores and banish redness, 2% salicylic acid to calm inflammation and get rid of dead skin cells, 0.5% bakuchiol and 5% squalane to hydrate.

Despite coming out of the tube white, it’s untraceable once on skin and, unlike most other similar targeted spot treatments, this one doesn’t ever dry skin out. It’s perfect for applying make-up on top of too. A true revelation.

Shop Dr Sam’s Flawless Neutralizing Gel at Dr Sam Bunting, £28

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Byredo Young Rose

The subdued rose perfume

Now, one thing that you need to know about me is that I’m not a huge lover of rose perfumes. I prefer something more musky and heady, but as soon as I sprayed Byredo’s Young Rose, it was instant love. The rose is detectable, but it’s blended with a mix of nutty ambrette seeds, spicy Sichuan pepper and musk so it’s not quite as cloying or as old fashioned as you’d assume (hence the name, I guess).

It’s a bit heavier than what perfumers call ‘skin scents’ but it has the same comforting characteristics. My immediate thought was that it smells like an evening version of Glossier You – while Young Rose makes more of a statement and is more obviously ‘there’, it’s just as intriguing. It’s a 10/10 from me.

Shop Byredo Young Rose eau de parfum at SpaceNK, £178

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Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate Blush in Sundrunk

The sunburnt blusher

It’s only in the last few months that I’ve got into blusher. Before, I was scared it would highlight my already-red cheeks and I was convinced it didn’t suit me. Then when I ventured into the world of more subtle peachy shades, I wondered how I’d lived without it for so long. The right shade has the ability to breathe life into an otherwise dull complexion – and that’s exactly what Tom Ford’s Sundrunk does (side note: best name for a make-up product ever, no?).

Formulated with rice silk powder, one half is semi matte and the other has a slight highlighting effect. It’s the perfect shade to give a pretty sunburnt finish without being too much. But be warned, they are densely pigmented and a little bit does go a long way. I learnt that the hard way.

Shop Tom Ford Shade & Illuminate Blush in Sundrunk at Look Fantastic, £65

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Images: courtesy of brands.

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